Jump to content

How do you cope?

hookem2010

By hookem2010
in Cloak Room

 Share

Recommended Posts

hookem2010

hookem2010 2,625

Posted
Posted

With the country and planet falling apart? I think I've been dysthymic for the last 5-6 years when I realized that despite occasional victories politically, environmentally and even personally, the world was in all likelihood going to become a worse place to live the longer I was around. With climate change already readily apparent and 40% of the country living in an alternate universe, these feelings have only intensified.

Do you become more involved, despite the seeming futility? Live it up while you can? Watch the collapse with detached curiosity? Drink?

Having just had my first kid, the desire to work to improve things has become greater, yet I also have profound sadness knowing he will grow up in a world more difficult than I did.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen 5,331

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

Quit watching the news.  Go for a run, play a sport, or enjoy your hobbies.  
 

There is a lot more where this bad shit is coming from, and a lot of pain still to come.  I am doing what I can to protect my family including getting an escape place in another country (including citizenship) but ultimately you have to live your life and do what makes you happy.

  • Hook 'Em 9
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,787

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

Do you become more involved, despite the seeming futility? Live it up while you can? Watch the collapse with detached curiosity? Drink?

Having just had my first kid, the desire to work to improve things has become greater, yet I also have profound sadness knowing he will grow up in a world more difficult than I did.

I call out family/friends/etc. when they spout off Fox News bullshit, and I make them defend the stupid shit they hold on to, which makes some of them very uncomfortable, which tells me that they know it's bullshit.

Things like when they say we need God in schools, I point out that kids in public schools have a moment of silence to pray in the morning, and that if they instead ponder their next Minecraft build or finger-banging Mary Jane Rottencrotch, that's on the parents.  I point out that wishing for more religion in schools in a state where Catholics are the largest group by large margin is a real fuck-around-and-find-out kind of thing, and I tell them "Just because you want your kids taking directions in school from the Vatican doesn't mean the rest of us do" (which really freaks out/upsets the Southern Baptists in my family).

Mainly I raise my kids to be a lot more tolerant of other people's views, don't worry about skin color or religion, and not trust the government.  They are too young to have the serious discussions about our current government bullshit in Texas, but in terms of the other stuff, things look good (especially as my wife has made sure of it).  It's no big deal if their friends have two moms or two dads or have to wear certain clothing or go to mosques or temples instead of churches, or their parents speak a different language, etc.  That stuff doesn't phase them one bit.

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JBJ

JBJ 3,664

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Quit watching the news.  Go for a run, play a sport, or enjoy your hobbies.  

This.  OP seems detached from his own life with a bizarre perspective on reality.

It can't be repeated enough that the more news you consume of practicality any slant or medium, the worse you actually perform on simple tests about the topics the news covered.

Edited by JBJ
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,787

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

There is a lot more where this bad shit is coming from, and a lot of pain still to come.  I am doing what I can to protect my family including getting an escape place in another country (including citizenship) but ultimately you have to live your life and do what makes you happy.

We have that planned (including citizenship) if Texas/US really goes into the shitter, but I'm not ready yet - the next few elections will decide that.

If we moved tomorrow, it's because I'm tired of shitty summers.  Texas moving to the SEC is going to get rid of a lot of away games that I could travel to anyways, something I had looked forward to with my son.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,787

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, JBJ said:

It can't be repeated enough that the more news you consume of practicality any slant or medium, the worse you actually perform on simple tests about the topics the news covered.

It's because a lot of the "news" being consumed are opinions, and it's not about black and white facts, but how you should feel about something.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Captainant

Captainant 27,757

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Poe It Up said:

Everybody head over to the recruiting forum, it will cheer you up. It’s a great time to be a Longhorn. 

Inb4 we shit the bed against OU and every other big game, like we have been doing for the last 15 years. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
  • Rage+1 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hookem2010

hookem2010 2,625

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 minutes ago, JBJ said:

This.  OP seems detached from his own life with a bizarre perspective on reality.

It can't be repeated enough that the more news you consume of practicality any slant or medium, the worse you actually perform on simple tests about the topics the news covered.

I am by no means glued to cable news, print, Twitter or any other source of "news".  Some things are difficult to ignore though.

 

1 minute ago, Poe It Up said:

Everybody head over to the recruiting forum, it will cheer you up. It’s a great time to be a Longhorn. 

That's where I go for my dopamine fix for sure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Awhile back there was a Trump thread about "what do I tell my children" that has a similar feel to this thread. Many people, including me, laughed at the OP. 

I'm not laughing anymore. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34,751

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted
33 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

With the country and planet falling apart? I think I've been dysthymic for the last 5-6 years when I realized that despite occasional victories politically, environmentally and even personally, the world was in all likelihood going to become a worse place to live the longer I was around. With climate change already readily apparent and 40% of the country living in an alternate universe, these feelings have only intensified.

Do you become more involved, despite the seeming futility? Live it up while you can? Watch the collapse with detached curiosity? Drink?

Having just had my first kid, the desire to work to improve things has become greater, yet I also have profound sadness knowing he will grow up in a world more difficult than I did.

About six years ago I came back from a very long stay in a hot, fanatical, dangerous, crowded place that ends in “-Stan.” I was in a dark mood for longer than I realized.  It wasn’t just the stress from actually being there.  I realized over time that it was more about my fear that I saw how the world ends. Hot, angry, fanatical, short of water, crowded, dirty, indifferent, contentious, crumbling, corrupt. I still think that way.  I think that my country is becoming more like said “-Stan” than the other way around. 
 

I find a bit of solace in knowing that generations of humans found some degree of happiness and contentment after the collapse of the world they knew, living in the ruins of Rome.  Ruins they may not even have recognized.  And they created beauty and saved precious things and erected eternal buildings and despite the unfortunate name “Dark Ages,” helped to invent the beautiful, majestic, turbulent, flawed Western civilization that may be running its course.  Or maybe just transforming. 
 

Appreciate the beautiful, precious things. Save what you can. Create intentional communities dedicated to what is most important.  Look for what you can in the ruins. 

  • Hook 'Em 13
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,309

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Awhile back there was a Trump thread about "what do I tell my children" that has a similar feel to this thread. Many people, including me, laughed at the OP. 

I'm not laughing anymore. 

 

1 hour ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I find a bit of solace in knowing that generations of humans found some degree of happiness and contentment after the collapse of the world they knew, living in the ruins of Rome.  Ruins they may not even have recognized.  And they created beauty and saved precious things and erected eternal buildings and despite the unfortunate name “Dark Ages,” helped to invent the beautiful, majestic, turbulent, flawed Western civilization that may be running its course.  Or maybe just transforming. 
 

Appreciate the beautiful, precious things. Save what you can. Create intentional communities dedicated to what is most important.  Look for what you can in the ruins. 

These.  My kids have left this country.  It seems more and more likely that they will not return here to live their lives, which at once breaks my heart and makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

I think that things will get much, much worse.  And not just here.   But I look at my kids -- they are good, and kind, and genuinely want to follow a path that involves empathy and kindness for their fellow man.  What they will do in the ruins may well be beautiful.  I wonder whether I'll actually get to see any of it.

I've already told them that  if it gets really bad here, and genuinely directly dangerous for us, their parents, DO NOT COME BACK FOR US.  The one thing that brings me peace will be the knowledge that they are away and safe.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
justhookit

justhookit 4,191

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

These.  My kids have left this country.  It seems more and more likely that they will not return here to live their lives, which at once breaks my heart and makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

I think that things will get much, much worse.  And not just here.   But I look at my kids -- they are good, and kind, and genuinely want to follow a path that involves empathy and kindness for their fellow man.  What they will do in the ruins may well be beautiful.  I wonder whether I'll actually get to see any of it.

I've already told them that  if it gets really bad here, and genuinely directly dangerous for us, their parents, DO NOT COME BACK FOR US.  The one thing that brings me peace will be the knowledge that they are away and safe.

It took you over an hour to,post in this thread. You’re slipping.

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
'stache

'stache 21,860

Posted
Posted

Weed and whiskey. I'm taking a strong edible tonight and cranking some tunes to try and forget this nonsense. After attending our Pride festival that is to remind myself that we have good reasonable people here in Tulsa.

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

I wanna know why y'all are pissed for the long term.  Yeah, today is huge.  It just activated the Left in this country like nothing else could.  It's going to help y'all overcome the shittastic results of Biden because of the emotional response to Roe V Wade.

Let the disruption/ destruction continue...  y'all should be happy AF.

Still feels like a lot of shots get called/ called off at amazingly convenient moments.  Public opinion on this administration is in the shitter.  The ruling on Roe v Wade is a fools errand-  abortion will not be outlawed across the land.  All this shit does is get everyone hyped up/ pissed off/ wanting a parade for nothing.

I am in agreement today is not a good day for the governance of this country.  We probably disagree as to why.

Edited by slorch
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Willfully Horn

Willfully Horn 8,049

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, JBJ said:

This.  OP seems detached from his own life with a bizarre perspective on reality.

It can't be repeated enough that the more news you consume of practicality any slant or medium, the worse you actually perform on simple tests about the topics the news covered.

image.jpeg.792535d389a3ae2bc33de554952ea56d.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RomaVicta

RomaVicta 30,010

Posted
Posted (edited)

I write pithy stuff in the Cloak Room. I'm pretty sure that I'm pushing back the tide.

Two big stages in my general emotional disengagement from politics (and the fate of the country) were Iran-Contra when Oliver North somehow was heroized and the re-election of George W Bush.

Discourse and argument are largely impossible between partisans because one side is entrenched in a toxic irony about them saving the country. That leaves emotional appeal and that leads to awful decisions.

I actually do cope by writing on this forum. I like having my sanity confirmed even if I have to be reminded of the degenerate fuckwadery by reading posts from Trump's cult. I can't afford to move to another country. I don't want gun battles in the streets. 

Something wicked this way comes and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

Edited by RomaVicta
  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Covri

Covri 6,253

Posted
Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, slorch said:

I wanna know why y'all are pissed for the long term.  Yeah, today is huge.  It just activated the Left in this country like nothing else could.  It's going to help y'all overcome the shittastic results of Biden because of the emotional response to Roe V Wade.

Let the disruption/ destruction continue...  y'all should be happy AF.

Still feels like a lot of shots get called/ called off at amazingly convenient moments.  Public opinion on this administration is in the shitter.  The ruling on Roe v Wade is a fools errand-  abortion will not be outlawed across the land.  All this shit does is get everyone hyped up/ pissed off/ wanting a parade for nothing.

I am in agreement today is not a good day for the governance of this country.  We probably disagree as to why.

Just another classic Slorch dumbshit post. Bravo. You always rise up to the occasion and remind everyone how you’re the worst poster on this site.

Edited by Covri
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
Just now, Covri said:

Just another classic Slorch dumbshit post. Bravo. You always rise up to the occasion and remind everyone how you’re the worst poster on this site.

So you disagree with those dynamics or deny they exist?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RomaVicta

RomaVicta 30,010

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Well, there is a war occurring on the continent if you hadn't noticed.  But, I guess that doesn't play into it.

The casualties mounting up in France, Italy, Austria, and Spain have been heartbreaking.

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RomaVicta

RomaVicta 30,010

Posted
Posted
Just now, Incredulity said:

what's your point?

 

My point was to explore what your point is. Europe is more dangerous in general because of a war happening at its border?

More likely, you're of the school that any form of answer is a valid argument. Any noise will do.

Europe is dangerous and envies the United States in every way. How could they not?

Anyway, here's your cookie for convincing yourself you've made a valid point.

 

spacer.png

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 7
  • Drool 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Goredho

Goredho 17,419

Posted
Posted

For a large part of my life, I read a lot of history and sort of envied people of other eras.  People that lived in a time and place where life was not so easy.  People who were challenged greatly, faced long odds, risked the highest costs and who ultimately prevailed.  From a US perspective, they are the people that fought in the revolution, the civil war, in WWII and for civil rights here at home.

We very well might be entering such an era.  My perspective of envy has changed considerably with age and fatherhood, but I do take some solace in this -- If things continue on their current trajectory, my children will be part of a generation living in such a time and place.  They will be called, challenged greatly, face long odds, risk much, and... they might prevail.  As dark as things may feel today, the ultimate outcome is not pre-ordained.  Our kids will get to write the final chapter of this period of history.

  • Hook 'Em 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,309

Posted
Posted
Just now, Goredho said:

If things continue on their current trajectory, my children will be part of a generation living in such a time and place.  They will be called, challenged greatly, face long odds, risk much, and... they might prevail.  As dark as things may feel today, the ultimate outcome is not pre-ordained.  Our kids will get to write the final chapter of this period of history.

Definitely this.  It enrages me that my children's generation may well carry the burden of having to fucking save the world.  But it also heartens me, because I actually think their generation might be up for the job.  I'm just so sorry to be handing this sow's ear to them and telling them to turn it into a silk purse.

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...