Y'know, it's wierd.
I kind of feel the same way.
I want something of unprecendented proportion to happen just to see how different the world will be afterwards.
There's all this talk about 2012, WWIII, world enlightenment, etc. and no one has (from my pov) any real insight into what's to come.
It's the anticipation that makes it so nerve wracking.
I mean, things can't go on the way they are now, right?
We're getting overpopulated, exhausting our resources, killing each other for no reason (at least have a reason people!), destroying our planet and so on...this can't possibly last for very long.
Personally, I'd like to see a massive population reduction or some kind of epic dynastic struggle of opposing forces.
I guess only time will tell.

Of course it's weird, though it's certainly not weird in the sense of its being unusual. The vast majority of apocalyptic threads on these boards are started as the result of complete fabrication in the OP. It comes from a desire for something out of the ordinary to happen, from a fairly normal thrill-seeking gene somewhere in our set up.

The desire to fabricate such things come from a desire for the importance that being the bearer of bad news brings.

Though weird, this desire for cataclysm is only dangerous if you allow it to affect the way you live your life. Neglecting the things that actually matter on the basis of your inevitable imminent demise is where the line between healthy weirdness and unhealthy lunacy is drawn. Stay on the right side, you'll be fine.

Well, you won't be "fine", of course, you'll be utterly destroyed by the inevitable imminent apocalypse, but you'll do so among friends and family, which is much better....

LW

I think it is interesting to watch cataclysmic events unfold from the comfort of our own homes. However if it's you who is struggling to keep your head above water when a tsunami rolls in, your home that has it's roof ripped off by a hurricane, or your child killed in a war your views would change.

Great idea for a thread OP! Some interesting posts of which there are ALOT of similarities

People who think he is a 'wrong-doer' for thinking these thoughts should be a little more open minded as i am sure he doesn't want his, your's, or anybody else's loved ones killed/maimed/murdered/slaughtered. (heck he could have just had a really bad month at work or something and just felt like getting it out in that way) the great thing about forums is they lack the emotion that comes with talking to somebody in person...

I come from a large family and i love them all, i wish for 'something' to happen but not something 'destructive' as such. More of something which will awaken the masses and get people out of their coma's, to give people the motivation they need to get the power of their own life back.

I wish for this event because there are so many things wrong with our world for which i do not understand how they got this bad, for example...

If history has taught us anything its that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. I don't understand why that is? Its my life, why can't I pay as much tax as i use government services? why should i pay tax upon tax to some government entity of which i never speak to(unless i owe them something)? why should they have everybody's money with no accountability? why is it, there is one blanket rule for everybody?

Some would tell me that i pay taxes so that we can get new roads etc - to which i say why do we pay for our vehicles registrations, or they would tell me its to pay for health care - why not better educate the people about how to avoid becoming ill in the first place. The list is virtually endless, while i do agree that the people should pay A tax, i disagree that we should pay many taxes (gst, fuel tax, tax for earning more than average, etc etc) and more importantly how is it that we are paying all these taxes and nobody ever gives me a receipt to see how that 1/3 of my work week's income is spent? - i look around in awe, wondering why the human race is not already in a revolution.

As i sort of said earlier, I partially agree with the OP. I do have a longing for something to happen - i wouldn't say it had to be something where by people died - far from it. But something to wipe the slate's clean so to speak. Where every man gets to be the ruler of his own destiny regardless of where he comes from, who he calls god, the color of his skin, or how many dollars he has in the bank.

Some people try to tell me that our system is already setup like that - well explain to me why we have third world countries, where dictators are aloud to slaughter people so long as they meet the quota of oil they export or allow some mega corporation to have cheap labor, or occupy a country where many people die because of the occupation and have nobody in power to hold them accountable for those deaths. Sure, our system is really going well for all those hungry people everywhere.

heres a question if you do not think that there is a system of 'elite' or favoritism or both.

Say for example that you have he same laptop as the president (or some other wealthy power person) and neither have any classified documents or anything like that.

Now by some means both these laptops get stolen. One is yours (you being the blue collar working stiff) and the other his/hers (him/her being the snobby nosed wealthy old chap/lass)

Whom do you think will get there laptop back first? if at all?

Edited to add : those that think they want population reduction or something like that - how bout moving to a 3rd world country for a while. Population reduction is - sadly - their middle name. I'm sure you would get it out of your system. Or i spose you could just carry on hoping for heaps MORE people to die for no reason. thats your prerogative, it was only my opinion.

Staff safe all and may whoever you call god watch over you and help keep you safe in these 'darker' times ahead.

Blurry

/rant

[edit on 25-1-2008 by blurryone]

It's not odd, it just shows that you are in a state of dispair over the current state of the world.

Great post blurryone. It made me think of another reason why so many people want something big to happen. It's a subconscious urge that arises from the fact that we see so much wrong happening around us but we're taught that it's all acceptable. We don't revolt regarding our taxes and how they're spent because we've been conditioned to believe that they are normal, natural and the way it has to be. In short, we're civilized people, so we're expected to accept these things without kicking up a fuss. However, deep down, our intuition knows this is wrong and that the only way we'll be allowed to do something about it and not thought any less of, is if an external force happens to shake that system - something that we didn't consciously do ourselves. I guess, in short, in some ways we're all a little too shy to revolt, so we'd like something else to do it for us.

Originally posted by blurryone
how is it that we are paying all these taxes and nobody ever gives me a receipt to see how that 1/3 of my work week's income is spent?

My Dad harps on about this constantly. He's so angry with this one particular issue. He believes we should have absolute, undisclosed access to information concerning how our taxes are spent. I tend to agree.

I too would love to see something like what you mentioned come true, I would just want to see how humanity would cope from such a catastrophic event, or fail.

first off, read my sig. its from the band Propagandhi. i put it up after seeing the many people at ATS and i think its fitting.
secondly, i understand your thinking as ive been there before. but knowing this i have come to believe its cause is fear and boredom.
Fear of the unknown, the future, your ability to handle unknown situations. will you be able to survive? with all these other fishes in the ocean, how will you stack up? maybe if there was a smaller pond you could have a better chance of being on top of the food chain. is "someone" going to take away my loved ones, my shelter, my food supply or my amassed goods that supposedly show how far i have come in this world? will i have the ability to eat when i need to or will i be able to handle sickness or even more will i be able to handle loss. when is my or my loved ones death coming? these are all legit fears and concerns that come from being human. but they will be there whether there are billions of people or thousands. if others can get through worse then why cant we get though everyday existance? we can!
Now look at boredom. the stagnant times where nothing seems new. there is no new creation, faces, conversation or even a simple change of scenery. maybe the internet is partly at fault? when we stop using it as a tool to further knowledge and start to use it as entertainment. we sit around and read all these great stories and opinions searching for answers it gets confusing. who's right and whos full of crap when your in search of something to have hope in? it's easy to get overwhelmed. you can go on youtube and see things over and over again that at one time you may have never seen in your whole life. ive seen more death on the internet than ive seen in real life! and its traumatizing and eventually desensitizing. it can make a person feel like they've seen it all without ever leaving your couch.
these. you know how many times i tell myself i should stop coming to this website?
so, not to point fingers as i am also periodically guilty of having these thoughts but maybe a lot of us just need to get out there and take a chance on the unknown real world? maybe try doing something you've never done before. push yourself beyond what you thought you were capable of. create something, anything! stop listening to the news and everyone else's confusing opinions. stop supporting huge companies you believe are wrong. its money that gives them power so stop giving them power. create the alternative even if its barely "profitable". in short, get out there and live your life as best you can!

EDIT: sorry, dont know how to get my paragraphs to show!

[edit on 1/25/2008 by homeskillet]

Violence and disorder are a part of human nature, and this shows in a lot of people. We are excited by it, and causes much enjoyed adrenalin rushes. I have always been excited by thunder storms, and even spent a great deal outside during hurricanes. Sure I run fast into cover when a tree falls, or lightning strikes too close to me. But it’s so exciting I run back out after a few minutes. I feel the same way about other disasters. I think this shows also in some of our love of real human drama, on TV Reality shows.

I also want to add - please, nobody make fun of, or label, anyone admitting to "sick" or "dark, twisted" thoughts. The point of ATS is to be able to be open about what you're thinking, as long as it remains within the rules. That's what open discussion is all about.

So it would be best for this discussion, as well as future ones, if nobody felt like they had to keep their thoughts to themselves.

The OP, and the rest whom share his/her thoughts, aren't going to become terrorists or what ever over-used label can be thought up, so don't treat anyone as such.

Deal with it with maturity.

[edit on 1/25/08 by NovusOrdoMundi]

I think that humans are primarily bored with their daily lives, and for all the nailbiting i do, wrenching of the hands, etc when i hear of doom, there's something inside of me that is attracted by it. I fully understand what the OP is saying.
All you have to do is see preparations for hurricanes, even just a rain storm to see the people almost in a party "mode" in stores and supermarkets in anticipation, not just to get food or wood but to mingle and talk because they come "out" of their normal lives.
We are definatly very complex animals.

Originally posted by dgtempe
but to mingle and talk because they come "out" of their normal lives.

I think that is EXACTLY it!

We all know most people are fascinated by the unknown. We've all become so accustomed to our normal every day lives (work, school etc.), that anything that changes that up and gets us out of our normal lives, as you said, is exciting and fascinating because we don't know what is going to happen next (aka, the unknown).

But it's more the event we're excited about than the consequences (death, destruction).

[edit on 1/25/08 by NovusOrdoMundi]

Originally posted by dgtempe
I think that humans are primarily bored with their daily lives, and for all the nailbiting i do, wrenching of the hands, etc when i hear of doom, there's something inside of me that is attracted by it. I fully understand what the OP is saying.
All you have to do is see preparations for hurricanes, even just a rain storm to see the people almost in a party "mode" in stores and supermarkets in anticipation, not just to get food or wood but to mingle and talk because they come "out" of their normal lives.
We are definatly very complex animals.

i agree and have felt the same way too. it's like when the power goes out at work and we all get to put down our work and relax for a bit and chat about what's going on. even hurricanes/earthquakes etc. are a momentary break from the everyday stress. hmmm maybe the wind will blow your bills away or your nagging boss etc? but really i do think that is different. its not always healthy to fantasize about humanities end just because you personally are overwhelmed by it. this kind of thinking un-checked leads to worse tragedies.

take school shootings for instance. here are some deeply disturbed kids not understanding or caring that life really does go on after highschool. or what about the angry spouse who kills his wife and family because "if i cant have you , no one will!"? these are all selfish acts where innocent people are harmed that really have nothing to do it.

its ok to have escapist fantasies but really you should look at what YOU personally are doing to make YOUR OWN life more tolerable.

This kind of behaviour can, IMO, be derived from the fact that human evolution has been disabled for quite some time.


Weak genes, that would not have surivied 40,000 years ago, are today allowed to replicate. Nature has of course it's own way of fixing this. Namely by affecting the human psyche - hence a lot of people need psychiatric medication to be able to function "normally".


Someone who long for total annihilation would probably, in average, have a shorter life time than someone with a more positive outlook on life. Thoughts do matter, just look at quantum physics.


It's also kind of funny that people who speak like the OP often see themselves as some kind of ubermensch that, of course, would survive situation X.


Or maybe... going back to stoneage standards after a nuclear world war, or whatever, is better than sitting in the couch watching TV and eating burgers - being a true citizen of MacWorld.


Kind of reminds me of the movie "Idiocracy".

Originally posted by NovusOrdoMundi


But it's more the event we're excited about than the consequences (death, destruction).

[edit on 1/25/08 by NovusOrdoMundi]

Exactly. I find myself suffering for people all the time, so its not remotely about watching as others suffer. Its some kind of human inclination, and it is strange and hard to explain.
Maybe we like being in the face of danger.
I dont know.