We Talk Friday
(WTF)
This is a semi-regular series that I will run on Fridays to hold discussions on a current topic from the week gone. The aim is to keep them light and conversational, though some might be heavier - regardless of the content topic itself though, just have some fun engaging and discussing with whoever happens to put in the effort in the comments section below.
We Talk Friday Ep. 7: Cost of Dying Expenses
I was looking for something funny this week for We Talk Friday, but let's face it - not too much funny stuff is going on. Lets and lots of stupid stuff, but very little funny. Though, the AI video trolling the US with "stereotypical Americans" working at sewing machines brought out a chuckle. For the most part though, it is pretty much doom and gloom for ordinary people, including myself.
Like I read a story of an Australian father in his thirties who committed suicide after his mortgage has increased so much. Now, he had mental health issues earlier, but it makes me wonder the impact that all of this is having on the more fragile minds of today. And yeah, I do think we are more fragile, because we have been conditioned to be more sensitive to our emotional state - which is a good thing - unless we become too sensitive, like a car alarm that goes off every time the wind blows.
While suicide isn't laugh out loud funny, I think that it is becoming more acceptable these days as a means of dealing with an unsatisfying life. I know, that doesn't sound right, does it? But if you consider how exposure normalizes conditions like violence or sex, it seems that daily there is another story in the news of influencers who are offing themselves for whatever reason they might have had at the time. Remember, these people are influencers - meaning that they influence their audience.
And these kinds of people "supposedly" have the kinds of lives that other people want to have. So if that isn't even good enough to live for, what hope do the rest of us have - the ones with mortgages and final reminder letters in the mail? How many people will be overwhelmed, especially since the social ties are weaker, and people have less familial and friend support around these days.
What is there to live for, if we lose access to the things we have been conditioned to believe are important for a good life? Money might not buy everything we need, but it is the medium we use to get most of the things we need, even if we don't actually need it. What happens when we feel that because of this inability to provide enough financially, we lose our sense of self-worth? What happens when the guilt of not being able to provide for a family gets too much?
How many are close to that line in the sand now?
It is impossible to know, but I suspect that the last decade and a half and the next to come will go down in history as the worst period for our mental health as a species ever. Though, this is already the case, isn't it? Has there ever been a period in history where such a large percentage of people are considered mentally ill in some way? Has there ever been a period in history where there is such a percentage of children considered mentally ill?
Mentally ill children, become mentally ill adults.
Of course, that isn't a certainty, but it does have a very high probability. And the social culture and technological landscape we have created in the quest for higher profits for corporations, has done the mental (or physical) health of our species no favours. For a few decades now, I have been predicting mental health issues based on our consumption habits, and unfortunately, my predictions are being proven quite correct.
The more time we spend mindlessly consuming, the worse off we get.
And "worse" seems to be another area we are being conditioned to accept, to normalise. We are being engineered to do with less, expect less, and accept less possibility, even while those corporations are milking more profits for themselves. Education levels are degrading, access to healthcare is degrading, employment opportunities are degrading, and our purchase power is degrading.
For the average person, what is getting better?
Humans need a sense of progression and advancement in life, and maybe this is why more people feel they are better off dead.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Past Episodes:
Episode 6: Abuse Me a Little More
Episode 5: No Humour Here
Episode 4: Your Country Sucks
Episode 3: Collapse is Inevitable
Episode 2: Show me the money
Episode 1: Strange bedfellows
I do think that some people try to milk and appropriate mental illness as something that should give them or offer them something, but there are definitely others who really suffer from this sort of stuff. I've had those moments where I know I am depressed and try as I might I can't explain why. Those are few and far between for me, I know that isn't the case for others and it makes me sad.
The challenge with everyone acting ill, is that those that are get lost and don't get help. There used to be stigma around illness, now it is stigma around health. It is like the expectation is that everyone is sick. It reminds me a bit of religions that assume all are sinners.
I can see that point of view.
That is kind of morbid. I don't believe that financial problems should lead to suicide. There must be mental illness involved there.
Also, I don't see things quite as negatively as you do. I think it is more of the more things change the more they stay the same.
Yes, we have Trump again and he has created a mess, but that is to be expected when you reelect a moron as your president. This to shall pass...
Yes. But mental illness (real and perceived) us increasing. So I wonder how many are approaching that point.
A moron as president, surrounded by people looking to take advantage of a moron for their own gains.
at times I joke with our favorite neighbour by saying that now people can't afford to die. But joking aside that neighbour's sister died last year(?) and funeral costed 6k Eur? Like who the fuck can even pay that? I been blogging for 7+ years and I could still not afford a funeral? Good thing that I have no intention on having a ceremony after I will die. People should just give my body to the wolves and be done with it.
Speaking about ceremonies I heard that Trump wants a military parade for his birthday. It will only cost 100 million(?). I think that this seems very much like a dictator's move...Also I wonder how many dog shelters could be supported with those 100 million.
This is my sentiment too. I'd be dead, move on.
Not sure about the parade, but he is acting more and more like a dictator daily.
People are weird. Even if I would justify expensive waste that is funeral( I don't) I would never understand gathering after one month(?) or a year from someone dying. Strange anniversary to do... Today we were supposed to go to 1 year anniversary of some distant aunt dying. But her daughter has weak immunity system and I have been coughing a lot lately so we did not go.
Nuts. Yep, we're conditioned to make do with less whilst Woolworths and Coles have their biggest profits ever. I bloody hate the ads and the magazine articles about 'cooking on a budget' - ffs. Like it's a war and it's our responsiblity to soldier on with handy home hints, and if we are starving, well, we should just budget better, even though THEY have told us that happiness means the bigger house, and the developer squeezes even bigger ones onto even smaller blocks that cost more yada yada yada.
I was out surfing the other day and felt happy as larry, realising that I don't need ANYTHING because I have this. If things got that bad I'd sell up and just live on the the interest from selling and live in a caravan. It's okay to have nothing.
Here there's more woman homeless than ever, but they are far more likely to live in a van. Yep, that'd be me. Fuck the bank.
I agree, but is it right? Should the having nothing be because a small group want everything?
The "live with less porn" is more marketing to increase profits, and not in the best interest of the people. Yes, living with less is a good thing in many respects, but the intention driving it is wrong at the moment.
If only I could surf...
The cost of dying expenses was probably the wrong title to go along with this story. I was going to add to the mix by saying I bought a life insurance policy and told a friend to make sure I get put in a box, six feet under, and don't let anyone fry me to a crispy, she could have the box hauled up into the UP someplace for all I care, just don't let anyone have the satisfaction of frying me. After calculating the cost for such a minor burial, I had to add to the policy. I want to at least get six feet under, don't want any bears digging me up in the wilderness.
I think one of the issues with the expansion of mental illness diagnosis is everything has become specialized. Now it takes a specialist to specialize in infancy, adolescence, teenagers, early adulthood, LGBTQ, etc., and for all those specialist to make money you have to have doctors willing to refer every minor/major concern a parent might have about their kids to them.
Once dead, does it matter what happens to you? I have told my family to throw me into the forest and let the animals have me, or plant a tree on my chest. I don't care at all.
The concerns of parents is one of the issues, and I think normal behaviours of children are now diagnosed as illness.
I think you are an idealist! I think your idea is great. However, I am not sure if your idea is applicable to the East Asian situation.Dear my bro @tarazkp !
Do you remember the food crisis that the Asian world, including China, is facing?
https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-food-security-key-challenges-and-emerging-policy-responses
I guess the Asian world, including China, will soon face a food crisis.
https://www.cfr.org/article/china-increasingly-relies-imported-food-thats-problem
So, Japan and South Korea think the US can prevent a world food crisis!
Dear my bro, I'm worried that I won't understand your wonderful English sentences!😂
The US takes terrible care of their animals, and their entire food chain is a collection of a handful of companies. Not sure relying on them is the best way to go.
If a food crisis breaks out in China and India, who will solve it?
I don't expect the US to. There have been plenty of food crises in the past, while the US dumped shiploads of food into the sea to maintain market prices.
😨
I don't understand why one would be influenced from a influencer. Do we know how much they have been experienced. They are just a toll of the new advertising format.
While life is full of ups and downs, I’d never think suicide as an option…we all face challenges at different degrees though but loosing what one has is not the end of life . It can all be recovered..a man’s life does not consist in what he has…just my opinion
Life is hard now, but giving up isn’t the answer. We need to help each other more instead of just accepting things getting worse, but I see why people think they're better off dead it's a sad thing but it's reality
At times financial problems can be frustrating not knowing what to do. But suicide shouldn't be the final option.