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Note that even in countries where the absolute amount of money is better, the stuff on this article still applies. I am from Brazil, and many boomers told me w
by speeder 10y ago
Note that even in countries where the absolute amount of money is better, the stuff on this article still applies.
I am from Brazil, and many boomers told me when I was young how awesome I was to be young, because I was living in a golden age where I didn't had to walk uphill both ways to school, could have computer, and whatnot.
But it is me that envy them now, I am 29, have zero income, lots of debt, and own no assets (not even a bicycle).
The same applies to almost all my friends and aquaintances, and even so, the "almost" is because one of them is an absolute exception (he was already rich, and made a hit game, his game is probably on top20 most sold on Steam right now...), and some of the humble and smart ones decided to ignore the "adults" advice, don't go to college and deliberately choose professions seen in bad light in the social sense (construction, plumbing, car mechanic, CNC operator, security guard...)
The few friends I have that have families, did it by accident (ie: accidental pregnancy), and all of them are unemployed, and their spouses (when they actually have one, some are single parents) are unemployed too, the "least worse" couple are the ones that have moderately rich parents, and they have both sides of the family giving their child the stuff the child needs.
And the thing is, although this is mostly about my country (Brazil), I have lots of friends outside Brazil too, that are also in this situation, one guy I know is an absolute crazy coding genius (And his game is rumored to have inspired No Man's Sky) and he is 40, and also childless, and own only a very old (20+ years I think) car, I have some Canadian friends also with problems like that, I know people that worked in AAA game studios around the planet and still failed to make enough money to pay student debts and start a family.
To be honest, the situation just feel hopeless, sometimes I get myself with the intruding unwanted thought of wishing someone would start WWIII just to see if at least life would be less boring. And from what I am seeing in the "mood" in social media and elections worldwide, I am not alone in this...
- paulddraper 10y ago> start WWIII just to see if at least life would be less boring Yes, another 3% of humanity dying in a global war would be very interesting.
- freshhawk 10y ago> I get myself with the intruding unwanted thought of wishing someone would start WWIII just to see if at least life would be less boring. That is a damn good description of why accelerationists are gaining popularity. I think a lot of the alt-right obsession comes from this as well.
- Mikeb85 10y ago> I think a lot of the alt-right obsession comes from this as well. Ironically the alt-right seems to be anti-war (at least when it comes to war with other superpowers, namely Russia), but there is definitely nihilistic tendencies within the movement. Sort of a "globalism sucks, so let's kill it with fire" thing...
- kristopolous 10y agoHow much of this do you think is due to neoliberalism?
- petre 10y agoIf you're that bored why not start a revolution along with your friends who are in the same boat? Why wait for someone else (politicians) to start a global war, send you and your friends to death and also get rich in the process?
- MicroBerto 10y ago> But it is me that envy them now, I am 29, have zero income, lots of debt, and own no assets (not even a bicycle). I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who write such essays. You are clearly a talented writer. Are you unable to start some kind of a business and hustle for 14 hours a day?? Why do you have time to be here and not there?
- Rovanion 10y agoOh yes, the good old american "Why don't you pull yourself up by the bootstraps?" Do you honestly think this person hasn't tried. And do you honestly believe that just because he spends his evenings on HN he's not a stand up person?
- MicroBerto 10y agoWhen did I ever imply those things? I will bluntly state that if you have the kind of writing talent that OP displayed, and you cannot afford a bicycle, you are simply not applying yourself. That level of skill alone could easily net you $1500/month+ on various writing services (at an extremely conservative 2000 words/day * $0.03/word * 20 days/month). Nobody said it'd be fun or easy, but hey, you'd at least have a bicycle after you got paid.