I'm wondering:
Is it me or do other people notice that the humans around them are starting to lose their collective minds even more than usual?
We saw an initial wave of distress during the quarantine phase of COVID, and then in the aftermath of rejoining society phase.
Now it seems we've reached a new phase where everyone is a little bit worried that the seams are coming apart, and the seams within the individual people are likewise unraveling.
I have never encountered so many disgruntled and confused and distressed and angry people in normal workaday life as I have in the last couple months. People are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, but they aren't necessarily targeting their rage on a sensible and effective object. It's more like an inchoate, dysfunctional grumpiness affecting everything.
Many of the people I'm acquainted with also seemed to be operating under a general assumption that society is under great strain and the whole thing could blow it any moment. I think some of them are afraid that the maga neighbors are going to go full violent. Others are convinced likewise that Biden is taking us down into the drain, and a crisis point is being reached. I don't feel like there is a crisis point being reached other than perhaps via climate change. Maybe climate change is motivating some people toward this frayed edge.
I also notice people who seem to be frantically rowing upstream against this tendency... For every couple of grumpers and erratically behaved fools there seems to be a person trying to pour sunshine on everything, but to no avail. The sunshine efforts seem a little bit forced - as if through pressing the happiness button they can somehow solve the behavioral issues with people around them. Or it's like they're clinging on to the vestiges of courtesy and pleasantness they remember from the before times and insisting that they be carried through. I am grateful for people who are doing this but it seems like they are swimming against the tides.
I don't know - maybe it's just me? I was so functional and feeling so cheerful that my doctor took me right off the antidepressants and now that I've been off for a while, I'm grateful to be off, but it's like I'm noticing behaviors I didn't register before in the daze of contented extra serotonin. A few percent less serotonin and suddenly I realize people seem to be on a hair trigger. It's concerning.
Are People Losing It?
Re: Are People Losing It?
It is not just you. People are not controlling their tempers or their behavior and there is little push-back from society in many cases. Usually bad behavior is excused or the blame put on someone other than the bad actor. This makes victims of he perpetrators. Without rules it is anarchy.
Also, I don't believe there is a vast conspiracy on anyone's part.
I am dead sure it is incompetence and it has been allowed to flourish. When we encounter master-class level incompetence we tend to flip out because it should never be this way in a functional society.
Also, I don't believe there is a vast conspiracy on anyone's part.
I am dead sure it is incompetence and it has been allowed to flourish. When we encounter master-class level incompetence we tend to flip out because it should never be this way in a functional society.
"Yay! I'm for the other team."
Re: Are People Losing It?
I think you hit the nail on the head, Mando. I read an article yesterday about how an Arizona state rep heard about the far-right victories in German elections and tweeted part of the Nazi national anthem to celebrate. Not once, but on two separate occasions. This is the kind of thing that would have killed a politicians' career before 2016, and now it's just reacted to with a shrug.
Re: Are People Losing It?
Apparently we're going to have "bloody" mass deportations if Trump gets his way. And the news media goes on wondering about Harris's policies and the very high expectations she will need to meet in the debate... It just makes me sick. Why are we both sidesing this kind of stuff? You've got a megalomaniac who wants to be a violent tyrant and then you've got... Anything else normal.
Re: Are People Losing It?
Yes Trump wants to deport 20 million undocumented immigrants, even though the best estimates say there's only 10.5 million in the U.S. But guess who fills out the other half of those numbers: brown people. His plan is for ethnic cleansing. He has set the number, and project 2025 has the plans for massive detainment/processing camps in Texas and Arizona. He's spent the entire decade of his political career othering and demonizing brown people in preparation for this. He is promising repeatedly on the campaign trail that this is what will happen.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Are People Losing It?
And let's be clear that the man has only been able to articulate three coherent policy positions, and he comes back to all three repeatedly:
1. He will use the power of his office to put everyone who has opposed him in prison with extremely long sentences
2. He will fix the economy by imposing heretofore unimaginable tariffs on ALL imports.
3. Ethnic cleansing masquerading as immigration reform.
#1 would be the end of American democracy. #2 would destroy the American economy and make so many goods prohibitively expansive for the majority of Americans. And #3 is just evil. The mass detainment and deportation of large populations has only led to inhumane conditions, systemic cruelty, and mass suffering and death. Every time. And this would be the second largest forced migration of people in history.
1. He will use the power of his office to put everyone who has opposed him in prison with extremely long sentences
2. He will fix the economy by imposing heretofore unimaginable tariffs on ALL imports.
3. Ethnic cleansing masquerading as immigration reform.
#1 would be the end of American democracy. #2 would destroy the American economy and make so many goods prohibitively expansive for the majority of Americans. And #3 is just evil. The mass detainment and deportation of large populations has only led to inhumane conditions, systemic cruelty, and mass suffering and death. Every time. And this would be the second largest forced migration of people in history.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Are People Losing It?
I like the term "sane washing" about the media's coverage of Trump lately. Taking the nonsensical word-vomit that comes out of his mouth and turning it into something that seems coherent, leaving the media consumer with an impression that the man is more sane and intelligible than he really is.
Re: Are People Losing It?
It's nice that people have coined a phrase for it... Now that the media has this little tidbit and label to work with, maybe they'll decide the thing they've been doing for the last decade is actually real! I'm not even being sarcastic - It's like it had to be dumbed down and cutified enough to register with this class of people.
All the bad journalism makes you really appreciate the many people who are doing it well, So I don't want to diminish that effort which is harder than ever these days. But I really don't understand a lot of the nonsense I see in daily news stories. I will tell you a secret: when I see an egregious piece of both sidesing or factual inaccuracy In a mainstream or otherwise reputable publication that pretends to be upholding a different standard, I track down the people who wrote it and email them with a fact citation, etc. 9 times out of 10 they will update the story. I have been shocked and somewhat pleased that they take these comments seriously - I don't just babble off the cuff as is my wont, but I send a legit thing. I feel like maybe if more people did this or also copied in the editors who are responsible for this type of decision making at the publication, maybe we'd see something different because right now they swim in the ecosystem of Twitterx. They seem to think the bot responses and the closed circle of commentary from other journalists are the standard of review. Just want to let them know that factual reality is still out here waiting.
(Also I would guess most of the people serving as these reporters, dishing up misinformation direct from the GOP or otherwise failing to accurately present facts, are pretty young and haven't been doing this for many years. That might mean they don't have the juice to make their own decisions about everything... One possibility is that presenting them with a legit fact check from a legit source gives cover when they want to make a change? Maybe they aren't even responsible for the final version of that text, so being able to point to a public fact check gives them a reason to raise it? I honestly don't know. It's also interesting because you see patterns in the misinformation... There are certain things GOP sources don't want repeated and so they erase them from seemingly innocuous statements... Reporters just copy that in without checking the accuracy, and so in that way support a false narrative about the topic.)
All the bad journalism makes you really appreciate the many people who are doing it well, So I don't want to diminish that effort which is harder than ever these days. But I really don't understand a lot of the nonsense I see in daily news stories. I will tell you a secret: when I see an egregious piece of both sidesing or factual inaccuracy In a mainstream or otherwise reputable publication that pretends to be upholding a different standard, I track down the people who wrote it and email them with a fact citation, etc. 9 times out of 10 they will update the story. I have been shocked and somewhat pleased that they take these comments seriously - I don't just babble off the cuff as is my wont, but I send a legit thing. I feel like maybe if more people did this or also copied in the editors who are responsible for this type of decision making at the publication, maybe we'd see something different because right now they swim in the ecosystem of Twitterx. They seem to think the bot responses and the closed circle of commentary from other journalists are the standard of review. Just want to let them know that factual reality is still out here waiting.
(Also I would guess most of the people serving as these reporters, dishing up misinformation direct from the GOP or otherwise failing to accurately present facts, are pretty young and haven't been doing this for many years. That might mean they don't have the juice to make their own decisions about everything... One possibility is that presenting them with a legit fact check from a legit source gives cover when they want to make a change? Maybe they aren't even responsible for the final version of that text, so being able to point to a public fact check gives them a reason to raise it? I honestly don't know. It's also interesting because you see patterns in the misinformation... There are certain things GOP sources don't want repeated and so they erase them from seemingly innocuous statements... Reporters just copy that in without checking the accuracy, and so in that way support a false narrative about the topic.)
Re: Are People Losing It?
I was both heartened on this topic yesterday and disheartened...
Heartened because on my local hardcore conservative radio talk show (Where the Harris campaign has been advertising like crazy - And I'm certain that people making these decisions know exactly what the outlet is), The hosts were trying to restore order and reason to their audience by admitting that people probably aren't eating the cats and dogs and it's not helpful to speculate conspiracy theory style about the guy found on the golf course. They were displaying a remarkable and long dormant ability to differentiate fact from fiction, and were actually recommending that everybody else do so! Jaw dropping but pleasant.
The bad news is that the audience was not so easily persuaded that facts are real. In addition, they really take the presence of that guy on the golf course and his little buddy from Pennsylvania as evidence that the majority of the country is hot for war against their neighbors. I don't really see how those two men represent "Democrats" or their voters, but the listeners (who also might not represent the locals very well either, but at least are more representative...) are very sure that they do. There is no need to tone down pure lies about the immigrants, but Democrats definitely need to shut up because their words indicate deadly intent. So... Let's hope calm minds prevail.
Heartened because on my local hardcore conservative radio talk show (Where the Harris campaign has been advertising like crazy - And I'm certain that people making these decisions know exactly what the outlet is), The hosts were trying to restore order and reason to their audience by admitting that people probably aren't eating the cats and dogs and it's not helpful to speculate conspiracy theory style about the guy found on the golf course. They were displaying a remarkable and long dormant ability to differentiate fact from fiction, and were actually recommending that everybody else do so! Jaw dropping but pleasant.
The bad news is that the audience was not so easily persuaded that facts are real. In addition, they really take the presence of that guy on the golf course and his little buddy from Pennsylvania as evidence that the majority of the country is hot for war against their neighbors. I don't really see how those two men represent "Democrats" or their voters, but the listeners (who also might not represent the locals very well either, but at least are more representative...) are very sure that they do. There is no need to tone down pure lies about the immigrants, but Democrats definitely need to shut up because their words indicate deadly intent. So... Let's hope calm minds prevail.
Re: Are People Losing It?
The media is the problem. I used to not believe that the media (all sides- not just conservative bullshit) was actively trying to make every presidential campaign as close as possible, but now I am. It's hard to read CNN these days where they equivocate Trump "falling down" at the debate with Kamala Harris making a "huge" mistake by not addressing the issues with her father. Like both of those things are equal gaffes.
The other problem is that the "media" has become a fiend for clicks on the internet. Have you read Huffington Post lately? Holy shit. Half of there articles are taking a quote from a politician and then cherry picking tweets that roast the politicians for their quotes. That's not even journalism. And it's not just HuffPo that does it. Obviously Fox News and OAN and the conservative side have been doing this forever. But look at the NYT trying to present "both sides" of every issue- which only lends validity to nutball comments about Venezuelan gangs in Colorado. Look at CNN, which now boasts headlines online about their own anchors reactions to politicians' comments-- "Jake Tapper reacts to Vance's statements about migrants in Springfield!" That's not journalism. Rando twitter comments is not journalism. Making your story about the person reporting the story for you is not journalism. And they're doing it all because that's what generates clicks. It's gross.
The other problem is that the "media" has become a fiend for clicks on the internet. Have you read Huffington Post lately? Holy shit. Half of there articles are taking a quote from a politician and then cherry picking tweets that roast the politicians for their quotes. That's not even journalism. And it's not just HuffPo that does it. Obviously Fox News and OAN and the conservative side have been doing this forever. But look at the NYT trying to present "both sides" of every issue- which only lends validity to nutball comments about Venezuelan gangs in Colorado. Look at CNN, which now boasts headlines online about their own anchors reactions to politicians' comments-- "Jake Tapper reacts to Vance's statements about migrants in Springfield!" That's not journalism. Rando twitter comments is not journalism. Making your story about the person reporting the story for you is not journalism. And they're doing it all because that's what generates clicks. It's gross.
Re: Are People Losing It?
Yep, The whole funding model went belly up and reconstituted itself in favor of whatever gets the most clicks gets the most dollars. It's an insane way of selling news. An interesting positive in this regard is that on the local level, We have a quality newspaper that started up with a different funding model entirely, And everybody who wanted real news just stopped reading the local newspaper which had turned to the s***** clickbait model. So at least at the micro level the quality of the product will still motivate people's behavior and they simply stopped subscribing to the newspaper in droves. There's no content left in the newspaper! But I think it's probably extremely tricky for the quality source to fund itself successfully. Weird déjà vu moment here.
Re: Are People Losing It?
We are having a debate in our society not only about whether vaccinations are a good idea, but now whether fluoridation poses a danger in the water supply. We are reliving Dr Strangelove - The general and his concerns about purity of essence and fluoridation are a kind of monstrous amalgamation of RFK Jr and Vance. How the hell did we get into this timeline and how do we get back out again? I feel like I got on the wrong bus at some point in January 2000. We were supposed to be coming up with solutions to climate change by this point and experimenting with a universal basic income. Instead we are debating fluoridation. No no no... Half the country wants our Public health decisions to be made by a man who is suspicious of fluoridation and vaccines, but considers beached whale and roadkill bear primo dining. I cannot anymore. What the actual f*** is wrong with all these people? Forget Trump... Doesn't the encounter with RFK Jr as health ministry director finally prompt you to realize you are in an actual cult? A very large and hostile, angry cult in which the emperor has no clothes?
Much is made of the usually accurate pollster in Iowa releasing a result showing Trump losing in that state despite his previous wins. I can only hope this portends landslide victory but I'll believe it when I see it. Nor does that take away the threat of the losers who genuinely believe it's impossible their team can lose and are willing to reinforce it with violence. And then we're still trapped here with people who are worried about fluoride and would rather risk polio or whatever.
Much is made of the usually accurate pollster in Iowa releasing a result showing Trump losing in that state despite his previous wins. I can only hope this portends landslide victory but I'll believe it when I see it. Nor does that take away the threat of the losers who genuinely believe it's impossible their team can lose and are willing to reinforce it with violence. And then we're still trapped here with people who are worried about fluoride and would rather risk polio or whatever.
Re: Are People Losing It?
The "usually accurate pollster in Iowa" was so far off the mark that she quit the whole job, or so I heard. Anyway, I am listening to a really good video while working this evening (oh behold, it has inserted it!):
This guy is Michael Sandel, who has a famous book on Justice among other fairly well known writings - he does a nice job explaining some things. I don't have a firm opinion about any of it yet - for example, I'd like to see more detailed evidence about the numbers in 20 vs 24 in different states to see what changed - was it mostly a matter of turnout? Or changes in other voting patterns? Did people change and if so, who changed their minds and why? I don't have a handle on any of that, which seems like a prerequisite to speculating about messaging.
A couple factoids I have registered but don't know the relevance of: 1) people blame a lot of problems on immigration, and they falsely but firmly believe the "border is open" and somehow that will magically change soon; and 2) some guys will not vote for a woman for president, period. It does not surprise me at all that the US lags behind other countries in this regard but it is unfortunate. My mother thought she might live to see a woman president but I don't even know if I will, at this point. The problems are real; my kids can't really live where I live, going forward into their adult futures, and I'm pretty well stuck here for quite some time. Nothing for it except going forward.
This guy is Michael Sandel, who has a famous book on Justice among other fairly well known writings - he does a nice job explaining some things. I don't have a firm opinion about any of it yet - for example, I'd like to see more detailed evidence about the numbers in 20 vs 24 in different states to see what changed - was it mostly a matter of turnout? Or changes in other voting patterns? Did people change and if so, who changed their minds and why? I don't have a handle on any of that, which seems like a prerequisite to speculating about messaging.
A couple factoids I have registered but don't know the relevance of: 1) people blame a lot of problems on immigration, and they falsely but firmly believe the "border is open" and somehow that will magically change soon; and 2) some guys will not vote for a woman for president, period. It does not surprise me at all that the US lags behind other countries in this regard but it is unfortunate. My mother thought she might live to see a woman president but I don't even know if I will, at this point. The problems are real; my kids can't really live where I live, going forward into their adult futures, and I'm pretty well stuck here for quite some time. Nothing for it except going forward.