America Has Successfully Raised a Nation of Psychopaths! Great Job!

onequestion
What happened?
Whats happening?

Its changed so much in my short lifetime.

Maybe it's you.

Damn. Checking in before work and on my way to the gym and the thread is a locomotive.

Ill have to comb through the responses when i get home later.

reply to post by onequestion


I logged out then saw this headline on the home page. Had to log back in to F&S.

More later, maybe.

reply to post by onequestion


Sounds like it's time to get the hell out of Palm Beach. We don't have so much of that up my way.

That's not to say that people here still are not messed up, in general. Because they are. Just because they're not yelling at people in cars and pushing people around verbally at gas stations and grocery stores around my area doesn't mean they're not as messed up as the people in your area.

But, I wouldn't blame it entirely on our government, though I think they were complacent (as well as have made and continue to make large amounts of money from it), as much as I'd blame education, healthcare and drug companies, in that order.

reply to post by tyranny22


I blame everyone individually not the government.

I really try hard to curb my ego and act egolessly. Im not good at at all really but i work hard at it.

Its almost as if everyone is turning into godless heathens who only appreciate money.

onequestion


What happened?

Whats happening?

Its changed so much in my short lifetime.

You won't like it, but I'll tell you the truth.

1. television
2. automobiles
3. sex drugs & rock n' roll
4. homosexuality & bisexuality
5. psychiatry
6. sex drugs & music
7. sex
8. the internet
9. sex

plus alcohol.

reply to post by onequestion


While I understand what you are saying, oftentimes we are responsible for much or some of what we experience in the form of feedback.

Don't let them get you down. I occasionally hit a drive thru here in Dallas in the morning for a drink and a sausage biscuit. At the ordering point I always start off with a cheery "good morning" before placing my order. After doing that a few times they now recognize me and are actually happy to see me. I often get a free drink. This is Dallas, Tx...5th largest city in the US.

I often get a bit riled up about drivers, but when I have personal interactions I always keep it positive and humorous as much as possible and often head off the "big city attitudes" in this way. Not always, but often enough I don't feel crushed by the big city.

There are still lots of good people out there if you give them the opportunity. There are also a lot of butt holes too...but generally I just think to myself "yeah, and when you get up in the morning you will still be a jerk" and go about my business lol

So much of life is what you put into it... If you let them, they will drag you down.

This is the slow, and inevitable cultural death of The United States of America. Most of it is occurring in the larger cities, but also in smaller cities that surround the larger cities, like out here in occupied California. The small towns like I live in, do not have this kind of problem. I noticed the same abroad, like out in Idaho. One large city that I was in one time was the exception to the rule, Seattle. Everyone seemed really friendly. Hate to say it, cause I am a 49er fan. LMAO!

Out here if you go over the hill towards the bay area, you enter an entire different world and mindset. It's the me first mentality. I am sure poverty does not help the situation, but that is the way that it is either way. Course I have been around rich jerks out in the city who have the me first mentality too, so go figure. ~$heopleNation

reply to post by bbracken677

So much of life is what you put into it... If you let them, they will drag you down.

I dont know if life is what you put into it but i agree 100% that i cant let them drag me down.

Well said sir.

reply to post by SheopleNation

This is the slow, and inevitable cultural death of The United States of America.

Agreed Sheople.

Our culture is out of wack.

To the OP, I'm not sure if your blaming the citizens or our government or maybe aliens?
But it's interesting to study the real life issue of how kids are being raised these days. Some parents are just kids themselves and aren't quite sure how to raise children. Not to mention with technology booming new generations to come will raise themselves more and more, due to access of knowledge everywhere around them. Your parents aren't necessarily the ones who impact you the most, and these days it may not even be your real life friends either.

A lot of basic social skills aren't being trained by kids because they aren't as necessary as they once were (although still equally important as they always have been, the same social skills just don't come into play in your life as much when you spend most of the day on a computer where your confidence is boosted 1000%). The consequences of peoples boosted ego behind twitter, Facebook, (even ATS), online games, etc... Could alone be the cause of some serious psychological devastation IMO.


I only mention these things to bring the point that we can't really place the blame of how people act squarely on anyone's shoulders because of how much things have changed for new generations. influence is around you everywhere these days. Hell most of it comes from that phone in our pockets!

Also as others have mentioned, for every psychopath out there, there are probably an equal amount of people out there with common sense, courtesy, and respect. But out of common sense, courtesy, and respect. Despite popular belief, a lot f your influence comes from yourself. When you see They are much quieter and fly under the radar.
The psychopaths will always stand out.

As far as I can see, it seems like the following may be some contributors.

More people = more potential "psychos"

Inequality.

Human exploitation brought about by consumerism/materialism (it seems like people are being treated more as commodities rather than living breathing feeling creatures.)

Growing financial stresses. ("We are the 99%!")

Usage and over-diagnosis of Pharma drugs. (Behavioral to be more specific.)

Many kids grow up in unstable households, lack of father/mother, or have very irresponsible guardians. Not something really new, but more people = more potential for this to happen.

Nobody is interested in finding out way people act the way they do. And try to prevent/fix it. It would just cost to much time, money and effort. It's easier just tossing them in prison. Yet, the underlying causes never get looked at.

Lack of education. Teachers these days aren't super qualified, and the public school systems seem to be in decline.


I'm sure there is a whole lot more to add. But those are just a few I'm going to list. It's something I personally think about somewhat often.

reply to post by onequestion


It's true, I think the Internet has a lot to do with it, not gonna say what else.

Then again, there is Nature. She has many ways of controlling population growth when it gets out of control.

Take any animal...put them into a dense population and even if provided with the proper amount of food and water there will be bad things happening.

Studies have been done and the results of extreme population densities are population reducing effects such as disease, anti-social behavior (such as cannibalism, for one), homosexuality and various and sundry dysfunctional behaviors.

Do you suppose that Mother Nature is trying to tell us something? The problem with humanity is it has been outside of evolutionary pressures for a long time. There is no longer survival of the fittest....it's simply survival of virtually all. Perhaps that is why humans have more genetic defects than any other species on earth? No doubt we have more psychological issues LOL

reply to post by onequestion


It has always been this way among humans everywhere and anywhere in time. It persists through generations and has donned many different masks - each indicative of the time period.

If it has always been there, then why haven't you seen it before? Society must have changed in order for you to notice the despicable nature being shown by those present everywhere you look, right?

Well, something probably has changed, but it's probably not what you expect. It isn't society that has changed, it's most likely you. I don't mean this in a bad way, it's just speculation that you've grown into a different way of thinking with a more sensitive perception of the people in the world around you and their actions in your environment.

reply to post by Lingweenie


I would like to add to your list an item that has concerned me for some time:

The lack of discipline when it comes to raising our children. We are teaching our kids that there are no consequences to bad behavior or that the consequences are ... inconsequential (LOL)

Then once they are turned loose on the world...they become shocked...absolutely shocked that there ARE consequences and sometimes those consequences are a real beeatch.

reply to post by esteay812


Interesting perspective.

Care to elaborate anymore? I'd be very interested to read more.

reply to post by onequestion


I don't notice this much. I'm 29 so perhaps it's an age thing. I also don't live in a big city (population is like 130,000). I go to Seattle frequently, but Seattle is pretty small too at only 630,000. People are generally friendly. There are more jackass drivers on the Eastside, but even here it's rare I see ACTUAL road rage. People say excuse me, thank you, and smile. At the grocery store everyone returns the cart they were using back into the actual store. It's not unusual for me to have a nice conversation with a total stranger while out and about.

onequestion
reply to post by esteay812

 

Interesting perspective.

Care to elaborate anymore? I'd be very interested to read more.

I think, or I interpret what he is saying is that one's perception is reality. A half dozen people can experience the same event, at exactly the same time, under the exact same circumstances and yet all will come away with differing perceptions of what happened, what the cause was, what the result was...

Classic example: You have been working your butt off at work and you think your work is excellent. You boss has no clue what you are doing and is totally unaware of your awesomeness. Will you get a raise? Nope...the truth is you are awesome, but the boss's truth is you are just there. Perception is truth.

If one has an extremely negative outlook on life, one will likely perceive events in one's life through shisht colored glasses. Not to mention the fact that subtle feedback from people will tend to be negative as well, feeding the original perceptions with additional negativity.

The exact opposite is true: If one's attitude is positive, then much of your day will be more positive than the above individual.

If you walk up to a stranger and say "Hi! Great morning isn't it?" how often will you get a nice response? This nice response will, in turn, feed your outlook with more positive vibes, so to speak.

If you were to walk up to the same individual, frowning and displaying negative body language, what kind of feedback do you suppose you will receive and how will that feedback affect you?

I am a big believe in 2 things. 1) take care of the things you need to take care of today 2) dont sweat the small stuff, everything is small stuff.

I find that people who are always negative, cynical etc etc are most often very much not happy with life in general and they send their negative vibes out to the people around them, who, in turn, feedback some of that negativity. Call it a self-sustaining negative feedback loop. I purposely distance myself from those kind of people.

I am not a total optimist, but rather lean that way. When I see a 12 ounce glass of water that has 6 ounces in it, I wonder if it is being emptied out (half empty) or if it is being filled up (half full). I consider myself to be a realist but I try to stay on the positive side, since I want those positive vibe feedbacks lol

reply to post by esteay812

Well, something probably has changed, but it's probably not what you expect. It isn't society that has changed, it's most likely you. I don't mean this in a bad way, it's just speculation that you've grown into a different way of thinking with a more sensitive perception of the people in the world around you and their actions in your environment.

I actually meant to add something similar in my previous post. Very well said, you hit the nail on the head. I think at a certain age everyone thinks things have gone to crap. You start noticing rude behavior you wouldn't have in younger years. Things you would have shrugged off are now a greater offense. It reminds me of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. That's the thing where you learn something new (like a word) and you start noticing it more (think buying a new car and then seeing it everywhere when you didn't used to notice). At some point you start realizing all these donkey hole behaviors exist, and notice them more readily.

This is kinda personal and I'm surprised I'm sharing it. I was at a point where I was a very cynical jerk and negative about everyone (everyone else was an ass/rude/inconsiderate). Then my Dad got sick. I started realizing there can be a number of reasons why someone is being rude. They can be in pain, frustrated, confused, projecting anger at their circumstances, have a physical or psychological impediment and sometimes you can completely misconstrue someone's actions. When he passed away I completely flipped out on this poor woman on the phone. She didn't deserve it, and this was very out of character for me. A few minutes after cussing at this poor gal that remained amazingly professional and hanging up I felt this pang of guilt. I still feel awful about it. Really made me understand how sometimes a person being an ass isn't always personal. I still feel awful about this over a year later, and I'm sure many other people are going through struggles we aren't aware of, and a lot of the anger and BS we see is a product of something else. Doesn't make it right, but I'm glad I finally realized it. Started looking for the good in people and have found I've been able to see that far more often than I see the bad now.

I'll call people out on their BS still, but I don't go around looking for bad traits anymore. Except for my stupid neighbor. Keep your dog on a leash jackass.

ETA: OP don't be one of those people that abuses the word psychopath. Just say jackass. A psychopath is a completely different animal. Not all psychopaths are jackasses. Very few jackasses are psychopaths. Google it. It's a fascinating read.