Is This What We Have Become? A Nation, A World Full Of Hate?

a reply to: Serdgiam

I'm probably weird in the way I view others.. its not that I don't see them as individuals, but I always see people as being much like me in most aspects, and I always treat others as if they will hurt the way I would in that situation, or as if they would be happy just as I would in this situation.. I do it in very general terms, but its why I treat others the way I do.. I treat people exactly the same as I would want to be treated, and I end up with a tendency to see them as having the same kind of heart that I do as a result..

So. perhaps I use myself as an example, but do it knowing that on others the example will be slightly different, knowing that each person is an individual..

lol... none of that probably made sense.. but anyway, I have no thought that you are thinking bad about me.. lol.. okay that probably made no sense at all..

let me try again in a minute!

Sorry for your experience. I hardly post on ATS because so many people are rude and attacking. They live to belittle and prove people wrong. Even on the most minuet and silly things.

I work with the public and I've noticed a huge difference in the last 6 years or so. People have become so entitled in their thinking and behavior. Its all about them all the time. They are going to do whatever they want be damned rules or laws, and if anyone or anything gets hurt in the process they don't care. I've also noticed personal responsibility for ones self and actions is totally gone. Its never their fault, its always someone else.

I think a huge part of the problem is what we are feed in the media. Movies, TV and music are targeted to the young and easily impressionable. Reality TV, violent movies/video games and the culture of rap music are doing nothing but harm for our youth and young adults. They have become desensitized to violence and are quickly losing their empathy. It also glamorizes being superficial, shellfish, disrespectful, uneducated and unlawful. We now have generations of kids who are being raised by kids that aren't parenting, getting an education, discipline and have no ambition.

Young women popping out kids like a pez dispensor without a thought or care in the world. School drop outs, uneducated, no fathers, no jobs, a lot addicted to drugs. All sucking at the welfare teet. Which brings up the next big problem. America needs to stop rewarding these people for their bad behavior. Figure out how to use birth control, its not hard. Finish school and get and keep a job. Stop blaming everyone for your problems when they are yours and yours alone. No one made you stop going to school. No one made you do or sell drugs. No one forced you to sleep around and keep getting pregnant and or be a manwhore. Life isn't easy but were luck enough to live in america where we have the choices and opportunities to make things better for ourselves. Its not easy but it can be done.

I also think because of the above behavior the older generations are becoming less sympathetic and tired of the BS. They have worked hard for all they have and were given even less opportunists yet made it work. I think everyone is on edge and feeling the pressure of daily life. Some people never had manners or ethics and those who do are having theirs tested. Its still no excuse to be mean and treat others poorly.

a reply to: Serdgiam

I agree that there is an overall demeanor in people, and in many people it is wrong. I have lived life, and gone through many situations in my life.. I have been well off, and had many friends, I lost it all and needed friends, only to find I had none. I had men chase me, supposedly dying to be with me, pretending to want to be with me, only to find they didn't even like me.. lol..

people are so weird, and they hurt you when they aren't being true.. and people aren't usually true. I spent my life trying to figure people out... its why I keep most people in RL more at arms length.. I don't care for facades. I want the true faces or no face at all.

In real life, the people who are true to their face, are always the least likely people.. ya know? and yes, I agree to some extent we will see this facade come off.. or simply not be there in the first place online..

but its so weird you know... to think.. that people aren't really like you at all.. that many simply have no heart in them. Especially when you spend you whole life treating others as if they are much like you in ways that matter..and putting yourself in their shoes..

About the mountains.. lol.. I already did..

a reply to: Serdgiam

I agree with all that you've said. The buffer of anonymity allows people, who would normally be recluse, to be excessively outgoing. I find this trend everywhere. Just look at Facebook, there's no better picture than that of people splaying themselves for all to see, in all the worst ways.

Another poster here said that they didn't think humanity was inherently bad, but I have to disagree. I believe it's a life-long struggle for humans to develop good character/behavior. It's easy to be hateful, arrogant, greedy, hypocritical... Just as it takes a special kind of person to be Evil (serial killer status), it takes just as much a special kind of person to be truly Good. I believe we're at a bit of a disadvantage starting life skewed towards deception. A perfect example is the child who's caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. The first thing they do is lie to their parents even though they've got the evidence smeared all over their face and hands...

Overall, I believe anonymous social accessibility has unveiled mankind's true Achilles heel. The fact that deep down we're no better than the ones we hate. That sounds great though right? If we realize this, than we can begin to respect one another... Sadly that's not the case. I'd submit only 1% of the population would even accept such an assertion, because it means we've created this mess and we only have ourselves to blame. Human nature dictates that it's always someone else's fault...

@OpinionatedB

I would become a hermit and never speak to anyone again..

The only thing keeping me from doing this, is the belief in my Father in heaven. We can not and will not save ourselves; it's going to take an act of God. Seeing this decadence generation after generation, I have lost all hope in humans to be anything other then self-serving mongrels. I'm no saint, I've most certainly contributed to the pervasive negativity throughout the world, but what little I've done to make amends is too little too late.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

It took me longer than expected to get into those beautiful mountains. Had to get everything set up in the community first. It will be the staging ground for what should be some amazing work.

What you speak about really is strange. I see it as indicative of the true grandeur of what is happening here and I believe it is beyond any and all of us individually.

I was forced, in a way, to understand how different others really can be. In grade school, I started to speak on topics that were above everyone's head. Even the teachers would take part in making fun of me and laughing. Every project I did was marked down, sometimes receiving a failing grade, because they wouldn't believe I made the project myself. They wouldn't believe my parents either.. I eventually learned to dumb down my work in an effort to get decent grades. At this point, I was applauded for 'finally doing my own work.' The teachers would even ask "doesn't it feel good to be honest?" unaware of the deep irony. I was deeply resentful for quite a while, until I realized that simplifying my stuff to be understood, rather than just dumbing it down, served the same end but with much greater personal benefit.

Even the thing with faces I mentioned before is hard for others to relate. When I go out, sometimes I literally see monsters, disfigured and grotesque, where normal faces should be. For obvious reasons, I learned not to talk about it. That wasn't before a barrage of tests, doctors, and ridicule though! No one ever thought to see if it was accurate.. This works in the opposite way too, so it's not all bad. The only time I see a normal face is the first few seconds of looking. It's one of those things that I never expect anyone to believe, but everyone in my life listens if I tell them to be careful around an individual or outright avoid them.

I try to always have an approach of respect and kindness, and as you say, with no expectation of receiving it back. When I did have that expectation, it led to quite a bit of pain and hurt.

What you have been saying does make sense, by the way. It's tricky because our only frame of reference is our own experience, and most of our views seem blatantly obvious because they are to us. When we try to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, it's like we can only put their shoes on and walk, rather than truly understanding the person wearing the shoes. To me, this is a source of deep mystery and wonder! But for many, it is the source of constant conflict.

Kind of rambling as I'm baking cookies, so I'll stop. Let me know about the PC stuff.

a reply to: ZenTam

I think to some extent some of the problem, while its nice in many ways, really is social media. Social media is always me me me oriented.. and people become accustomed to the me now attitude, that it comes into play in RL too.

I am not talking bad about someone, but there is a person i know who is 14 and while a generally good kid, they do not think about certain things.. and seem to feel entitled to have everyone be their maid. They will just throw their trash on the floor, expecting everyone just to pick up after them.. and they are one of those kids raised with computers any time day or night and constant television.. no respect for their parents or grandparents in these regards..

No, they don't get in trouble or what you consider a troubled youth, as they are active in many school activities etc. But when did it, and in what barn, is throwing your trash on the floor for others to clean up appropriate for a healthy 14 year old? (And it is just habit, and no one seems to think to say hey.. pick that up yourself!)

lol...a general attitude with the youth of today is me me me me me, and me now.. and the world revolves around me, and the world is my slave..

I don't like the attitude at all.. but I do think it largely stems from social media of our day. In college some of the professors used to complain about the people who wanted everything in one or two sentences with no attention span at all, it effected everything about their ability to gain an education..

Also, I agree that parenting has changed so much. Much of that is also due to government interference in the raising of our children..people are afraid to discipline their kids, don't tell them no anymore, don't put their foot down in order to teach values that are important.

It has been dictated to us that our children are more the governments business than they are ours..

As far as opportunities, I think there are less of those today though. We just aren't realizing it so much because the older generations are more established.

However, in this country we have lost so much manufacturing to overseas countries that it is sickening.. we now have in this country less manufacturing jobs than we did prior to 1947.. this is the lowest this country has been since prior to that date.. yet our population has nearly tripled!

We are loosing ... and we don't see it as much as we should.. we should be boycotting businesses who manufacture their products overseas.. and thus forcing manufacturing jobs back here.. for the benefit of this country..we are going broke in more ways than one.. this country cannot survive when it is eating itself..

we need things that will feed us as a nation, and having so little manufacturing here, trying to live off service industry jobs more than any other employment, is harming us badly..

a reply to: Serdgiam

Oh I will definitely message you on that! Its evening time though, so I am trying to reply in this thread, while trying to keep computer cool enough, while while while..

lol.. I am definitely going to message you though!

And oh oh oh cookies!

When people are that unobservant & unapologetically off the mark? I usually end up looking like this:



I love ya, OB. It's not your fault some people are on a personal crusade to make a complete & utter fool of themselves by talking out of their butt like that, try not to let it eat at you too much. It's just a hallmark of a very sad state of affairs for people of a certain mindset -- in this case, namely of trying to sound on the ball even though they're the furthest thing from it.

a reply to: Nyiah

Love your "Whatever" Meme.. and I love you too! Yeah, sometimes its just crazy what people think about you I guess!

I've been attempting to reply for 3 hours!. Due to kid, wife and phone stuff I haven't been able too.

Real quick - been lurkin since roughly 08, signed up last year.

What you experienced is, sadly, where we are/goin depending on where you live. There are two rules in our household, the first one being,"don't be dumb". The second one being a little more in depth," stand firm in you're opinions and beliefs, but make damn sure you respect other opinions within reason".

I say within reason because sometimes people's opinions can lead to the edge of moral obscenity, strictly from our moral standpoint.

Will I help someone carry groceries to their car if I think they need help? Absolutely.

Will/have I stopped to help someone on the side of the road change a tire? Absolutely.

The above is abnormal for today, when 25 years ago it was a given. I'm roughly 28 - 35 depending on the day so I haven't been around too long, Long enough to see the change though.

These days, the norm is to obscenely attack your opposing side, relentlessly. All one has to do is look at ANY comment section if a news article, anywhere.

I'm pretty sure I have gone way off topic and created my own rant

I'm not sure if it is the lack of human interaction, or just people being egotistical a holes to the very end that has caused this.

But know this - you are not alone in feeling the way you do. The internet has created something amazing and terrible at the same time - a place for people to be themselves, without judgment (because let's face it, half the people in the world probly wouldnt spout the hate they have if they could be identified)

As I watch the sunset go down, drinking a beer, I remind myself that ultimately, all that matters to me, is my family and I. And that's all you can really do, right?

Ps-people tend to suck unless they are genuine, but there are enough genuine people out there, especially in ats (for the most part that demands you maintain hope!

a reply to: OpinionatedB

It is not a personal gain. It has been established that different governments employ possibly thousands to troll the internet on many news sites comment boards and forums, such as this one. The goals include spreading propaganda, creating division and strife, derailing a discussion so that no solutions can come about, increasing hostility between people in order to activate triggers in those that have already been doped and programmed for violent acts, and so on. Some are isolated idiots that just want to make inappropriate comments without the backlash on their own user name.

But most are working on behalf of a third party, not for themselves.

Some people are just ill mannered and mean. I know how you feel. I've gone out of my way to help others just to be # on for it. Kinda makes you think why bother. I've had to cut back on my kindness towards others, sad as that is to say.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

a reply to: Aedaeum

Another poster here said that they didn't think humanity was inherently bad, but I have to disagree. I believe it's a life-long struggle for humans to develop good character/behavior. It's easy to be hateful, arrogant, greedy, hypocritical...

That was me

You're correct, it's easy to be hateful, arrogant, greedy, hypocritical..,

I've seen the worst of humanity, I've seen kids blown apart by some idealistic dreamer for no reason other than a promise of a better afterlife. I've wept for them, both the victims and the perpetrators, puked my guts up, and I'm not ashamed to say so. BUT every time, in the aftermath, I've seen the goodness of humanity.

People that were effectively enemies brought together for the greater good in a horror scene I hope nobody ever has to witness. For that one act of hatred, a thousand acts of kindness.

I stand by my words

Cody

originally posted by: OpinionatedB
a reply to: stosh64

okay.. now I am to your post, but I need to let my computer cool off for a while, seriously or the CPU will overheat.. (been having a few difficulties lately..)

so give me a while, I am not ignoring you at all... and I will be back and replying to you (and others as well!)

I have no doubt you will No worries.

I have a bad habit of getting involved in new threads and going back a couple days later when everyone has 'finished' the previous thread.

ETA: I would like to talk with you sometime, and I think I understand the delay. Please only respond when you are ready. U2U if you prefer.
Or I could U2U my private email. I value your friendship and always appreciate your input.
I am just glad you are back after your brief absence

a reply to: OpinionatedB

I wish I could applaud this post. I guess I just did in my non 'staff' way.

Refreshingly honest and obviously from the heart.

I wish you were close so my wife and I could invite you for dinner.

Just take that as a compliment. I too, am one to keep people at arms length, for very similar reasons.

Very limited number of people I 'let in' my little world.

Thanks again for your 'from the heart' post. You are one of the 15 or so members that keep me coming back to ATS.

I just got done reading the whole thread.

I have to say, for a rant thread, this has turned into the most heartfelt, honest, inspiring thread I have read in quite some time.
It gives me hope. And got me emotional. Getting soft in my old age I guess
Thank you all for being 'real'.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

Or this person is delusional and paranoid. We have several on this site that suffer from both. It does suck though that you were kind enough to go through all that trouble only to get a response like that. Sorry it happened to you.

a reply to: stosh64

Message sent.. its a bit long maybe.. dunno.. lol..

a reply to: stosh64

Its so nice you know, how many friends we have all made on this site.. and someday, if we are ever in your neighborhood.. dinner would be nice.

a reply to: Kali74

this is true, we do have our fair share do we not? lol..

no need to be sorry though.. thanks for your kind words..

your pretty cool! And not crazy and delusional!