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A Response

• valbaca 4y ago
  [flagged]
  • saperyton 4y ago
    No need to be so cruel and judgemental towards others. OP is begging for help and all you can do is mock him?
    • the_only_law 4y ago
      I hate to say it, but this is why you do not expose yourself in that sort of way.
• mxstbr 4y ago
  The discussion he's talking about in this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31859072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31859072
• draw_down 4y ago
  I would hate to feel that way about the world. I hope this person can find some community and connections worth living for.
• jrm4 4y ago
  That's messed up? I was one of the ones who criticized him when this was originally posted, but that's wild to hear that people were this harsh.
  • googlryas 4y ago
    It seems like he got messages of support from those groups who thought he was one of them, rather than people attacking him because they thought he was one of them.
    • bowsamic 4y ago
      Yeah it seems like what upset him is those people who think he, like them, has seen some truth in the fakeness/shallowness of other humans or society or something
  • Rantenki 4y ago
    I just read the post, and I don't see what's worth criticizing there? Sounds like he's suffering from depression and isolation, and navel-gazing on his situation in life. Has the post been edited or something? I'll admit, I am super tired while reading this, so maybe I skimmed over some troublesome metaphor that I would have caught if I had been more alert. I am asking seriously; what did you criticize?
    • jrm4 4y ago
      I mean, I'm using the very broadest definition of criticize, I don't think I said anything out of line.
• googlryas 4y ago
  Weird, I got no off vibes from the dude based on the original post. It seemed like someone who was thoughtful, caring, observant, and probably depressed.
  • aasasd 4y ago
    • barry-cotter 4y ago
      • aasasd 4y ago
        Not sure who you're confusing me with, but for myself I'm happy to report that I've gotten off Reddit a couple years ago, so there's that. Also find HN boring lately and visit it less often, good signs all around.
• jancsika 4y ago
  I mean, the person is depressed. He'd probably do well to find a local group where he can regularly listen, sit with emotions, reflect, talk, and be challenged if he tries using his intellect to deflect from sitting with or reflecting upon said emotions. In any case, I'm relieved to read that at least for the time being he has turned down HN's free access to a wall of zero-cost comments from pseudonymous engineers who voted up their favorite ways to problem-solve depression from first principles.
  • 0des 4y ago
    > person is depressed I did not get this feeling. Sometimes a bit of isolation and retrospection is enough to realize what your real priorities are. Things can be deprioritized without acknowledging a superior priority, and that's okay. As we go through life, we change, people change, our surroundings change, and sometimes all of the external things change for the worst around the same time and that's just how life goes. Noting these deficiencies doesn't outright indicate someone is depressed and could indicate progress. Most people with any amount of deep introspection explore these possibilities, and I think that's healthy rather than living in fear of having to process uncomfortable truths. Sometimes we dig deep enough to find those truths werent as true as we thought they were, and that's progress.
    • EdwardDiego 4y ago
      Everything in his original post discussing his withdrawal, his inability to engage in society, screams clinical depression. Or at least, it quacks an awful lot like a duck with depression.
      • 0des 4y ago
        I don't think it screams clinical depression. I live in a rural area and empathize how someone could get to feeling this way. It can be tough to have so few people to talk to face-to-face on a peer level about the things that you're passionate about most, not because they don't want to talk about it, but because they mentally can't grok the subject matter to offer any consolation. You become your own best friend, your own therapist, your own support network. It's easy to socially discard people when you are precluded from forming those connections, they're just acquaintances, like the domino crew at the barber shop. I'm not saying it's right, but it doesn't also mean they're depressed or doesn't 'scream it' as you put it.
• brundolf 4y ago
  People project all kinds of things onto people they see on the internet. I'm sorry you had to deal with so much of that. This is a good way to handle it.
  • themodelplumber 4y ago
    It was cathartic to read and you're right about the projection. In a kind of similar vein, I did some write-ups in the past where I analyzed controversial people and thought I'd do so without weighing in with my personal opinion on them. So then I basically got a bunch of emails from socially-frustrated readers looking to relate to me as their new comrade, because we were both obviously fans of these controversial people. It seems there are a lot of socially-frustrated people out there who don't read between the lines, and who also don't believe it's appropriate to even do anything that's in between any lines, so to speak. So I wonder if this is related to the social frustration...
• 7OVO7 4y ago
  all to judge the person and not to reason on his words; if I point to the mountain, why are you talking about me? Im pointing to damned mountain, talk about the mountain, damn!
• plaguepilled 4y ago
  I'm... Displeased by these posts. I feel there is a lot of omission. He claims that he holds views antithetical to what most believe, and that he feels isolated. However, he keeps 'the next part of the sentence' suspiciously absent. Made up examples of 'the next part': 'I feel like no one shares my views or even thinks the same way as me. For example, I really enjoy tachyon physics. The problem is, the theory has fallen out of favour and it is hard to convince people to discuss the point.' Or 'I have no one to talk to. The last time I tried, I witnessed a friend be seriously hurt. Every time I try to approach someone, I think of that experience.' In short, he doesn't give enough detail for his statements to hold meaning. I can't really say why he does this. It could be a pride thing, or a disorder, or just not thinking to explain further. It's not the core point I want to focus on. Whatever the reason, my issue is that he is surprised people are reading in extremist or isolations. However, affective language (is that the right word for it?) is almost designed to do that. Giving details is the best way to avoid the problem. If you are reading this Mr Casper, please be specific about why you feel the way you feel.
  • Veen 4y ago
    People share what they feel comfortable sharing. He has no responsibility to write a detailed analysis of his psychological state and ideological positions to satisfy you. His post was about alienation and he used himself as an example; it’s not his fault if half-wits on both sides of the political divide misinterpreted his writing and used it to attack a perceived enemy/propagandise their own position.
    • plaguepilled 4y ago
      With respect I don't agree at all. Writers have a responsibility to ensure that they take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of their statements, and that those statements are clear. The alternative of doing so is to state that public writing is of no consequence and that writers should be held unaccountable for their own actions. This is obviously in contrast to the popular opinion, and for good reason: if you cannot disagree with a piece of writing, it limits your ability to engage with it. Therefore, because his examples of alienation (to borrow your term) are incomplete, OPs omissions are an issue. While its true it conveys his base point (he's alone), it is difficult to answer any helpful questions around the point. Examples of questions we can't answer: does the world need to change or him? Why? Would that help? If he isn't bothered by the state if affairs, why the melancholic tone? Is there more to the story? What initiated this isolation? Regarding the 'sharing what one is comfortable sharing' - I would normally agree, but again, the tone makes me think a point resides somewhere. Therefore I think that's not the core issue.
• depppprrrr 4y ago
  I used to be very depressed. And then I tried all kinds of different ways to get better. Exercising. Eating different. Sleeping more. Various self help techniques. Volunteering etc. Then I tried getting a job and that forced me to meet a lot of new people, challenges, develop new skills. And it sucked and I smelled like a kitchen. Didn’t solve my depression. I didn’t meet anyone I identified with until I was like 33, when I joined a high tech company where I interacted with a lot of very creative and talented people. Then I realized I was actually very unique and the people I got along with were extremely rare. Later, I also realized after significant research that I was high on the Asperger’s type spectrum plus ADHD.I learned I have to seek out very complex and varied situations which were challenging and highly stimulating. Suspect this guy is wasting away because he may be similar and just bored completely out of his mind. Unfortunately, life does not help you much. If you feel happy programming in isolation or whatever, there is no one to kick you in the ass and make you leave your house and do things you don’t want to do. And maybe accidentally meet new people…maybe. More and more it feels like you have to create some completely custom lifestyle, maybe travel to conferences, music and events or do something risky. If you made the mistake of buying a house in some super boring location with nothing going on, and in a location where very creative, intelligent, talented and motivated people hang out - you end up like this guy. I can’t judge, I have been there several times. I realized: “you know what, I am not happy because I need to be optimistic or exercise or whatever…my life literally sucks, I have no friends and I have no idea how to fix it.” If you are in that situation, you might need to spend six months or more getting out of it, move somewhere better, switch careers, get new skills, take risks. No amount of creative writing gets you out of there.
  • Vnnwa 4y ago
    Any human being wants to "seek out very complex and varied situations which were challenging and highly stimulating", not many of them have an opportunity to do so. You are not interesting or unique (except that you have money of course).
• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• anon9001 4y ago
  Non-incel here (I swear, ignore the username) who read your post and some of the accompanying thread. Valid feelings, a little cringey, I hope you figure yourself out, but that's not what I want to comment about. I spend more time than I should reading extremist content (ok, go ahead, look at the username) because I think the behavior of that crowd is fascinating and disturbingly influential. And sometimes it's funny. Also, they now set US policy, so maybe we should be paying attention. > I will clear it up now: I am not any kind of incel, conspiracy theory believer, advocate of violence or racism, or follower of any dogma, philosophy, or charismatic person of any kind. When people talk about "alt right pipeline", this is it, but casper isn't the perpetrator. He's the target. Ok, not casper specifically. In those circles, they'd make fun of him blogging about his feelings for obvious reasons. Then they'd make fun of his artsy picture, then that he took down his picture, and once more if he puts it back up. The cycle of abuse would continue until he stops reacting to the crowd. But it's a window into just how isolated people are and what it feels like to not have community. And we know there's millions or maybe tens of millions of people that feel this way and are nowhere near capable of articulating it. It's so easy to imagine someone in his position be enticed a movement that has a consistent-ish ideology and purpose greater than yourself. And as a bonus, it comes with a group of regular guys that also hang out on discord or telegram all day and share memes. They might even meet up in the woods sometimes, just to drink some beers and bbq and shoot some guns once a month. Or "protect" an election or school board by providing "security". You know, community stuff. > No, I am only interested in something real, whatever that may be. So few can cope with this emotion by blogging about their feelings. For a lot of people "blame the others" seems to be the easiest way to cope with this feeling. (Also, archive.org still has your picture up, either fix your link or remove the broken img tag. You just look like another @jack clone anyway and nobody cares.)
  • Zababa 4y ago
    Sorry to single you out specifically, but you look like you've thought a lot about that kind of thing, so I'll ask. When you say: > But it's a window into just how isolated people are and what it feels like to not have community. What do you mean by community? I see this word everywhere online, and never really understood it. I think it's mostly an American thing, but I'm not sure. I can see how someone has family, friends, acquaintances from work or hobbies, but I don't get what's meant by "community".
• jebronie 4y ago
  This isn't tech news, its just a depressed person.
  • FollowingTheDao 4y ago
    Since when does technology not effect a society's mental state?
• einpoklum 4y ago
  So, another contender for the title of "Most vague HN title ever".
• andsoitis 4y ago
  I wonder how you get to a point where you have nobody in your life who shares views, interests, etc.
• redleggedfrog 4y ago
  Geez, sounds like an interesting person to talk to.