4 ms·

My message to the 20, 30, 40 years olds currently living their comfortable life in the West: You are currently enjoying what is an unprecedented apex of progre

My message to the 20, 30, 40 years olds currently living their comfortable life in the West: You are currently enjoying what is an unprecedented apex of progress, wealth, security, and wellbeing of the Western society which only been there for a mere 40-30 years. On a reasonably modern historical scale, it's very uncommon not only for the West, but much of other countries in the world. It's hard for you to fathom a life other than this. You take it as something given, while it isn't. Bad times can come back.

TheGigaChad 5y ago
And what if you are wrong, idiot?
draw_down 5y ago
That ship has long sailed, my friend. At least in my country, with a high school education our parents could get a job that provided a decent life for a family on a single income. As I say, that is long gone.
rowanG077 5y ago
Indeed. I'm incredibly lucky to live in a western country in this time with low discrimnation, little sexism, low crime. I know war only from stories. If something hurts I can be in front of a doctor within an hour. I never have to be hungry. Really quite incredible what kind of life I can live.
- Pyramus 5y ago
  I'm not sure why you and parent are being downvoted. In the grand scheme of things we do live in a time of almost uninterrupted peace in the West, and it is not at all clear that we are headed in that direction indefinitely. It is a valid point to argue that the shooting in question is part of a broader pictuer of an increase in violence across the world, including in Western countries (Malta, Slovakia and others), threatening the democratic principles.
xyzelement 5y ago
I don't know why you got down voted, because the point you're making is correct. Even having come from the USSR into the US as a kid, I can appreciate the contrast. The problem we have in the west is that we we talk about problems and tradeoffs in abstract. For example, many people who argue that it would be good to defund the police have never lived in a situation where daily life was dangerous due to crime. Similarly, people who argue against pipelines rarely have an understanding of what it's like when there's no fuel or heat in the winter. These issues are complex and there are two sides, but it does seem to me that the "hardship" side of the things is being under-valued and under-feared because it's outside of people's realm of experience.
- tester34 5y ago
  Nice, diplomatic way of writing 'out of touch with reality techies'
- einpoklum 5y ago
  > For example, many people who argue that it would be good to defund the police have never lived in a situation where daily life was dangerous due to crime. Most people who argue for defunding the police live in a situation in which daily life is dangerous... due to the police. Who often harass them, lock them up, or even shoot them dead. > Similarly, people who argue against pipelines rarely have an understanding of what it's like when there's no fuel or heat in the winter. You're attacking a straw man. (Almost) nobody is arguing against having _any_ pipelines, whatsoever, anywhere. In the US, however, there is a custom of laying pipelines which are shoddily constructed, tend to burst and spill frequently, and are laid in along highly dangerous paths where they may contaminate drinking water sources and other sensitive locations. And - people who argue for such pipelines rarely have an understanding of what drinking water mixed with petroleum does to you...
  - xyzelement 5y ago
    > Most people who argue for defunding the police live in a situation in which daily life is dangerous... due to the police. Who often harass them, lock them up, or even shoot them dead. This is obviously a thorny topic but I think you're wrong. For example here in NYC, there has been a huge spike in crime and shootings, of which black people have been the most common victims. The number of people murdered this way dwarfs the number of people shot by the police in total. When people are in actual fear of their lives, it's not the police they are worried about. And this has manifested itself in the election. The democratic mayoral primary we just had, the black and latin neighborhoods heavily went for Eric Adams, the former cop. While the white/gentrifying areas were more heavily for the defund-the-police candidate. I am curious your perspective? Are you actually someone who lives in the hood and has a fear of your life on daily basis, and fear cops more than criminals? Or are you more in the "I read about this stuff" bucket, and if so, how does the above fit into your perspective.

TheGigaChad 5y ago

And what if you are wrong, idiot?

draw_down 5y ago

That ship has long sailed, my friend. At least in my country, with a high school education our parents could get a job that provided a decent life for a family on a single income. As I say, that is long gone.

rowanG077 5y ago

Indeed. I'm incredibly lucky to live in a western country in this time with low discrimnation, little sexism, low crime. I know war only from stories. If something hurts I can be in front of a doctor within an hour. I never have to be hungry. Really quite incredible what kind of life I can live.

Pyramus 5y ago
I'm not sure why you and parent are being downvoted. In the grand scheme of things we do live in a time of almost uninterrupted peace in the West, and it is not at all clear that we are headed in that direction indefinitely. It is a valid point to argue that the shooting in question is part of a broader pictuer of an increase in violence across the world, including in Western countries (Malta, Slovakia and others), threatening the democratic principles.

xyzelement 5y ago

I don't know why you got down voted, because the point you're making is correct. Even having come from the USSR into the US as a kid, I can appreciate the contrast. The problem we have in the west is that we we talk about problems and tradeoffs in abstract. For example, many people who argue that it would be good to defund the police have never lived in a situation where daily life was dangerous due to crime. Similarly, people who argue against pipelines rarely have an understanding of what it's like when there's no fuel or heat in the winter. These issues are complex and there are two sides, but it does seem to me that the "hardship" side of the things is being under-valued and under-feared because it's outside of people's realm of experience.

tester34 5y ago
Nice, diplomatic way of writing 'out of touch with reality techies'
einpoklum 5y ago
> For example, many people who argue that it would be good to defund the police have never lived in a situation where daily life was dangerous due to crime. Most people who argue for defunding the police live in a situation in which daily life is dangerous... due to the police. Who often harass them, lock them up, or even shoot them dead. > Similarly, people who argue against pipelines rarely have an understanding of what it's like when there's no fuel or heat in the winter. You're attacking a straw man. (Almost) nobody is arguing against having _any_ pipelines, whatsoever, anywhere. In the US, however, there is a custom of laying pipelines which are shoddily constructed, tend to burst and spill frequently, and are laid in along highly dangerous paths where they may contaminate drinking water sources and other sensitive locations. And - people who argue for such pipelines rarely have an understanding of what drinking water mixed with petroleum does to you...
- xyzelement 5y ago
  > Most people who argue for defunding the police live in a situation in which daily life is dangerous... due to the police. Who often harass them, lock them up, or even shoot them dead. This is obviously a thorny topic but I think you're wrong. For example here in NYC, there has been a huge spike in crime and shootings, of which black people have been the most common victims. The number of people murdered this way dwarfs the number of people shot by the police in total. When people are in actual fear of their lives, it's not the police they are worried about. And this has manifested itself in the election. The democratic mayoral primary we just had, the black and latin neighborhoods heavily went for Eric Adams, the former cop. While the white/gentrifying areas were more heavily for the defund-the-police candidate. I am curious your perspective? Are you actually someone who lives in the hood and has a fear of your life on daily basis, and fear cops more than criminals? Or are you more in the "I read about this stuff" bucket, and if so, how does the above fit into your perspective.