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My father was born into a world in which he had to practice subsistence farming if he didn't go to school. His was the first generation for which school was an

My father was born into a world in which he had to practice subsistence farming if he didn't go to school. His was the first generation for which school was an option, and as a child he traveled 20 km by foot to the school and back, daily. My grandfather lost both parents since childhood, as back then hospitals were places where people went to die. He later fought in WW2, and lost his land to communists. During those years, he also witnessed the soviet-induced famine. We are literally living humanity’s best years. Children today basically get sad for not having enough time to play Roblox. How sad is it that they have schoolwork to do instead of subsistence farming? And we get sad over climate change while stuffing our faces with cheap and delicious food while the AC is on.

hotpotamus 3y ago
I’d say the very definition of depression (and trust me, I’m quite the authority on it) is stuffing your face full of cheap carbs while you never leave your house for fear of heatstroke. Sure gives you time to ponder the meaninglessness of it all though, so if that’s your thing, then the world may indeed be headed in your favorite direction. Just ignore the ever rising levels of depression/anxiety/suicide in teens.
- bad_user 3y ago
  People dying from the elements is at an all time low! As a teenager, my grandfather lost a set of teeth due to the winter's cold, by sleeping in a cold barn, and he described it as a near-death experience. If anything, for many regions of the world, the weather getting hotter may be a relief for the poor that don't have heating in the winter. We have zero reasons to be more depressed than prior generations. If we are depressed, don't you think the constant fear porn from mass-media has more to do with it? PS: it's not just the carbs that are cheaper and more available. It's everything, including meat. Staples of any healthy vegan diet, like green peas, or lentils, weren't even available until ~1960, after industrial agriculture caught on. Never mind the availability of fresh fruits year-round. My grandparents basically lived on a diet of polenta, potatoes, milk, and eggs, as that's what they were able to grow.
  - hotpotamus 3y ago
    People are dying from heat stroke at higher rates than ever in my state. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/30/texas-heat-wave-deaths-illness/ https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/30/texas-heat-wave-deat... I didn't have to read about it on the news; I lived it. The heat this year was soul-crushing and we're not that far into the 21st century. Do you think countries with lower rates of depression do not have mass media?
    - bad_user 3y ago
      Again, people dying from the elements is at an all time low, and this is a fact: https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters Indeed, the number of people dying from extreme heat is going up, but that number was small to begin with. And you know what the solution will be? To install some air conditioning, much like how we survive winter by having indoor heating, and maybe to adjust our work schedule a little. "Soul crushing", no offence, but JFC.
      - hotpotamus 3y ago
        [flagged]
      - InSteady 3y ago
        >no offence, but JFC. Is there any world in which this trivializing response to someone expressing serious dismay is not deeply offensive?

hotpotamus 3y ago

I’d say the very definition of depression (and trust me, I’m quite the authority on it) is stuffing your face full of cheap carbs while you never leave your house for fear of heatstroke. Sure gives you time to ponder the meaninglessness of it all though, so if that’s your thing, then the world may indeed be headed in your favorite direction. Just ignore the ever rising levels of depression/anxiety/suicide in teens.

bad_user 3y ago
People dying from the elements is at an all time low! As a teenager, my grandfather lost a set of teeth due to the winter's cold, by sleeping in a cold barn, and he described it as a near-death experience. If anything, for many regions of the world, the weather getting hotter may be a relief for the poor that don't have heating in the winter. We have zero reasons to be more depressed than prior generations. If we are depressed, don't you think the constant fear porn from mass-media has more to do with it? PS: it's not just the carbs that are cheaper and more available. It's everything, including meat. Staples of any healthy vegan diet, like green peas, or lentils, weren't even available until ~1960, after industrial agriculture caught on. Never mind the availability of fresh fruits year-round. My grandparents basically lived on a diet of polenta, potatoes, milk, and eggs, as that's what they were able to grow.
- hotpotamus 3y ago
  People are dying from heat stroke at higher rates than ever in my state. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/30/texas-heat-wave-deaths-illness/ https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/30/texas-heat-wave-deat... I didn't have to read about it on the news; I lived it. The heat this year was soul-crushing and we're not that far into the 21st century. Do you think countries with lower rates of depression do not have mass media?
  - bad_user 3y ago
    Again, people dying from the elements is at an all time low, and this is a fact: https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters Indeed, the number of people dying from extreme heat is going up, but that number was small to begin with. And you know what the solution will be? To install some air conditioning, much like how we survive winter by having indoor heating, and maybe to adjust our work schedule a little. "Soul crushing", no offence, but JFC.
    - hotpotamus 3y ago
      [flagged]
    - InSteady 3y ago
      >no offence, but JFC. Is there any world in which this trivializing response to someone expressing serious dismay is not deeply offensive?