So, as the name of this thread suggests, I am rapidly losing my faith in humanity. Its come from many sources, not in the least some of the stupid laws in the modern world and the way many people act.
I mean, things such as the belief that getting so drunk that you don't remember the night before, and end up hugging the toilet the next day being regarded as a good night out, or the ridiculous home and self defence laws in this country (reasonable force? Some feth has just broken into your house/assaulted you/your friend/ someone. Are you really going to stop and think what is reasonable and what isn't?), or the laws that state Pagan and Wiccan websites are to be classed along with porn sites in Cammerontheasswipes big (and highly illegal) internet ban.
But the most recent has come with the horrific spate of people strapping fireworks to cats and letting them off for "fun". I have had 1 report o such an incident taking place in Preston, whoms area I live in and today whilst I was on the college bus a chav from Chorley was telling 2 girls how he had blown a cat open with a firework last night. The girls laughed and said he was "tight" but in a jokey way. When I confronted him on it, he acted like it was his right to blow innocent animals apart with explosives, and when I asked how he would like it done to him he just laughed it off.
So what the hell is humanity coming to? I am really struggling here (especially, as a cat lover and owner myself) to see any real good left in the majority of humanity.
MoO, seriously considering the stupid in the world.
I doubt a few examples of stupid behaviour is really a great way of judging the entire human population, the only thing I lost my faith in is your ability to make a thread that's worth reading.
master of ordinance wrote: People don't always act the way I think they should, or believe the things I think they should, therefore humanity is doomed.
Seems reasonable.
If you want to focus on negative things then you will see the world as negative, if you focus on positive things you will see the world as positive. If you think nothing is positive or negative you see the world as a Buddhist.
xruslanx wrote: Humanity isn't screwed, just Britain. But don't get me started or i'll be here all day and get banned for my troubles
Well, I'd have said that most countries are screwed ATM, the UK and USA included.
We're both economically fethed, and our governments are either closing down temporarily just because half of itself doesn't want to be even more in debt, or quietly shutting down all the country's vital systems in order to cover up the fact that it's in debt so badly it can't work it's way out in the foreseeable future.
So of all the countless atrocities committed over the course of history, what makes you 'lose your faith in humanity (whatever the feth that even means anymore)' is a bunch of stupid hoodlums being stupid hoodlums.
Fafnir wrote: So of all the countless atrocities committed over the course of history, what makes you 'lose your faith in humanity (whatever the feth that even means anymore)' is a bunch of stupid hoodlums being stupid hoodlums.
No, its been building up. They where just the tipping point
Find a cheap and effective source of booze,
Get into the habit of drowning out the background stupid,
Welcome to ongoing life.
:(
This kind of stuff has been happening as long as people have been living.
Remember the hamster in the frying pan last year?
Any number of reports of shootings/ violence/ crime.
I've even stopped getting annoyed when people queue-jump in the traffic jams on the way to work.
Unless you go on a rampage, trying to target the people you have marked down as "not fit to live in society", there's little we can do about any of it.
It's not as though you can up-sticks and move to Utopia. They'll just move in next door.
There's a Simpsons episode where Ned moves to Diddlyville (or whatever). They get grumpy about him having his moustache, so he goes back to Springfield.
Grin and bear it. Darwinism will always often lead to schadenfreude.
master of ordinance wrote: I mean, things such as the belief that getting so drunk that you don't remember the night before, and end up hugging the toilet the next day being regarded as a good night out,
1. I don't do this, or know anyone who does. Drinking, yes. Hugging the toilet the next day (or the very same day even), yes. Call it a good night, no.
master of ordinance wrote: or the ridiculous home and self defence laws in this country (reasonable force? Some feth has just broken into your house/assaulted you/your friend/ someone. Are you really going to stop and think what is reasonable and what isn't?),
2. A non-issue if you dispose the body properly.
master of ordinance wrote: or the laws that state Pagan and Wiccan websites are to be classed along with porn sites in Cammerontheasswipes big (and highly illegal) internet ban.
3. Not really a ban, since you can still access those sites, AND the porno sites if you so wish.
master of ordinance wrote: But the most recent has come with the horrific spate of people strapping fireworks to cats and letting them off for "fun". I have had 1 report o such an incident taking place in Preston, whoms area I live in and today whilst I was on the college bus a chav from Chorley was telling 2 girls how he had blown a cat open with a firework last night. The girls laughed and said he was "tight" but in a jokey way. When I confronted him on it, he acted like it was his right to blow innocent animals apart with explosives, and when I asked how he would like it done to him he just laughed it off.
4. Those people can be dealt with. See point 2.
master of ordinance wrote: So what the hell is humanity coming to? I am really struggling here (especially, as a cat lover and owner myself) to see any real good left in the majority of humanity.
MoO, seriously considering the stupid in the world.
We can't be proud of our fellow men all the time. You'll just have to paint a little marine.
All I can say is, if we don't like things IRL, we can just make ourselves happy by committing those abysmal crimes ourselves in video games/miniwargaming/RP'ing.
In the absence of Frazz I'll step in with get a job.
If you don't have to go and travel the world and compare horrible mean Britain to it and realise that this is the land of beer and honey. Life is gravy here and you should be grateful you can think on the poor circumstances of a kitty cat In fething Preston rather than dodging nutjobs, bullets, religion, extremists, poverty (the real one not relative) and war.
I seem to remember the OP moaning about "oppression" of wiccan websites before - that was shown to be some BS crank website rather than any indication by the government to oppress religion.
You are welcome to believe in whatever fairy stories you wish here, why would you think anyone would care about it anymore just because it is web-based?
What, in history, would give you a rational reason to ever have 'faith in humanity'?
We've been brutal killers and worse since before we've recorded our history.
Surround yourself with people you consider 'good' and have faith in your buddies and in yourself. 'Humanity' was never something you should have had faith in.
master of ordinance wrote: or the ridiculous home and self defence laws in this country (reasonable force? Some feth has just broken into your house/assaulted you/your friend/ someone. Are you really going to stop and think what is reasonable and what isn't?),
2. A non-issue if you dispose the body properly.
Also, judges have been quite sensible on this. People have not been prosecuted for being violent or using weapons. People HAVE been prosecuted for chasing people down the street and beating the hell out of them following a non violent crime. So, yes, it is reasonable to think about what is reasonable and proportionate.
master of ordinance wrote: or the laws that state Pagan and Wiccan websites are to be classed along with porn sites in Cammerontheasswipes big (and highly illegal) internet ban.
3. Not really a ban, since you can still access those sites, AND the porno sites if you so wish.
Or a Law. Just a possibility of happening under a proposal that has not been been introduced yet. The same thing that means I can't talk about Scunthorp or a my pet ass (donkey) without censorship in many places.
master of ordinance wrote: But the most recent has come with the horrific spate of people strapping fireworks to cats and letting them off for "fun". I have had 1 report o such an incident taking place in Preston, whoms area I live in and today whilst I was on the college bus a chav from Chorley was telling 2 girls how he had blown a cat open with a firework last night. The girls laughed and said he was "tight" but in a jokey way. When I confronted him on it, he acted like it was his right to blow innocent animals apart with explosives, and when I asked how he would like it done to him he just laughed it off.
4. Those people can be dealt with. See point 2.
Nothing new here I'm afraid. There have always been sociopaths around and always will be. Doesn't make them any better, but it's nothing new. He was probably also talking BS. Sounds like childhood bravado and nonsense to me. More "Ye. I is well hard me. I got in a fight with these bouncers last night. Laid them both out". I knew a kid at school who swore he was friends with Prince Naseem and he once beat someone up for this kid and would give him lifts in his Porsche.
It's also part of a great tradition:
a 1677 celebration is said to have burned an effigy of the pope with live cats inside "who squalled most hideously as soon as they felt the fire"
master of ordinance wrote: or the ridiculous home and self defence laws in this country (reasonable force? Some feth has just broken into your house/assaulted you/your friend/ someone. Are you really going to stop and think what is reasonable and what isn't?),
2. A non-issue if you dispose the body properly.
Also, judges have been quite sensible on this. People have not been prosecuted for being violent or using weapons. People HAVE been prosecuted for chasing people down the street and beating the hell out of them following a non violent crime. So, yes, it is reasonable to think about what is reasonable and proportionate.
Yes, they do take into account your state of mind at the time - there comes a point at which the human brain shuts down higher functions in favour of balls-out aggression cave man-style.
"Battle trance is a term denoting a specific altered state of consciousness that characterizes the psychological state of combatants during a combat situation. In this state, combatants do not feel fear (for this state, Joseph Jordania uses a term "aphobia") or pain (analgesia), and all the individual members of group (unit) are acting as one collective organism. In this state humans lose their individuality and acquire shared collective identity. In a battle trance humans may behave very differently, from extremely altruistically (to the point of sacrificing themselves to save others), to the extremely aggressively (to the point of participating in mass murders). Battle trance affects both men and women and can be induced in individuals as well as groups. Battle trance state may occur involuntarily (for example, mother acting in total disregard of her own safety when her child is suddenly attacked), or can be induced by ritualistic behavior, involving loud rhythmic group singing, stomping and drumming on external subjects, as well as the use of different psychogenic substances."
CptJake wrote: What, in history, would give you a rational reason to ever have 'faith in humanity'?
A short list:
We didn't nuke ourselves into oblivion in the 80's: Nope, but a lot of nasty little wars were going on, and still are. Including genocide.
Slowly been abolishing slavery everywhere: Actually, slavery in various forms is still very prevalent, and in some forms and regions increasing. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/
We've been to the moon, and have a station with people in it orbiting the planet as we speak: And we've also seen satellites targeted and hit with missiles.
I could go on. Historically, people as a whole are not nice, have never been nice, and most likely will never be nice. Individuals and some groups? Absolutely. But I've been to enough places and seen how cheap life is and how brutish people are and can be. Placing faith 'in humanity' is just silly in my opinion based on my personal experiences and a few thousand years of recorded history. Everyone, including groups, act in their own self interest. That has lead to some amazing advances in technology/medicine, and to a lot of good. No denying that. But to believe that humanity as a whole is 'looking out for each other' or functions based on altruism is misguided.
Fafnir wrote: So of all the countless atrocities committed over the course of history, what makes you 'lose your faith in humanity (whatever the feth that even means anymore)' is a bunch of stupid hoodlums being stupid hoodlums.
No, its been building up. They where just the tipping point
I had a similar experience. After posting on Facebook one day I was bombarded by cruel responses. My original post was mix of humor and serious. That was the first time the "losing faith in humanity" phrase occurred to me. Of course there are many very bad things that humanity is responsible for, just never used that term before.
Recognizing good things doesn't mean there are no bad things, and you asked for some good stuff. You can equivocate and look for the awfulness of humanity all day, but in the end it is choice to only see the bad and only think of humans as terrible when they are equally capable of being good, and have done just as much to help each other as to harm.
Nope, but a lot of nasty little wars were going on, and still are. Including genocide.
Which doesn't negate the fact that we didn't end our species when the opportunity arose. I think killing pretty much all life on the planet would have been a bummer.
Actually, slavery in various forms is still very prevalent, and in some forms and regions increasing.
Saying we are slowly working on eliinating it doesn't mean that it is gone, and everyday people from the military, law enforcement, and other organizations work from around the world work on making those numbers go down. Just because someone may get polio somewhere doesn't mean the invention of the polio vaccine is suddenly unimportant, or that it didn't save a bunch of lives.
And we've also seen satellites targeted and hit with missiles.
So? That is a pretty impressive feat human ingenuity in and of itself, and it isn't as if the missile is inherently good or evil, it is what we do with it. It also doesn't negate that we developed the ability to have a semi-permanent station orbiting the planet. How awesome is that?
Story of the Taoist Farmer wrote:This farmer had only one horse, and one day the horse ran away. The neighbors came to condole over his terrible loss. The farmer said, "What makes you think it is so terrible?"
A month later, the horse came home--this time bringing with her two beautiful wild horses. The neighbors became excited at the farmer's good fortune. Such lovely strong horses! The farmer said, "What makes you think this is good fortune?"
The farmer's son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg. All the neighbors were very distressed. Such bad luck! The farmer said, "What makes you think it is bad?"
A war came, and every able-bodied man was conscripted and sent into battle. Only the farmer's son, because he had a broken leg, remained. The neighbors congratulated the farmer. "What makes you think this is good?" said the farmer.
If you want to only see the bad in things you will, if you don't, you won't.
Recognizing good things doesn't mean there are no bad things, and you asked for some good stuff. You can equivocate and look for the awfulness of humanity all day, but in the end it is choice to only see the bad and only think of humans as terrible when they are equally capable of being good, and have done just as much to help each other as to harm.
Nope, but a lot of nasty little wars were going on, and still are. Including genocide.
Which doesn't negate the fact that we didn't end our species when the opportunity arose. I think killing pretty much all life on the planet would have been a bummer.
Actually, slavery in various forms is still very prevalent, and in some forms and regions increasing.
Saying we are slowly working on eliinating it doesn't mean that it is gone, and everyday people from the military, law enforcement, and other organizations work from around the world work on making those numbers go down. Just because someone may get polio somewhere doesn't mean the invention of the polio vaccine is suddenly unimportant, or that it didn't save a bunch of lives.
And we've also seen satellites targeted and hit with missiles.
So? That is a pretty impressive feat human ingenuity in and of itself, and it isn't as if the missile is inherently good or evil, it is what we do with it. It also doesn't negate that we developed the ability to have a semi-permanent station orbiting the planet. How awesome is that?
Story of the Taoist Farmer wrote:This farmer had only one horse, and one day the horse ran away. The neighbors came to condole over his terrible loss. The farmer said, "What makes you think it is so terrible?"
A month later, the horse came home--this time bringing with her two beautiful wild horses. The neighbors became excited at the farmer's good fortune. Such lovely strong horses! The farmer said, "What makes you think this is good fortune?"
The farmer's son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg. All the neighbors were very distressed. Such bad luck! The farmer said, "What makes you think it is bad?"
A war came, and every able-bodied man was conscripted and sent into battle. Only the farmer's son, because he had a broken leg, remained. The neighbors congratulated the farmer. "What makes you think this is good?" said the farmer.
If you want to only see the bad in things you will, if you don't, you won't.
I lost my faith when I constantly see mothers at my work feed their kids 7$ worth os chips(Chips are 1.50) on lunch vouchers.
Listen, 7$ can get you alot here, why not the 3:50 grilled cheese with some milk?
But NOOO you spent on 4 bags of chips.
hotsauceman1 wrote: I lost my faith when I constantly see mothers at my work feed their kids 7$ worth os chips(Chips are 1.50) on lunch vouchers.
Listen, 7$ can get you alot here, why not the 3:50 grilled cheese with some milk?
But NOOO you spent on 4 bags of chips.
Okay, that one is a thing that really gets me.
Wtf is the point of doing that? You could have gone for 2 or 3 things with the chips, but noooo...
What bums me out is how inefficient humanity is when it comes to environmental sustainability.
That and the spread of disease. I imagine with proper quarantining procedures we could eliminate many terrible diseases. However that's apparently an evil thing to do so we'll never do it. Thus the diseases continue to spread.
Necroshea wrote: What bums me out is how inefficient humanity is when it comes to environmental sustainability.
That and the spread of disease. I imagine with proper quarantining procedures we could eliminate many terrible diseases. However that's apparently an evil thing to do so we'll never do it. Thus the diseases continue to spread.
Some of it is that many diseases just spread far too rapidly to quarantine, thus making such an effort utterly pointless.
Another is that if we quarantined these things all the time, that'd be a hell of a lot of money that our Govts don't currently have. That and the fact that it's difficult to do.
However, on the plus side, the more we have to tackle these things, the better Humanity gets at counteracting these things with modern medicine, and can even show us how to tackle other problems, and the human immune system can learn from many of these things and make us and possibly our descendants immune to certain strains.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
purplefood wrote: People who don't vaccinate their children.
Now that is some silly gak right there...
master of ordinance wrote: When I confronted him on it, he acted like it was his right to blow innocent animals apart with explosives, and when I asked how he would like it done to him he just laughed it off.
Are you vegan ? Or would you like to be killed and then eaten ?
See, likely you are doing the same .
Get your faith in humanity back, start worshiping this guy : !
Selym wrote: Btw, just chips (USA: Fries) on their own is a poor choice.
Yeah : put your freedom fries in a baguette with tons of ketchup and mayonnaise, way better !
fishy bob wrote: Well, some people eat chips and other don't. The fact that people eating chips for lunch makes you lose your faith in humanity is hilarious though
No, its the fact they get 7$(FOR FREE FROM THE SCHOOL!!!!!!!) a day for a nice, filling healthy lunch, we serve alot. And they waste it on junk food for their kids. IF they where to buy the chips with a warp or a sandwich, then they would be cool. but this is just stupid IMO.
Well, he didn't literally do the same, but the very same argument he leveled against them can be used against him, if he isn't vegan. If he actually is vegan, I apologize . If he actually would like being killed and then eaten… he's quite strange !
To the "oh I have no faith" kind of self-absorbed folks of the world, here's something of a challenge from me:
Spend less time in nihilism and actually help the world. Nothing elicits a groan from me more than someone who is so absorbed in being miserable and doing nothing to help the world around them, as if their insufferable pessism will somehow improve the world.
In this poster's humble opinion, it is all just them going for fashion. Because nothing is cooler than the guy who is oh-so-detached from the world. What a badass. Pffft. Stop wallowing in self pity and go make a difference in the world. Doesn't make sucky stuff go away, but the sucky stuff sure doesn't excuse you from chipping in.
Let me spell it our for you.
Random kid enjoy blowing up cats, and says it's his right to blow up cat. Master of ordinance goes to him and say “You wouldn't want to be blown up, so you shouldn't blow up cats”. And certainly that it's cruelty driven by egoistic pursuit of pleasure.
Likely, master of ordinance enjoy eating animals, and says it's his right to eat animals. Some random vegan goes to him and say “You wouldn't want to be eaten, so you shouldn't eat animals”. And certainly that it's cruelty driven by egoistic pursuit of pleasure.
See a pattern emerge ?
See, none of your posts stated the "you wouldn't want to be eaten..." part of that, so it read solely as if you were linking veganism to blowing things up. The few words where you attempted to insert the necessary context made no sense.
This an issue with your grasp of the written English language.
master of ordinance wrote: When I confronted him on it, he acted like it was his right to blow innocent animals apart with explosives, and when I asked how he would like it done to him he just laughed it off.
Are you vegan ? Or would you like to be killed and then eaten ?
See, likely you are doing the same .
The two first sentences were rhetorical questions. I expected both answers to be “No”. Because most people are not vegan, and don't want to be killed and then eaten.
Last sentence was “Since you likely answered no to the first two question, you are not really better than they are”.
So yeah, I'm faulty here, I made a baseless assumption and wrote rhetorical questions based on it. My bad.
Humanity has developed language to the point where it can communicate vastly complex ideas to each other. It adapted those languages in to written forms, so those ideas can be spread far and wide, and even from generation to generation. And now it's developed computers that linked to each other across the planet so all the ideas and concepts are all right there for everyone with a computer to access... and those people even get to contribute their own thoughts and ideas.
And you sit down at one such computer, connected to such an incredible network, and all you want to do is write off all of humanity because of the animal cruelty of some random donkey-cave.
sebster wrote: Humanity has developed language to the point where it can communicate vastly complex ideas to each other. It adapted those languages in to written forms, so those ideas can be spread far and wide, and even from generation to generation. And now it's developed computers that linked to each other across the planet so all the ideas and concepts are all right there for everyone with a computer to access... and those people even get to contribute their own thoughts and ideas.
And you sit down at one such computer, connected to such an incredible network, and all you want to do is write off all of humanity because of the animal cruelty of some random donkey-cave.
I wanted to type something like that originally, but I wasn't sure where to start or how to go about it. Have an exalt.
If you don't have to go and travel the world and compare horrible mean Britain to it and realise that this is the land of beer and honey. Life is gravy here and you should be grateful you can think on the poor circumstances of a kitty cat In fething Preston rather than dodging nutjobs, bullets, religion, extremists, poverty (the real one not relative) and war.
Considering you lot have had soldiers beheaded in your streets RECENTLY I'd say you have plenty of actual religion and extremists running around, and I'm not even counting Northern Ireland.
If you don't have to go and travel the world and compare horrible mean Britain to it and realise that this is the land of beer and honey. Life is gravy here and you should be grateful you can think on the poor circumstances of a kitty cat In fething Preston rather than dodging nutjobs, bullets, religion, extremists, poverty (the real one not relative) and war.
Considering you lot have had soldiers beheaded in your streets RECENTLY
Putting aside the main thrust, I'm pretty sure it only happened once so referring to it in plural seems to exaggerate it needlessly; one is to many as it is.
If you can read this post, your life is better than 90% of the global population.
I for one, am grateful I have a job to go to, a home to return to and plenty of food so I don't go hungry. The chances of me being killed doing, or on my way to/from any of these things is pretty much nil.
There a ass-hats everywhere, but I think we've got it pretty cushy IMO.
If you don't have to go and travel the world and compare horrible mean Britain to it and realise that this is the land of beer and honey. Life is gravy here and you should be grateful you can think on the poor circumstances of a kitty cat In fething Preston rather than dodging nutjobs, bullets, religion, extremists, poverty (the real one not relative) and war.
Considering you lot have had soldiers beheaded in your streets RECENTLY I'd say you have plenty of actual religion and extremists running around, and I'm not even counting Northern Ireland.
A soldier. Up here for thinking the internet for not it appears.
Now as I say we could compare that to another examples of Western Soldiers being killed by religious extremists on home soil RECENTLY; I don't know say the Fort Hood attacks where 13 died and 30 were injured.
Like I say beer and honey chum, beer and honey.
I would carry on this pointless post to compare 30+ years of US funded terrorism and criminality under the façade of "freedom" in NI vs. some other well know attacks in other Western countries but that would be equally pointless.
We have it good here even taking into account such topics so the OP pissing an moaning about kitty cats is risible at best.
smithy12262 wrote: If you can read this post, your life is better than 90% of the global population.
I for one, am grateful I have a job to go to, a home to return to and plenty of food so I don't go hungry. The chances of me being killed doing, or on my way to/from any of these things is pretty much nil.
There a ass-hats everywhere, but I think we've got it pretty cushy IMO.
More than 10% of the global population have internet access.
Many people in the UK and USA who have internet go to bed hungry, and suffer various forms of abuse/poverty/illness etc.
Automatically Appended Next Post: On a related note, Humanity is still young. We've only just started recording things (about five minutes ago on the scale of things), and we're starting to hit puberty (if a little early).
Humanity has begun growing obscene abouts of greasy hair, harbouring all kinds of scum, and is having a tantrum every other day (seeing any correlations?).
smithy12262 wrote: If you can read this post, your life is better than 70% of the global population.
I for one, am grateful I have a job to go to, a home to return to and plenty of food so I don't go hungry. The chances of me being killed doing, or on my way to/from any of these things is pretty much nil.
There a ass-hats everywhere, but I think we've got it pretty cushy IMO.
More than 10% of the global population have internet access.
Many people in the UK and USA who have internet go to bed hungry, and suffer various forms of abuse/poverty/illness etc.
Automatically Appended Next Post: On a related note, Humanity is still young. We've only just started recording things (about five minutes ago on the scale of things), and we're starting to hit puberty (if a little early).
Humanity has begun growing obscene abouts of greasy hair, harbouring all kinds of scum, and is having a tantrum every other day (seeing any correlations?).
I gave up on humanity shortly after the other 8th graders started calling me pink eye, gnome, and potato. I also stopped believing in god, and this year the "cuzzie-bores" in year 9 decided that they all agree I am their least favourite persOn.
I once saw one of the aforementioned "cuzzie-bros" shove a bird into a bin. Broke it's wings. Pissed me off.
the shrouded lord wrote: I gave up on humanity shortly after the other 8th graders started calling me pink eye, gnome, and potato. I also stopped believing in god, and this year the "cuzzie-bores" in year 9 decided that they all agree I am their least favourite persOn.
I once saw one of the aforementioned "cuzzie-bros" shove a bird into a bin. Broke it's wings. Pissed me off.
How old are you?
NVM, it's in your profile.
Important lesson here. What is happening now means nothing in the long run. It is not a reflection of humanity overall. Everyone goes through it. Even the ones who are doing the "picking" receive it as well. It may not be obvious to you, but it happens. Furthermore social pecking order of highschool means absolute dick. The only impact it will have on your real life, is what you let it have.
Humanity is neither inherently good or evil. It is inherently self-interested, like any other species. We are no more good or evil than platypuses or cats.
Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote: Humanity is neither inherently good or evil. It is inherently self-interested, like any other species. We are no more good or evil than platypuses or cats.
~Tim?
P.S. okay, maybe we're better than cats.
P.P.S. that was a joke, Dakka. Don't kill me.
We may not be inherently evil, but as a sentient species, we do have some responsibilities. But that's why we're better than any other species on the planet!
No faith in humanity? The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations. The problem will eventually self correct.
schadenfreude wrote: No faith in humanity? The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations. The problem will eventually self correct.
I'm glad humanity has an Auto-correct function, we'll feth up so much shiz if we ever develop interstellar travel (at the rate we're going).
I wouldn't go as far as saying humanity is on a downward slide, but I think a lot of it is relative in terms of what part of the world you live in.
If you live in the UK and are posting on this forum, the chances are that you have a pretty good existence compared to most of the earth's population. In basic terms you're not worrying about whether the next harvest is going to fail, or if that incoming storm is going to flatten your house, or if you're going to be collateral from a car bomb or fighting between government and rebel troops. I think it's important to view these things in context. Certainly, in terms of the time you have born (and 99.9% of human history), if you're living as anything approaching a middle class citizen then it's the equivalent of a lottery win.
That being said, I've travelled around a fair bit (I think 35 different countries in the past 15 years or so, at the last count), spent some years living and working abroad and therefore have been able to view some of the changes happening at home here in the UK and abroad. In most ways, I think things here are pretty much as normal; We can't hold our drink, and thanks to the rolling banks of thick grey cloud are probably some of the most miserable bunch of fethers of anywhere you are likely to visit! But, there are some things that seem to have changed for the worst, or certainly in my lifetime. Perhaps thanks to an overly lenient social support system which allows their existence, the growth of the underclass (chavs, scum, or whatever you want to call them) has been one of the things I've noticed on coming back to the UK. I miss being able to go out for some beers and not have some morlock with a tattooed neck drawling 'what the feth you looking at' on the way home! And despite what the official figures say, the employment situation is pretty terrible - you see a lot more suits in the job centre now alongside the stained tracksuit bottoms. It also seems that greed has become a bit more acceptable. Margaret Thatcher may have made it desirable, but at least politicians and senior business leaders used to resign if their hands were caught in the cookie jar. Now, the most the expenses 'scandal' seemed to elicit was a few "oh, naughty me!" with a playful grin and mocking slap on the wrist, and Hugh Grant's phone being tapped created more media coverage. So, that sort of thing I find sad..
So, I won't say that doomsday is upon us and to emigrate, but I think there is something to be said for countries and parts of the world being on a downward or upward slope. It's hard to describe exactly, and might sound really wooly and unbelievable, but there is something of an 'atmosphere' within a country, it's people that makes you feel one way or the other. I spent a lot of time in Slovakia and Hungary in the early noughties; they've got (or did have) one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, there was a wonderful feeling of post-communist emancipation and of growth within the country. So to in South Korea; again fast growing wealth spread well throughout different forms of economy. The average wage is higher, goods cost less, the taxes are lower. And Beijing in China; I would say to anyone, if it is humanly possible you owe it to yourself to try and visit that city if you can. I have never seen so many construction projects taking place, it's like an architects playground with the amount of ambitious building going on, and I think it's going to be viewed by history in the same way as the periods of the industrial revolution in Western Europe. In all of these cases, there is still the strong social bond and shared interest - I won't call it nationalism (although there are elements of that), but more of a feeling of shared community and moving forward together. I'm not sure if it's something that relates to different cultures, or something that we once had here in the UK (and have lost in the changes brought by industrialism and the nucleated family) but it is something that I would definitely say exists. It's an intangible though I suppose, and I'm not sure if it entirely comes down to the growth (or contraction) of the economy.
Anyway! Tl;DR - I would have a travel around as you are able. Yes some of the problems you have might be due to your own introspective, but some of it might not be. There are a lot of different countries and cultures out there. A lot of which don't have as many problems (although they will have their own), and you might find a better fit.
Human beings can do some pretty awesome things too. This video always restores my faith in humanity.
These Jr. High school students freaking ROCK Tool's 46 and 2. And the little girl that sings, nails it in a way that Maynard wouldn't have ever guessed at. They couldn't be Maynard so why try? These kids are super talented and are using it. This gives me faith in the next generation. And the drummer and bassist are beasts!
Humanity is really falling apart. I don't wear my fedora and loafers when I say this. It really is falling apart before our eyes, but everything is so outlandish and ridiculous that we don't believe what's going on around us, and are too overwhelmed to even conceive solutions to problems we can't identify.
People are becoming very, very unsocial, constantly aided by anonymity, aliases and the lack of social consequences from their behavior. There are many, including people from my generation, who have no idea how to communicate in meaningful ways with others in person.
I think the current situation today around the world, is the direct result of the shift of power from governments and or the people to huge muliti billion global companies and also the rise of security agencies that goes above that law of a nation..and all international laws to get what they want no matter to what expense.
SneakyMek wrote: I think the current situation today around the world, is the direct result of the shift of power from governments and or the people to huge muliti billion global companies and also the rise of security agencies that goes above that law of a nation..and all international laws to get what they want no matter to what expense.
"Tax cuts for the rich! Tax cuts for the rich!" - Governments.
WarAngel wrote: Watched the People's Choice Awards last night and some winners shook my faith in Humanity.
I mean seriously, Britney Spears winning anything!?
People's Choice awards? More like internet trolls choice awards (seriously).
Two hours to move less than a mile.....
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ds.
. I'm very happy that there are people in this world who take time to help in such ways. 
