Do you really see a shitty world out there?

lbpeltz

It’s almost taken as a given now when a talking head says something to the effect of, “our country (usa) is more divided than we’ve ever been”. There are a lot of different places one can go with this statement, but I really don’t see that much conflict on a day to day basis. Here’s where I’m coming from and here are some observations...

I’m a 30 something year old attorney from Connecticut. I’m a white guy. 
All the people I went to law school with are employed. 
All the guys from my three men’s league hockey teams are employed, and of about 40 different guys, 3-4 aren’t really settled in at career track jobs. 
The people who I know that are in financial difficulties are all clients of mine. 
My client base is made up of about 250 active clients, I would say 55%-60% are black. 
There are plenty of black lawyers in my area, so of any of my clients gave a flying hoot about wanting a black lawyer, they sure as shit wouldn’t hire me. I dont have any black people who are racist towards white people in my life. 
Of my friends, I have one white friend who I would truly consider a racist towards black people.
Of my friends and acquaintances, almost all the white, hard core libs, would say that same shit that Biden did about poor kids being just as smart as white kids. It’s serious soft bigotry of low expectation bullshit. 
My chance of being killed by a mass shooter are pretty low. I have 5000% higher chance of specifically being killed by an angry client of something. The chance of me being randomly killed or killed at war is historically low. 
I get really depressed sometimes, but it’s always the result of some personal or interpersonal issues, not a societal one. 
I’m much more prone to think this world is going to hell in a handbasket after watching the news. 

The huge negative societal issue that I run into on a day to day and year to year is the complete cycle of hopeless amongst a huge majority of the black community. Subpar schooling, fatherlessness, young mothers, violence, joblessness, poverty and no hope of getting out. If I was to structure political views and plans just around what I see, this would be issue number 1. 

Most of all, the world I see on tv sounds appreciably worse than the one I see with my eyes, just wondering if it’s the same with you guys. 

brianlux

lbpeltz said:

It’s almost taken as a given now when a talking head says something to the effect of, “our country (usa) is more divided than we’ve ever been”. There are a lot of different places one can go with this statement, but I really don’t see that much conflict on a day to day basis. Here’s where I’m coming from and here are some observations...

I’m a 30 something year old attorney from Connecticut. I’m a white guy. 
All the people I went to law school with are employed. 
All the guys from my three men’s league hockey teams are employed, and of about 40 different guys, 3-4 aren’t really settled in at career track jobs. 
The people who I know that are in financial difficulties are all clients of mine. 
My client base is made up of about 250 active clients, I would say 55%-60% are black. 
There are plenty of black lawyers in my area, so of any of my clients gave a flying hoot about wanting a black lawyer, they sure as shit wouldn’t hire me. I dont have any black people who are racist towards white people in my life. 
Of my friends, I have one white friend who I would truly consider a racist towards black people.
Of my friends and acquaintances, almost all the white, hard core libs, would say that same shit that Biden did about poor kids being just as smart as white kids. It’s serious soft bigotry of low expectation bullshit. 
My chance of being killed by a mass shooter are pretty low. I have 5000% higher chance of specifically being killed by an angry client of something. The chance of me being randomly killed or killed at war is historically low. 
I get really depressed sometimes, but it’s always the result of some personal or interpersonal issues, not a societal one. 
I’m much more prone to think this world is going to hell in a handbasket after watching the news. 

The huge negative societal issue that I run into on a day to day and year to year is the complete cycle of hopeless amongst a huge majority of the black community. Subpar schooling, fatherlessness, young mothers, violence, joblessness, poverty and no hope of getting out. If I was to structure political views and plans just around what I see, this would be issue number 1. 

Most of all, the world I see on tv sounds appreciably worse than the one I see with my eyes, just wondering if it’s the same with you guys. 

First of all, lbpeltz, welcome to the monkey house.  Nice to see a fresh presence here.

I don't watch much TV any more but if that's all I had to go on in terms of viewing the world, I would make as quick and painless an exit from this plain as possible.  So yes, when I do on rare occasion watch the TV news, I see a world worse than the world I walk around in. 

On the other hand, were I to be stuck in certain parts of the world- a really rough ghetto or a place wracked with disease- that world might seem  worse than TV.  It's a big damn world.  Despite the things I don't like about it, I'm grateful to be in the part of the world I am in.

Yes, I find the world as a whole going through a downward phase environmentally, socially and surely politically.  Looking at history, the world goes through phases.  I'm guessing our current social and political scenes will cycle back to a better place at some point (not gonna guess when).  The environment will cycle again as well.  The problem for us humans is that even though we have time to come back around socially and politically, as we have always done, that may not be so for us environmentally.  Nature's time is vast and we may well not be able to keep to nature's scheduled, mainly due to the damage we've incurred on the planet.  We may well be toast before the planet heals.  A major healing even in nature can make the changes in our political and social cycles seem like blink of the eye.

And then there is the mysterious or what people call "religion" or "spirituality". I don't think the core of mystery ever changes, just our relationship (or lack thereof) to it.  For me, in spiritual terms, this isn't time to get re-familiarized with any of the myths, interesting though they are.  I'm currently thinking its more important for me to become more familiar with a flower or a tiny bug, or the wind in the trees, or a very large mountain.

mickeyrat

I suppose most folks find what they look for

Ledbetterman10

lbpeltz said:

Most of all, the world I see on tv sounds appreciably worse than the one I see with my eyes, just wondering if it’s the same with you guys. 

Same here. And just as bad (if not worse) than the world you see on TV is the world you read about on the internet. 

tempo_n_groove

I don't think everything is that bad, I just don't.

I do think that Seattle and California have a problem with homeless though.  I have seen that get considerably worse in the 30 years I have been to those 2 places.

24hr news and constant surveillance or cameras are now showing I believe what has always been right under our noses.  It isn't anything new.  It gets attention now because it stories are sensationalized and everything gets caught on camera.

As far as problems in the ghetto?  I watched a great documentary on Randy Moss.  He talked about his old hometown and the path that most people take there and never get out.  Some things have vicious cycles and people don't know any better because no one has shown them.

Smile, hug your friends and family.  The world doesn't always suck.

eddiec

Historically, yes, the world is a safer place right now than at any other point in human evolution. However, like Brian said, being born into certain situations or impoverished countries would make that statistic irrelevant. 

Is the question in regards to the US or the world as a whole? 

brianlux

tempo_n_groove said:

I don't think everything is that bad, I just don't.

I do think that Seattle and California have a problem with homeless though.  I have seen that get considerably worse in the 30 years I have been to those 2 places.

24hr news and constant surveillance or cameras are now showing I believe what has always been right under our noses.  It isn't anything new.  It gets attention now because it stories are sensationalized and everything gets caught on camera.

As far as problems in the ghetto?  I watched a great documentary on Randy Moss.  He talked about his old hometown and the path that most people take there and never get out.  Some things have vicious cycles and people don't know any better because no one has shown them.

Smile, hug your friends and family.  The world doesn't always suck.

  

lbpeltz

eddiec said:

Historically, yes, the world is a safer place right now than at any other point in human evolution. However, like Brian said, being born into certain situations or impoverished countries would make that statistic irrelevant. 

Is the question in regards to the US or the world as a whole? 

Good question. I guess that could get really philosophical, but I guess I was just talking about my first hand view of the world in which i live. Which is mainly in Connecticut with quite a bit of travel around and about. 

lbpeltz

brianlux said:

lbpeltz said:

It’s almost taken as a given now when a talking head says something to the effect of, “our country (usa) is more divided than we’ve ever been”. There are a lot of different places one can go with this statement, but I really don’t see that much conflict on a day to day basis. Here’s where I’m coming from and here are some observations...

I’m a 30 something year old attorney from Connecticut. I’m a white guy. 
All the people I went to law school with are employed. 
All the guys from my three men’s league hockey teams are employed, and of about 40 different guys, 3-4 aren’t really settled in at career track jobs. 
The people who I know that are in financial difficulties are all clients of mine. 
My client base is made up of about 250 active clients, I would say 55%-60% are black. 
There are plenty of black lawyers in my area, so of any of my clients gave a flying hoot about wanting a black lawyer, they sure as shit wouldn’t hire me. I dont have any black people who are racist towards white people in my life. 
Of my friends, I have one white friend who I would truly consider a racist towards black people.
Of my friends and acquaintances, almost all the white, hard core libs, would say that same shit that Biden did about poor kids being just as smart as white kids. It’s serious soft bigotry of low expectation bullshit. 
My chance of being killed by a mass shooter are pretty low. I have 5000% higher chance of specifically being killed by an angry client of something. The chance of me being randomly killed or killed at war is historically low. 
I get really depressed sometimes, but it’s always the result of some personal or interpersonal issues, not a societal one. 
I’m much more prone to think this world is going to hell in a handbasket after watching the news. 

The huge negative societal issue that I run into on a day to day and year to year is the complete cycle of hopeless amongst a huge majority of the black community. Subpar schooling, fatherlessness, young mothers, violence, joblessness, poverty and no hope of getting out. If I was to structure political views and plans just around what I see, this would be issue number 1. 

Most of all, the world I see on tv sounds appreciably worse than the one I see with my eyes, just wondering if it’s the same with you guys. 

First of all, lbpeltz, welcome to the monkey house.  Nice to see a fresh presence here.

I don't watch much TV any more but if that's all I had to go on in terms of viewing the world, I would make as quick and painless an exit from this plain as possible.  So yes, when I do on rare occasion watch the TV news, I see a world worse than the world I walk around in. 

On the other hand, were I to be stuck in certain parts of the world- a really rough ghetto or a place wracked with disease- that world might seem  worse than TV.  It's a big damn world.  Despite the things I don't like about it, I'm grateful to be in the part of the world I am in.

Yes, I find the world as a whole going through a downward phase environmentally, socially and surely politically.  Looking at history, the world goes through phases.  I'm guessing our current social and political scenes will cycle back to a better place at some point (not gonna guess when).  The environment will cycle again as well.  The problem for us humans is that even though we have time to come back around socially and politically, as we have always done, that may not be so for us environmentally.  Nature's time is vast and we may well not be able to keep to nature's scheduled, mainly due to the damage we've incurred on the planet.  We may well be toast before the planet heals.  A major healing even in nature can make the changes in our political and social cycles seem like blink of the eye.

And then there is the mysterious or what people call "religion" or "spirituality". I don't think the core of mystery ever changes, just our relationship (or lack thereof) to it.  For me, in spiritual terms, this isn't time to get re-familiarized with any of the myths, interesting though they are.  I'm currently thinking its more important for me to become more familiar with a flower or a tiny bug, or the wind in the trees, or a very large mountain.

Thanks for the warm greeting. Much appreciated and often unheard of on the interwebs to see a kind greeting. 

I appreciate your view and do hope that my nonchalant attitude towards the environment isn’t contributing towards our demise. I don’t try to be a polluting jerk, but I'm not really the green type. Anything in particular that I should read to educate myself on the environment? 

Bentleyspop

I for one don't necessarily see a shitty world out there.
Are there shitty aspects to it? Yes
Is our currently elected president a piece of shit? Yes
Do I live in fear such that I ever need a gun? Nope
Do I feel good about the prospects for America as a whole? Yes
That's because LOVE tRUmps hate
Are their many shitty people in America? Yes
But I do my best to ignore them.
Do I surround myself with shitty people with shitty attitudes? Nope
Do I worry about the next Pearl Jam album? Nope
My glass is always half full and leaning toward filling not emptying.

Namaste' 

rgambs

Regarding division, I definitely see more Confederate flag flying than I did a few years ago and it's become nearly impossible to talk politics nowadays so I do think we are as divided as ever.

brianlux

lbpeltz said:

brianlux said:

lbpeltz said:

It’s almost taken as a given now when a talking head says something to the effect of, “our country (usa) is more divided than we’ve ever been”. There are a lot of different places one can go with this statement, but I really don’t see that much conflict on a day to day basis. Here’s where I’m coming from and here are some observations...

I’m a 30 something year old attorney from Connecticut. I’m a white guy. 
All the people I went to law school with are employed. 
All the guys from my three men’s league hockey teams are employed, and of about 40 different guys, 3-4 aren’t really settled in at career track jobs. 
The people who I know that are in financial difficulties are all clients of mine. 
My client base is made up of about 250 active clients, I would say 55%-60% are black. 
There are plenty of black lawyers in my area, so of any of my clients gave a flying hoot about wanting a black lawyer, they sure as shit wouldn’t hire me. I dont have any black people who are racist towards white people in my life. 
Of my friends, I have one white friend who I would truly consider a racist towards black people.
Of my friends and acquaintances, almost all the white, hard core libs, would say that same shit that Biden did about poor kids being just as smart as white kids. It’s serious soft bigotry of low expectation bullshit. 
My chance of being killed by a mass shooter are pretty low. I have 5000% higher chance of specifically being killed by an angry client of something. The chance of me being randomly killed or killed at war is historically low. 
I get really depressed sometimes, but it’s always the result of some personal or interpersonal issues, not a societal one. 
I’m much more prone to think this world is going to hell in a handbasket after watching the news. 

The huge negative societal issue that I run into on a day to day and year to year is the complete cycle of hopeless amongst a huge majority of the black community. Subpar schooling, fatherlessness, young mothers, violence, joblessness, poverty and no hope of getting out. If I was to structure political views and plans just around what I see, this would be issue number 1. 

Most of all, the world I see on tv sounds appreciably worse than the one I see with my eyes, just wondering if it’s the same with you guys. 

First of all, lbpeltz, welcome to the monkey house.  Nice to see a fresh presence here.

I don't watch much TV any more but if that's all I had to go on in terms of viewing the world, I would make as quick and painless an exit from this plain as possible.  So yes, when I do on rare occasion watch the TV news, I see a world worse than the world I walk around in. 

On the other hand, were I to be stuck in certain parts of the world- a really rough ghetto or a place wracked with disease- that world might seem  worse than TV.  It's a big damn world.  Despite the things I don't like about it, I'm grateful to be in the part of the world I am in.

Yes, I find the world as a whole going through a downward phase environmentally, socially and surely politically.  Looking at history, the world goes through phases.  I'm guessing our current social and political scenes will cycle back to a better place at some point (not gonna guess when).  The environment will cycle again as well.  The problem for us humans is that even though we have time to come back around socially and politically, as we have always done, that may not be so for us environmentally.  Nature's time is vast and we may well not be able to keep to nature's scheduled, mainly due to the damage we've incurred on the planet.  We may well be toast before the planet heals.  A major healing even in nature can make the changes in our political and social cycles seem like blink of the eye.

And then there is the mysterious or what people call "religion" or "spirituality". I don't think the core of mystery ever changes, just our relationship (or lack thereof) to it.  For me, in spiritual terms, this isn't time to get re-familiarized with any of the myths, interesting though they are.  I'm currently thinking its more important for me to become more familiar with a flower or a tiny bug, or the wind in the trees, or a very large mountain.

Thanks for the warm greeting. Much appreciated and often unheard of on the interwebs to see a kind greeting. 

I appreciate your view and do hope that my nonchalant attitude towards the environment isn’t contributing towards our demise. I don’t try to be a polluting jerk, but I'm not really the green type. Anything in particular that I should read to educate myself on the environment? 

An likewise, thanks for you kind response. 

There is so much out there to read on environment these days and it's hard to sift through what's worth the time to read and what's not.  It also depends on ones perspective and no doubt you will get many opinions on this.  In my humble opinion, some excellent books on environment include:

Bill McKibben, Eaarth  (yes, with two a's)

Bill McKibben, The End of Nature

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Edward Abbey:  The Monkey Wrench Gang

Edward O. Wilson:  The Future of Life

Wendell Berry: Home Economics

 Wendell Berry:  The Unsettling of America

Tom Hayden:  The Lost Gospel of the Earth

Lamya Essemali with Paul Watson:  Interview with a Pirate:  Captain Paul Watson

Richard Manning:  Against the Grain

Richard Manning:  Rewilding the West

Dave Foreman:  Confessions of an Eco-Warrior

tempo_n_groove

rgambs said:

Regarding division, I definitely see more Confederate flag flying than I did a few years ago and it's become nearly impossible to talk politics nowadays so I do think we are as divided as ever.

This is interesting but you had mentioned before that the area you live in can be pretty bigoted.

I do find it amazing that people are coming out the woodwork with the racism crap.

rgambs

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Regarding division, I definitely see more Confederate flag flying than I did a few years ago and it's become nearly impossible to talk politics nowadays so I do think we are as divided as ever.

This is interesting but you had mentioned before that the area you live in can be pretty bigoted.

I do find it amazing that people are coming out the woodwork with the racism crap.

Yes, it is a very "rural" area lol

The racism isn't new, the boldness with which it is displayed is new.  Well, not new, more like a throwback to the old days before people got their shit together in the 90s.

Thoughts_Arrive

I don't see many positives. 

tempo_n_groove

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I don't see many positives. 

I have a positive for you.  Recently doctors and researchers have come up with not one but TWO different treatments that help slow down the effects of Ebola.

It's not a full on cure, YET but, it is a step in the right direction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/health/ebola-outbreak-cure.html

I have been scared to death about Ebola ever since I first heard of it.  This is something we all can be very excited about.

Thoughts_Arrive

I'm just worried with overpopulation, global warming, pollution, homelessness, increasing drug related violence, wars, China flexing its muscle and about to invade Hong Kong and Taiwan and possibly Australia, terrorism, my mental health, etc etc etc

mickeyrat

rgambs said:

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Regarding division, I definitely see more Confederate flag flying than I did a few years ago and it's become nearly impossible to talk politics nowadays so I do think we are as divided as ever.

This is interesting but you had mentioned before that the area you live in can be pretty bigoted.

I do find it amazing that people are coming out the woodwork with the racism crap.

Yes, it is a very "rural" area lol

The racism isn't new, the boldness with which it is displayed is new.  Well, not new, more like a throwback to the old days before people got their shit together in the 90s.

I would love to have a big stack of white flags and hand these out to these stars and bars douchebags, saying this was your final flag. fly it proudly you fucking loser.......

tempo_n_groove

mickeyrat said:

rgambs said:

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

Regarding division, I definitely see more Confederate flag flying than I did a few years ago and it's become nearly impossible to talk politics nowadays so I do think we are as divided as ever.

This is interesting but you had mentioned before that the area you live in can be pretty bigoted.

I do find it amazing that people are coming out the woodwork with the racism crap.

Yes, it is a very "rural" area lol

The racism isn't new, the boldness with which it is displayed is new.  Well, not new, more like a throwback to the old days before people got their shit together in the 90s.

I would love to have a big stack of white flags and hand these out to these stars and bars douchebags, saying this was your final flag. fly it proudly you fucking loser.......

They might convert it into a hood...

josevolution

I see shitty people all the time ! 

tempo_n_groove

josevolution said:

I see shitty people all the time ! 

Let's go see Beck this Saturday and be around good people.

What do you say?