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You being unhappy in your life does not mean that there is anything wrong with the world. Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choice

You being unhappy in your life does not mean that there is anything wrong with the world. Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choices is a convenient escape from looking at yourself and your own fears, disappointments, choices made, etc. I grew up in a rural place, no mountains but we substituted beaches, marshes, and ocean. When I go back to visit I can't believe how beautiful it is. But, I prefer to live in the city where I can walk to coffee, pizza, chinese, mexican, etc. I never visit city parks, the grass and trees don't speak to me at all of nature and as an engineer I see beauty in architecture and construction and (after studying economics) the dynamism of human striving. It's fine to decide to drop out of the hurly-burly, but don't call your fellow city dwellers rats, they're people making a go of it. The carbon footprint of the average New Yorker is among the smallest in the world, that's what population density gets you, and rural areas? they're filled with human suffering, don't kid yourself.

Barrin92 4y ago
>Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choices is a convenient escape In reality it's the opposite. Coming to terms with the fact that the world is screwed up rather than you is a much scarier prospect given the implications. If you blame yourself you can hit the gym, lawyer up, buy some meditation apps, everyone will applaud you on your great self-help journey etc. Of course a student of economics would love this story, it's very profitable!
- throwaway1851 4y ago
  The world doesn’t need to be unfucked for you to be happy, I believe is the point. And that’s a good thing, because the world always has had and always will have its problems.
Loocid 4y ago
>The carbon footprint of the average New Yorker is among the smallest in the world Where does that come from? I struggle to see how any person living in the first world could be amongst those with the smallest carbon footprint.
- karmelapple 4y ago
  I was also curious. Looks like a typical New Yorker has about 30% less than an average US citizen [1] [2]. But it’s not less than, say, someone living off the land without electricity and subsistence farming. Maybe among smallest in the world for a large city? 1. https://www.livescience.com/13772-city-slicker-country-bumpkin-smaller-carbon-footprint.html https://www.livescience.com/13772-city-slicker-country-bumpk... 2. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwellers-smaller-carbon-footprints https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwe...
  - Tarrosion 4y ago
    I think your source [1] is directionally correct but very wrong on the numbers. (It's also a decade old, but that doesn't explain these errors.) For example, it says (last sentence) that Americans average 6 tons per person per year. It's actually around 15 [2]. Also, the densest urban cores have per household (and person) carbon emissions ~half the national average. Here's a recent NYT [3]. 2. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states?country=~USA#per-capita-how-much-co2-does-the-average-person-emit https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states?country... 3. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/13/climate/climate-footprint-map-neighborhood.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/13/climate/clima...
lapcat 4y ago
> Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choices is a convenient escape Could you point to exactly where you think the author did that? I didn't see it. At most there was, "Every storefront specifically engineered to attract me inside with gimics like flashing lights." Which may be true of London, though I can't say personally. > don't call your fellow city dwellers rats "The rat race" is a well-known, long-standing metaphor. "The term is commonly associated with an exhausting, repetitive lifestyle that leaves no time for relaxation or enjoyment." "The earliest known occurrence is 1934." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race
- fsckboy 4y ago
  > "The rat race" is a well-known, long-standing metaphor. I know, that's my point, that's why the headline was all he needed, everything after that was belaboring the point. I watched the video and I read the rest because I imagined something new would be said, but nothing was.
rafaelero 4y ago
> You being unhappy in your life does not mean that there is anything wrong with the world. Right? London is a great city. If you can't enjoy it, maybe it's just not for you. Try a different one.
- throwaway378037 4y ago
  Keep trying to leave London for the countryside or the sea where I grew up, keep on finding myself back here. I just miss the city too much when I’m away. Countryside and sea are so beautiful but I need the buzz around me
  - pbalau 4y ago
    I moved part time to Norwich and i miss London. Norwich is not a hole in the ground, but is not London.

Barrin92 4y ago

>Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choices is a convenient escape In reality it's the opposite. Coming to terms with the fact that the world is screwed up rather than you is a much scarier prospect given the implications. If you blame yourself you can hit the gym, lawyer up, buy some meditation apps, everyone will applaud you on your great self-help journey etc. Of course a student of economics would love this story, it's very profitable!

throwaway1851 4y ago
The world doesn’t need to be unfucked for you to be happy, I believe is the point. And that’s a good thing, because the world always has had and always will have its problems.

Loocid 4y ago

>The carbon footprint of the average New Yorker is among the smallest in the world Where does that come from? I struggle to see how any person living in the first world could be amongst those with the smallest carbon footprint.

karmelapple 4y ago
I was also curious. Looks like a typical New Yorker has about 30% less than an average US citizen [1] [2]. But it’s not less than, say, someone living off the land without electricity and subsistence farming. Maybe among smallest in the world for a large city? 1. https://www.livescience.com/13772-city-slicker-country-bumpkin-smaller-carbon-footprint.html https://www.livescience.com/13772-city-slicker-country-bumpk... 2. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwellers-smaller-carbon-footprints https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwe...
- Tarrosion 4y ago
  I think your source [1] is directionally correct but very wrong on the numbers. (It's also a decade old, but that doesn't explain these errors.) For example, it says (last sentence) that Americans average 6 tons per person per year. It's actually around 15 [2]. Also, the densest urban cores have per household (and person) carbon emissions ~half the national average. Here's a recent NYT [3]. 2. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states?country=~USA#per-capita-how-much-co2-does-the-average-person-emit https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/united-states?country... 3. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/13/climate/climate-footprint-map-neighborhood.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/13/climate/clima...

lapcat 4y ago

> Looking to pin the blame on society at large and other people's choices is a convenient escape Could you point to exactly where you think the author did that? I didn't see it. At most there was, "Every storefront specifically engineered to attract me inside with gimics like flashing lights." Which may be true of London, though I can't say personally. > don't call your fellow city dwellers rats "The rat race" is a well-known, long-standing metaphor. "The term is commonly associated with an exhausting, repetitive lifestyle that leaves no time for relaxation or enjoyment." "The earliest known occurrence is 1934." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race

fsckboy 4y ago
> "The rat race" is a well-known, long-standing metaphor. I know, that's my point, that's why the headline was all he needed, everything after that was belaboring the point. I watched the video and I read the rest because I imagined something new would be said, but nothing was.

rafaelero 4y ago

> You being unhappy in your life does not mean that there is anything wrong with the world. Right? London is a great city. If you can't enjoy it, maybe it's just not for you. Try a different one.

throwaway378037 4y ago
Keep trying to leave London for the countryside or the sea where I grew up, keep on finding myself back here. I just miss the city too much when I’m away. Countryside and sea are so beautiful but I need the buzz around me
- pbalau 4y ago
  I moved part time to Norwich and i miss London. Norwich is not a hole in the ground, but is not London.