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I said it before and I'll say it again: the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me.

I said it before and I'll say it again: the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me. It's a statement on the failure of a society to provide places for meaningful interaction beyond consumption, or places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security.

cobbzilla 7y ago
Yeah, and fuck the Forum in Rome too. Treasured institution? Crass commercialism at its finest, I say.
- coldtea 7y ago
  The Forum in Rome (and the agora in Greek cities) was the total opposite to malls... Small producers with unique offerings and shops (as opposed to chain franchises), directly integrated within the city (as opposed to an isolated space existing outside of it), a vibrant place for social and political interaction (as opposed to a place for bored teens to shop and eat fast food where nothing political ever happens and citizens are isolated consumers), plus each was unique to the city (as opposed to finding an identical (or nearly identical) mall, with the same shops, in every town in the states... So the irony is misguided to say the least... Not to mention that 2000+ years later one would think we could do better than Rome...
  - cobbzilla 7y ago
    “it’s massively popular but I think it’s dumb so I’m not going to try to understand anything more” is kinda how I read the comment I was replying to. Sorry I got snarky, I’m somewhat surprised I wasn’t downvoted to oblivion. I’m not a fan of malls personally, but that attitude seems overly dismissive of a phenomenon that engaged a significant portion of the population. Clearly there is something important going on there, even if we might not like it.
    - coldtea 7y ago
      Sure, malls were an important phenomenon (and of course popular). But I'm sure you'll agree something can be important and popular, and at the same time detrimental, no?
      - cobbzilla 7y ago
        Signaling disapproval doesn’t really add anything to the conversation.
        coldtea 7y ago
        Well, I started the thread responding to a snarky one-liner that added even less to the conversation, so there's that. I replied in earnest with a sizable comment comparing the two things (forums and malls) from several aspects (uniqueness, social function, etc), so that surely added something. And, no, I'd say "signaling disapproval" does add to the conversation. In fact "signaling disapproval" is a large and necessary part of human conversation, and essential for forming social conceptions and hierarchies...
        cobbzilla 7y ago
        How meta! You're signaling in favor of signaling! <head explodes>
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Nasrudith 7y ago
    The uniqueness was an artifact of the lack of advanced manufacturing and standardization was far lesser period even with things like munition armaments. It is kind of like complaining soldiers soldiers aren't as good at tetsudo formations, aren't as good at swinging swords and spears, and they don't buy every bit of gear they use in spite of being citizens. Technically we did so much better than the Romans for goods availability across broad distances - aluminum used to be more expensive than gold and platinum (once it was judged as anything but worthless). The Washington Monument being aluminum tipped was showing off US production capabilities. Now it is used for disposable drink cans which to denormalize things a bit to how /weird/ that would be - it would be like alchemy made gold so cheap that if you dumped a sacks of coins in a beggar's container they would be upset about you pouring garbage on them". Materially about the only thing we lack in comparison are slaves and in most places legalized prostitution. The lack of a social space is a valid complaint as my previous paragraphs highlighted the society in which they served changed vastly. Launching your own forum as a mayor wouldn't work as it did before as the nature of transit, employment, and communication changed around it. Malls did serve as a pedestrian stagnant oasis in a desert of unwalkable road networks. They may not be that great but they were better than many alternatives.
    - coldtea 7y ago
      >The uniqueness was an artifact of the lack of advanced manufacturing and standardization was far lesser period even with things like munition armaments. We still had uniqueness in city stores and shopping arcades far after the age of "advanced manufacturing and standardization", e.g. well into the 70s. In towns like Manhattan they in fact took pride in their variety of shops, restaurants, etc. and culturally resisted malls and chains and same in several places in Europe. So it's not like "advanced manufacturing and standardization" automatically translates to malls, and bland cookie cutter one's at that. Besides, my point wasn't that the ancient agora/forum was different from malls because of some virtuous choice - just that it was different, period. If that was out of necessity, that's fine too.
Kneecaps07 7y ago
As someone who grew up in the 90s, I have fond memories of meeting friends at the mall.
Spooky23 7y ago
If you’re not depressed enough, When I was growing up, the McDonald’s embedded in WalMart in a rural town was the social highlight for a disturbingly large number of people.
wil421 7y ago
Have you ever tried a park? There are probably 5-10 parks within 5 miles of me including a huge river parks and nature preserves. People grilling, kids playing, walking/running/biking/kayaking/paddle boarding and people just sitting and relaxing. Lots of social interaction. If you’re out of grade school a mall is not an appropriate place for social interaction.
- jonlucc 7y ago
  There are a lot of places where parks are nearly unusable for months of a year. I'm not in an extreme climate by any measure, but there are 3 months when socializing in a park is at best uncomfortable. Why do you specify "out of grade school"? Isn't the fact that the mall is the go-to for grade schoolers just as big a problem? Where are kids and adults supposed to hang out in a group without having to host in their small home?
  - wil421 7y ago
    Gyms, parks, bars, and restaurants are the usual suspects. Dog parks are great too. I’m also trying to get into a community garden and take a class at an art center, I’ll likely be on the younger side in the last two. Kayaking (not whitewater) and fishing are my two favorites especially if you combine the two. I usually talk to any fisherman I see and people come up to me at the ramp to chat.
    - fartcannon 7y ago
      Well thank you for laying out the kinds of activities that are permitted.
    - jonlucc 7y ago
      None of those places are meant as hangout locations, and all of them require paying. Malls were useful to kids because being there was free for essentially an unlimited amount of time. Sure, you'd buy a soda once in a while, but that's not enough to be allowed to spend 4 hours in a bar or restaurant. A closer use case would be neighborhood centers, but in my area, those are mostly closed in the evenings or at least reserved for private use.
seiko988 7y ago
>>places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security Its a failure of our society for certain, but at the same time that failure seems to be trending up, there's no needles on the street / homeless camps in malls. My pessimism might be colored by the video "Seattle is Dying" which I just watched a few weeks ago
- drngdds 7y ago
  Is that a general trend or just location-specific? I've heard about homelessness being a big issue in SF and Seattle but I live in a big city (NYC) and I haven't seen anything like that.
  - seiko988 7y ago
    Its also a big problem in LA, but I'm not sure about other cities
  - marcinzm 7y ago
    My opinion on this. Cities which see themselves as bastions of progressiveness are less inclined to crack down on homelessness (since many are people who need help rather than punishment). If they try to fix the social issues around it (provide housing, services, etc.) then I suspect you'd see an influx of homeless people into those cities (thus not really solving the problem). Especially in cities where you can live on the streets year round without weather killing you. It's a tough problem because cracking down on homeless people I feel tends to leak into cracking down on other marginalized groups (the poor, minorities, etc.).
    - wnkrshm 7y ago
      I don't want to read anything into this that wasn't intended but are you saying that society should be harder (crack down) on homeless people but not on other disadvantaged people?
      - marcinzm 7y ago
nsxwolf 7y ago
How old are you? Did you never visit a mall in the 80s or early 90s? They were a blast! Nobody hanging out at the mall was lamenting the failure of society to provide anything.
- sixstringtheory 7y ago
  > Nobody hanging out at the mall was lamenting the failure of society to provide anything This sounds like Plato's Allegory of the Cave: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave
geomark 7y ago
As discussed in another recent thread[1], malls contribute to myopia in young people. Actually, that study just says that not spending enough time outside in sunlight is the cause. But that's what happens when kids spend most of their free time in malls. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16948264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16948264
gerbilly 7y ago
> places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security. I never thought of it this way, but this must be most of the draw behind Disney Land.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  The gate fee keeps the undesirables out as well. Much as a bar's cover charge is a filter. Conversation I had a few years back, at New Years: "Why would anyone pay $100 just to enter a bar?" "To be at a bar with people who can afford to pay $100 to enter." A similar role, though different mechanism, is described by Joseph Wood Krutch: "There's nothing like a good bad dirt road to screen out the faintly interested and to invite in the genuinely interested." Often recast as "bad roads make good filters". https://www.greensboro.com/the-highway-less-traveled/article_5e9d9ffd-5abf-59d4-8630-048594cbcb88.html https://www.greensboro.com/the-highway-less-traveled/article...
codingdave 7y ago
Growing up in the 80s, it was a place to meet people. We didn't have the internet. Not everyone had home PCs or gaming systems. Meeting friends at the mall to play some games at the arcade, maybe get a snack at the food court, and just hang out was a decent way to spend time with friends. Yes, we also went on walks, bike rides, went fishing, played in parks, hiked in the woods, climbed mountains, went to the beach, saw each other at school, played board games, D&D, and many other things. The mall was one thing to do, among many. I see little reason to disparage those memories just because they aren't as applicable in today's society.
flycaliguy 7y ago
To me it feels like a testament to our ability to build social bonds and community no matter how silly the setting. Laughter, family and common spaces trump all.
mumblemumble 7y ago
I'd frame it differently, but, to some extent, that's explicitly what malls were originally designed for. The idea came from a European architect who was trying to figure out how to create something that fills the same social niche of being a combination commercial center and social gathering place that you get out of the center of a European town, but adapted for the sprawled-out car-centric towns that exist in North America.
mdip 7y ago
...regarded as treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me. I'm going to hazard a guess that you were not part of that community, either due to your age or interests[0]. However, you made a point that compelled me to think, mainly because I do have fond memories of the trashy mall we used to hang out at[1]. So, as much as I sort of jumped to defend myself as a member of that sort of society, it's somewhat true. But how were social interactions ever handled well in the past? People interact around doing things. At times, we go out just to interact, but interaction is usually a side-effect/part of something else we're doing[2]. Prior to the internet, Amazon was the mall. You had department stores that carried a diversity of products all on their own, and specialty stores that covered the odd. As rents went up, the specialty stores disappeared and the malls all became, somewhat, identical. The malls died partly due to the collapse of the anchor stores, but partly because they became boring. While the "anchor stores" (Sears, JC Penny, Macy's) were always important, they became the only reason to go to the mall. You knew the "mall brands" (Things Remembered, The Discovery Store, Spencer's, Wetzel's Pretzels, Sbarros) -- hell, you knew when you received a "mall gift" (a gift from one of said stores that's cheap, over-priced and an attempt at being unique). And as an added bonus, unlike all of the "modern malls", you only had to freeze, briefly, while walking from your car to the store in the half-foot of snow. But I digress -- for me, the explanation is a little less ominous: We buy a lot of crap. When you needed something, the mall was the most likely place where you'd find it, and you'd probably find it at a price that was on-par with a discount free-standing store (K-Mart) but had a greater guarantee that all of the things you needed would be able to be handled in one trip. This brought people to the mall. As a result, in the 90s, when you just wanted to interact with someone -- anyone -- you went to the one place where there was a lot of people interacting. It's not that "society failed to provide a place" -- it's that "society" isn't a thing. It doesn't care. The mall became "the place" because we were using it served a useful purpose. The service it provided is now provided by a more efficient means. Some of that interaction, however, is also more efficient[3]. [0] Maybe you weren't all about orange chicken at Panda Express. That's OK. :) [1] It's funny, because as an adult, I think of the fun times/friends/experiences that we had at the mall -- mostly being teenage boys, looking at teenage girls -- but I see the whole thing as silly, and the mall always felt -- even back then -- like a bit of a "white trash place to hang out". [2] Even when the explicit purpose is to interact such as a first date -- first dates. I've had "5-hour interactions" by accident, but the date started as "Let's grab lunch/dinner", not "Let's sit in a chair and talk for 5 hours". [3] There's something to be said about trading the "meaningless face-to-face interaction with strangers paid to be friendly" with the "meaningless emoticon left on a curated wall in reaction to an inane comment from our closest hundreds of friends".
lunchables 7y ago
>the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution Wait, people think malls are "treasured social institutions" ? I think it's just neat to look at creepy old malls that used to be full of people. I wonder if there's a name for that? Like the thrill of sneaking into school at night when no one was there.
- hnu0847 7y ago
  I'm not sure if this qualifies as it came from a website and YouTube channel [1] whose author created neologisms for emotions that do not have a descriptive term, but the word "kenopsia" [2] might fit. I stumbled across this website while browsing a reddit thread about visiting your school at night [3]. [1] https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com [2] https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/27720773573/kenopsia https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/27720773573/... [3] https://old.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/a5ljsp/that_weird_feeling_youd_get_whenever_youd_visit/ https://old.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/a5ljsp/that_weir...
closeparen 7y ago
We're deliberately getting government out of the business of harassing marginalized people in public spaces for others' comfort. It's not an accident or a failure that public spaces are uncomfortable.

cobbzilla 7y ago

Yeah, and fuck the Forum in Rome too. Treasured institution? Crass commercialism at its finest, I say.

coldtea 7y ago
The Forum in Rome (and the agora in Greek cities) was the total opposite to malls... Small producers with unique offerings and shops (as opposed to chain franchises), directly integrated within the city (as opposed to an isolated space existing outside of it), a vibrant place for social and political interaction (as opposed to a place for bored teens to shop and eat fast food where nothing political ever happens and citizens are isolated consumers), plus each was unique to the city (as opposed to finding an identical (or nearly identical) mall, with the same shops, in every town in the states... So the irony is misguided to say the least... Not to mention that 2000+ years later one would think we could do better than Rome...
- cobbzilla 7y ago
  “it’s massively popular but I think it’s dumb so I’m not going to try to understand anything more” is kinda how I read the comment I was replying to. Sorry I got snarky, I’m somewhat surprised I wasn’t downvoted to oblivion. I’m not a fan of malls personally, but that attitude seems overly dismissive of a phenomenon that engaged a significant portion of the population. Clearly there is something important going on there, even if we might not like it.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    Sure, malls were an important phenomenon (and of course popular). But I'm sure you'll agree something can be important and popular, and at the same time detrimental, no?
    - cobbzilla 7y ago
      Signaling disapproval doesn’t really add anything to the conversation.
      - coldtea 7y ago
        Well, I started the thread responding to a snarky one-liner that added even less to the conversation, so there's that. I replied in earnest with a sizable comment comparing the two things (forums and malls) from several aspects (uniqueness, social function, etc), so that surely added something. And, no, I'd say "signaling disapproval" does add to the conversation. In fact "signaling disapproval" is a large and necessary part of human conversation, and essential for forming social conceptions and hierarchies...
        cobbzilla 7y ago
        How meta! You're signaling in favor of signaling! <head explodes>
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  The uniqueness was an artifact of the lack of advanced manufacturing and standardization was far lesser period even with things like munition armaments. It is kind of like complaining soldiers soldiers aren't as good at tetsudo formations, aren't as good at swinging swords and spears, and they don't buy every bit of gear they use in spite of being citizens. Technically we did so much better than the Romans for goods availability across broad distances - aluminum used to be more expensive than gold and platinum (once it was judged as anything but worthless). The Washington Monument being aluminum tipped was showing off US production capabilities. Now it is used for disposable drink cans which to denormalize things a bit to how /weird/ that would be - it would be like alchemy made gold so cheap that if you dumped a sacks of coins in a beggar's container they would be upset about you pouring garbage on them". Materially about the only thing we lack in comparison are slaves and in most places legalized prostitution. The lack of a social space is a valid complaint as my previous paragraphs highlighted the society in which they served changed vastly. Launching your own forum as a mayor wouldn't work as it did before as the nature of transit, employment, and communication changed around it. Malls did serve as a pedestrian stagnant oasis in a desert of unwalkable road networks. They may not be that great but they were better than many alternatives.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    >The uniqueness was an artifact of the lack of advanced manufacturing and standardization was far lesser period even with things like munition armaments. We still had uniqueness in city stores and shopping arcades far after the age of "advanced manufacturing and standardization", e.g. well into the 70s. In towns like Manhattan they in fact took pride in their variety of shops, restaurants, etc. and culturally resisted malls and chains and same in several places in Europe. So it's not like "advanced manufacturing and standardization" automatically translates to malls, and bland cookie cutter one's at that. Besides, my point wasn't that the ancient agora/forum was different from malls because of some virtuous choice - just that it was different, period. If that was out of necessity, that's fine too.

Kneecaps07 7y ago

As someone who grew up in the 90s, I have fond memories of meeting friends at the mall.

Spooky23 7y ago

If you’re not depressed enough, When I was growing up, the McDonald’s embedded in WalMart in a rural town was the social highlight for a disturbingly large number of people.

wil421 7y ago

Have you ever tried a park? There are probably 5-10 parks within 5 miles of me including a huge river parks and nature preserves. People grilling, kids playing, walking/running/biking/kayaking/paddle boarding and people just sitting and relaxing. Lots of social interaction. If you’re out of grade school a mall is not an appropriate place for social interaction.

jonlucc 7y ago
There are a lot of places where parks are nearly unusable for months of a year. I'm not in an extreme climate by any measure, but there are 3 months when socializing in a park is at best uncomfortable. Why do you specify "out of grade school"? Isn't the fact that the mall is the go-to for grade schoolers just as big a problem? Where are kids and adults supposed to hang out in a group without having to host in their small home?
- wil421 7y ago
  Gyms, parks, bars, and restaurants are the usual suspects. Dog parks are great too. I’m also trying to get into a community garden and take a class at an art center, I’ll likely be on the younger side in the last two. Kayaking (not whitewater) and fishing are my two favorites especially if you combine the two. I usually talk to any fisherman I see and people come up to me at the ramp to chat.
  - fartcannon 7y ago
    Well thank you for laying out the kinds of activities that are permitted.
  - jonlucc 7y ago
    None of those places are meant as hangout locations, and all of them require paying. Malls were useful to kids because being there was free for essentially an unlimited amount of time. Sure, you'd buy a soda once in a while, but that's not enough to be allowed to spend 4 hours in a bar or restaurant. A closer use case would be neighborhood centers, but in my area, those are mostly closed in the evenings or at least reserved for private use.

seiko988 7y ago

>>places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security Its a failure of our society for certain, but at the same time that failure seems to be trending up, there's no needles on the street / homeless camps in malls. My pessimism might be colored by the video "Seattle is Dying" which I just watched a few weeks ago

drngdds 7y ago
Is that a general trend or just location-specific? I've heard about homelessness being a big issue in SF and Seattle but I live in a big city (NYC) and I haven't seen anything like that.
- seiko988 7y ago
  Its also a big problem in LA, but I'm not sure about other cities
- marcinzm 7y ago
  My opinion on this. Cities which see themselves as bastions of progressiveness are less inclined to crack down on homelessness (since many are people who need help rather than punishment). If they try to fix the social issues around it (provide housing, services, etc.) then I suspect you'd see an influx of homeless people into those cities (thus not really solving the problem). Especially in cities where you can live on the streets year round without weather killing you. It's a tough problem because cracking down on homeless people I feel tends to leak into cracking down on other marginalized groups (the poor, minorities, etc.).
  - wnkrshm 7y ago
    I don't want to read anything into this that wasn't intended but are you saying that society should be harder (crack down) on homeless people but not on other disadvantaged people?
    - marcinzm 7y ago

nsxwolf 7y ago

How old are you? Did you never visit a mall in the 80s or early 90s? They were a blast! Nobody hanging out at the mall was lamenting the failure of society to provide anything.

sixstringtheory 7y ago
> Nobody hanging out at the mall was lamenting the failure of society to provide anything This sounds like Plato's Allegory of the Cave: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave

geomark 7y ago

As discussed in another recent thread[1], malls contribute to myopia in young people. Actually, that study just says that not spending enough time outside in sunlight is the cause. But that's what happens when kids spend most of their free time in malls. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16948264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16948264

gerbilly 7y ago

> places to feel safe that are not guarded by private security. I never thought of it this way, but this must be most of the draw behind Disney Land.

dredmorbius 7y ago
The gate fee keeps the undesirables out as well. Much as a bar's cover charge is a filter. Conversation I had a few years back, at New Years: "Why would anyone pay $100 just to enter a bar?" "To be at a bar with people who can afford to pay $100 to enter." A similar role, though different mechanism, is described by Joseph Wood Krutch: "There's nothing like a good bad dirt road to screen out the faintly interested and to invite in the genuinely interested." Often recast as "bad roads make good filters". https://www.greensboro.com/the-highway-less-traveled/article_5e9d9ffd-5abf-59d4-8630-048594cbcb88.html https://www.greensboro.com/the-highway-less-traveled/article...

codingdave 7y ago

Growing up in the 80s, it was a place to meet people. We didn't have the internet. Not everyone had home PCs or gaming systems. Meeting friends at the mall to play some games at the arcade, maybe get a snack at the food court, and just hang out was a decent way to spend time with friends. Yes, we also went on walks, bike rides, went fishing, played in parks, hiked in the woods, climbed mountains, went to the beach, saw each other at school, played board games, D&D, and many other things. The mall was one thing to do, among many. I see little reason to disparage those memories just because they aren't as applicable in today's society.

flycaliguy 7y ago

To me it feels like a testament to our ability to build social bonds and community no matter how silly the setting. Laughter, family and common spaces trump all.

mumblemumble 7y ago

I'd frame it differently, but, to some extent, that's explicitly what malls were originally designed for. The idea came from a European architect who was trying to figure out how to create something that fills the same social niche of being a combination commercial center and social gathering place that you get out of the center of a European town, but adapted for the sprawled-out car-centric towns that exist in North America.

mdip 7y ago

...regarded as treasured social institution in communities seems ridiculous to me. I'm going to hazard a guess that you were not part of that community, either due to your age or interests[0]. However, you made a point that compelled me to think, mainly because I do have fond memories of the trashy mall we used to hang out at[1]. So, as much as I sort of jumped to defend myself as a member of that sort of society, it's somewhat true. But how were social interactions ever handled well in the past? People interact around doing things. At times, we go out just to interact, but interaction is usually a side-effect/part of something else we're doing[2]. Prior to the internet, Amazon was the mall. You had department stores that carried a diversity of products all on their own, and specialty stores that covered the odd. As rents went up, the specialty stores disappeared and the malls all became, somewhat, identical. The malls died partly due to the collapse of the anchor stores, but partly because they became boring. While the "anchor stores" (Sears, JC Penny, Macy's) were always important, they became the only reason to go to the mall. You knew the "mall brands" (Things Remembered, The Discovery Store, Spencer's, Wetzel's Pretzels, Sbarros) -- hell, you knew when you received a "mall gift" (a gift from one of said stores that's cheap, over-priced and an attempt at being unique). And as an added bonus, unlike all of the "modern malls", you only had to freeze, briefly, while walking from your car to the store in the half-foot of snow. But I digress -- for me, the explanation is a little less ominous: We buy a lot of crap. When you needed something, the mall was the most likely place where you'd find it, and you'd probably find it at a price that was on-par with a discount free-standing store (K-Mart) but had a greater guarantee that all of the things you needed would be able to be handled in one trip. This brought people to the mall. As a result, in the 90s, when you just wanted to interact with someone -- anyone -- you went to the one place where there was a lot of people interacting. It's not that "society failed to provide a place" -- it's that "society" isn't a thing. It doesn't care. The mall became "the place" because we were using it served a useful purpose. The service it provided is now provided by a more efficient means. Some of that interaction, however, is also more efficient[3]. [0] Maybe you weren't all about orange chicken at Panda Express. That's OK. :) [1] It's funny, because as an adult, I think of the fun times/friends/experiences that we had at the mall -- mostly being teenage boys, looking at teenage girls -- but I see the whole thing as silly, and the mall always felt -- even back then -- like a bit of a "white trash place to hang out". [2] Even when the explicit purpose is to interact such as a first date -- first dates. I've had "5-hour interactions" by accident, but the date started as "Let's grab lunch/dinner", not "Let's sit in a chair and talk for 5 hours". [3] There's something to be said about trading the "meaningless face-to-face interaction with strangers paid to be friendly" with the "meaningless emoticon left on a curated wall in reaction to an inane comment from our closest hundreds of friends".

lunchables 7y ago

>the fact that malls are (justifiably) regarded as a treasured social institution Wait, people think malls are "treasured social institutions" ? I think it's just neat to look at creepy old malls that used to be full of people. I wonder if there's a name for that? Like the thrill of sneaking into school at night when no one was there.

hnu0847 7y ago
I'm not sure if this qualifies as it came from a website and YouTube channel [1] whose author created neologisms for emotions that do not have a descriptive term, but the word "kenopsia" [2] might fit. I stumbled across this website while browsing a reddit thread about visiting your school at night [3]. [1] https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com [2] https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/27720773573/kenopsia https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/27720773573/... [3] https://old.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/a5ljsp/that_weird_feeling_youd_get_whenever_youd_visit/ https://old.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/a5ljsp/that_weir...

closeparen 7y ago

We're deliberately getting government out of the business of harassing marginalized people in public spaces for others' comfort. It's not an accident or a failure that public spaces are uncomfortable.