I always see "this is nothing new" used as a sort of psychological defense against dismay. Concerned about the latest reports on ocean warming? Well, climate c

I always see "this is nothing new" used as a sort of psychological defense against dismay. Concerned about the latest reports on ocean warming? Well, climate change has been happening for a while! Concerned about the AI-fuelled destruction of art and writing as middle-class careers? Don't worry, artists have been poor for quite a while! It's possible (and, indeed, likely) that: - Things have gotten progressively worse - There is a tipping point, after which the system will undergo a phase change; i.e. the difference between making rent and not making rent - We are now much closer to that point than we were Expected response is, "oh fsck, that makes the current situation even worse, I should definitely care about it!" Response I see instead is, "well that's old news." (So, call this the Old News Defense.) What is fascinating to me is the frequency with which this defense is thrown up. I'm pretty sure that if we got hit by an asteroid, someone would be commenting, "don't worry, we've been getting hit with asteroids since Chicxulub, stop being alarmist"