Since there’s no clarification—I’m assuming I’d be meeting a clone from my current age, not some kid version or someone from way in the future that I wouldn't even recognize. It would be way more complicated if the question was whether I'd dig a female version of myself, but this way it just boils down to one thing: could I actually be friends with—or at least tolerate—a carbon copy of myself who shares all my years, personality, and weird habits? 🤔 Hell yeah, I'd definitely vibe with myself.
Honestly, I’d take someone helping just for the clout or because they get a kickback over someone who sits on their hands when they actually have the power to do something. Anything is better than doing absolutely nothing at the end of the day—seriously. So many people sit around dreaming of a perfect world without lifting a single finger, then have the nerve to blame everyone else while their own laziness keeps things stuck exactly where they are. I don't get where people get the idea that life should reward being totally useless.
Look, this whole idea of "being good" was never meant to be some kind of long-term investment strategy. It’s not like being good itself carries any weight, nor does being "bad" mean you're destined to lose out. You're just who you are—and honestly? The only real payoff should be being able to live with yourself in peace. At the end of the day, your character is just your second skin, nothing more.
As far as I'm concerned—especially looking at that first example—you weren't being "good," you were just being naive. Now you're trying to pin the blame on someone else because you couldn't be bothered to step up when someone actually needed help. You cared, sure, but let's be real: Friday night was out on the town, Saturday was spent watching FC Barcelona, and by Sunday, you were already onto the next thing... until all your excuses ran out and everything you planned just went south. That guy is responsible for selling your stuff, yeah, but he isn't responsible for the fact that you just left the whole situation to chance.
Honestly—never. You should probably just know if you did something to make someone stop saying hi to you—once you rule out all the other legit reasons for being ignored (like if they were busy or had headphones in, etc.). I doubt it’s about your vibe or how you look, because that's such a stupid reason to snub someone you actually know. Or, hey, maybe it was just one of those awkward moments where two shy people are both waiting for the other to speak first, so they both just mumble something under their breath as they pass. It happens.
Second thing—people try to force "acquaintance" status on everyone these days, even like a parking attendant you saw once two years ago on the same street. Just because I recognize someone doesn't mean we're acquaintances. I'm not saying this is you, but to me, it's pointless to say hi just because I've seen them before—just like they don't owe me a greeting either. For example, I hate it when someone greets me just because we're walking down the same sidewalk even though we don't know each other at all. And what happens? I walk past nicely since I'm not expecting anything, hear some weak greeting behind my back, turn around, and then end up greeting someone I still don't even know who they are. Such a pain in the ass. By that logic, I'd have to greet every living soul on the street, in the grocery store, everywhere ever.
Again, I'm not saying this isn't your situation, but if you're really planning on greeting those super superficial "acquaintances," then just do it loud and clear—then you can be damn sure they won't miss it.
Harsh reality just kills the romance and the mystery in everything—even with this whole "indigo children" thing. It’s not even that people have gotten any more religious, either. Honestly, the idea of the "greater good" is dead and gone, and for good reason. Same goes for community spirit; it’s over, and we're just heading toward more and more isolation. As far as I can see, indigo kids in 2019 have about as much purpose as Windows 98.
Never—I don't see why I would ever do that. I'm not stupid, you know? I get why I'm attracted to certain things, and trust me, blood flow to the... well, let's just say it has nothing to do with someone's actual personality. I don't see any logical basis for building a whole profile of someone's character just because they're visually appealing. Honestly, I have no clue why you're feeling that way.
There’s a huge difference between saying "I hate people" because you have a negative reaction to humanity in general, versus just not feeling that fake, forced love/attachment toward every single breathing thing walking the earth. I'm definitely the second type—and honestly, I bet most people are too. So, seriously, don't feel bad about it. I usually try not to label things as "normal" or "weird," but for me, it’s just not normal to love anything unconditionally... I mean, even kids don't love their parents unconditionally. The only thing you can truly love without limits is a cat.
Saying "I love people" is about as meaningful as saying "I love cookies." Like, you actually just love *certain* cookies—the ones that aren't dry, the rich ones that make you want to totally undo all the hard work you put in at the gym yesterday. It’s the same with people; you really only like a specific type—the smart, pleasant, responsible, empathetic ones who actually make you think we're more than just slightly smarter animals. You found that in your husband and your friend, and some people find it in a larger circle. That's just down to you and the environment you ended up in. As for strangers? You don't give a damn because they aren't part of your reality—which is perfectly fine. And if there are certain people you can't stand because of how they act? You don't give a damn about them either, and that's also totally fine.
Objectively speaking, for most of the population, there isn't much to love. Most of us are basically just parasites on this planet, and unless we're major humanitarians, doctors, or scientists, it's unlikely we'll leave anything useful for future generations. The planet was here long before us and it'll be here long after; we're just accidental guests who showed up to burn through resources and mess things up along the way—just like every other life form that’s ever existed or will exist. For the first 20 years, you're a kid or a clueless teenager, and for the last 15, you're just vegetating and smelling bad because you're a damn old person. In those 40-50 years in between, you get married, get divorced, work, hit the gym, scroll through Facebook, and watch crappy movies. Maybe 5-10% of the population actually does something during that window that outlives them, if even that. So what exactly is there to love if you don't have that deep emotional bond you have with your own family? We mostly just tolerate each other, and that's it. To be brutally honest, I don't give a damn about Africa. The only Africa I care about is that song by Tot. I don't give a damn about Chile, either.
Was the intro post supposed to be negative or what? — asking because I work the same way and honestly can't imagine doing things any differently. You say you want it to be different, but I bet you don't even know why you're feeling that way. It's like wanting surprises when you open a gift, not in a daily life that—let's face it—you've organized to suit yourself perfectly.
I don't know. I mean, *Dancer in the Dark* objectively tackles some brutal themes and fates—the ending alone is enough to wreck you—but honestly? It didn't hit me nearly as hard as I expected. Same goes for *Grave of the Fireflies*, though unlike *Dancer*, I still can't bring myself to rewatch that one... I remember exactly how much it crushed me the first time. I guess there aren't really any rules when it comes to subject matter; it mostly just comes down to how much you can actually relate to the characters and feel their pain.
A lot of Bergman films should be total slogs on paper—like, let's face it, the topics are heavy and the pacing is slow—but I end up devouring them like they're *Avengers* movies. Same thing goes for those massive 3 or 4-hour epics; even with the length and the heavy vibes, they never feel like a chore to me. On the flip side, some movies try way too hard to feel "heavy," when really that "depth" is just a fancy word for bad filmmaking or a director who lost their way. You see that with some of Lynch's misses and basically anything trying too hard to be surreal.
Theaters are ancient history as far as I'm concerned. I’ll wait for those rare blockbusters that actually look interesting, but 90% of everything else isn't worth the trip. Honestly—looking back at what I've watched over the last few weeks—there hasn't been a single title that could justify dealing with the crowds. Generally speaking, when I'm watching movies like Rom or The Favourite, I'd much rather just chill at home in peace.
You can have empathy—you can totally understand someone else's struggle—without actually having any intention of doing anything to make their life easier. Like, you can walk right past an old lady begging outside a Walmart, and then ten minutes later, after grabbing some cash, head straight to the casino to blow it all. It doesn't mean you don't realize she’s having a hard time; you just don't see how helping her benefits you right now. There's no magic epiphany needed here, and honestly, adding more psychology classes wouldn't change a thing because most of us already know the difference between right and wrong. Still, that doesn't mean everyone has the drive to be a world-saver.
Trying to achieve total peace and social harmony as a practical goal? Honestly, that's basically a utopia. I think people struggle to accept a reality that clashes with the values they were raised to believe are the absolute truth. The real deal is that we're all essentially competitors in an arena, fighting over the same resources, territory, jobs, even partners... and in that arena, there isn't much room for empathy or solidarity. Well, okay, there is—but only *after* you've looked out for yourself and crushed it. Once you've done your thing, you can just join some Facebook group and give some virtual support to feel better about yourself, like, "Yeah, I'm a good person, I'm empathetic, I'm a saint."
Whenever I have a spare minute, I find myself scrolling through threads like "toxic parent" or "Depression," mostly just because they catch my interest. But here's the kicker: I see people offering support, and then I see others looking for it, only to turn around in a completely different thread and watch those same "humanitarians" spew toxic, hateful comments at other users. They demand this specific dose of compassion that they have absolutely zero intention of giving back. You'd think since they know what suffering feels like, they'd spare others from it. Yeah, right. They couldn't care less about the damage they cause. In one thread, they're playing the victim looking for a digital hug, and in another, they're just straight-up bullies.
This isn't even about classic hypocrisy or being two-faced; it's more like a never-ending cycle of pure, unadulterized malice that we all occasionally fall prey to. Trying to fix it is like trying to organize a line in the middle of the Serengeti. These people aren't necessarily "evil" masterminds; they just can't help themselves, period. The wildest part is they type this stuff while they're at work, chilling at home, or maybe even on their phones at a local pub. Imagine how they act when they truly lose it, because this is probably the most basic, low-level cruelty I can think of. You know it's wrong, you know you're just hurting someone for the sake of it, and yet you can't stop yourself—and then we're expected to just "fix" it with a couple of hours of therapy a week? For the folks who are already hanging on by a thread mentally, no amount of psychology is going to save them.
I mean, look at us—we're sitting here debating programs, schedules, and money, when half of us aren't even capable of the simplest "program" there is: just not being a jerk. We can't even manage that, yet we're dreaming about some utopian harmony that doesn't even exist in Star Wars.
Money isn't even the main issue here—honestly, there's plenty of cash to go around. The real killers are the total lack of willpower and a broken legal system that's a whole other disaster. You've got the younger generation, who are usually the ones driving actual change, just leaving the country, while the older, more influential crowd just sits around idling until they kick the bucket. Plus, since the USA is basically New York City and a few coastal spots, any real initiative would probably just ignore the rural Midwest towns—and those struggling areas are exactly where you'd need to plant seeds to spark the kind of movement this project needs.
And don't even get me started on kids today, glued to their phones and blasting music through headphones 24/7... half of them aren't even aware of the people walking right past them, let alone being able to spot talent that even the pros miss after a few screenings. The concept is solid, but...
I wonder if you can actually teach someone to be empathetic, compassionate, and ultimately just a "good" person. Honestly—I think some things just have to be felt and received from your parents and your environment before you can ever pass them on to anyone else. You can read about it in a textbook until tomorrow, but if you never actually received that love, there’s a damn good chance you won't know how to give it back.
At the same time, I think it's incredibly naive to look at those "quiet little kids" next door who wouldn't even hurt an ant. You mentioned noticing how that "sweet kid today, cold-blooded killer tomorrow" scenario keeps repeating itself; well, it repeats because everyone has their breaking point. Just because I haven't seen my neighbor or my sister snap doesn't mean they don't have one. You can never truly know how crushed, traumatized, insecure, or humiliated someone really is—or how long they've been suffering and what that pain is brewing inside them. I’d bet both my kidneys that my upbringing wasn't significantly different from the woman who locked her sister in the fridge, or the mass shooter who was considered a diligent honor student until yesterday's campus massacre. We're all "sweet kids" right up until we snap—that's not even up for debate.
But look, society isn't perfect, the system isn't perfect, and it’s just not realistic to think everyone will find a place in the sun. We’ll accept some, reject others, crush some, and push others over the edge... and those people we cast aside will eventually start wondering if they owe anything to a society that rejected them. That's the core of it, and it'll stay that way until we're replaced by some kind of robots who can't feel, who don't carry scars on their souls, and who wouldn't be capable of stabbing their own kin, let alone a total stranger, in a moment of madness. No PowerPoint presentation is going to change that—otherwise, we would've solved the issue of violence a long time ago. You could scrap every subject and fill the entire school schedule with psychology and debates on the topic, and it still wouldn't move the needle. This isn't an issue of economics, politics, or education; this is THE question that, I fear, we will never have an answer to.
Until we admit that we ourselves contribute to building these ticking time bombs walking among us—people who were our favorite neighbors just yesterday—all these discussions about psychopathy and abuse are just shouting into the wind. The fact that some things in life are simply predetermined and set in stone doesn't play well with the idea that "anything is possible if you want it enough," and accepting that reality produces way more depression and hopelessness once it sinks in. Now, not wanting to be put in a position where we have to dump that same dose of hopelessness in the faces of our children, siblings, or friends is a different story. But it is what it is—c'est la vie. Many won't be able to cope with that "predetermined" aspect, and what they do with that knowledge... well, let's just say I'm pretty sure we're still a long way off from any kind of relaxed gun control scenario in the US.
Joseph Bailey41 said:Is there any beer left in the fridge?
All I've got left is some tequila—not exactly much comfort right now 😳
I spend nearly an hour typing out this massive novel of a post, just for them to delete the whole thread. Someone else's post got locked too, and I was right in the middle of drafting a reply there.
Man, these forums are moderated so strictly... meanwhile, the ones higher up are total free-for-alls where people go wild 24/7 and nobody cares. Seriously, even the tequila isn't helping me deal with this 🕺
Now I'm just sitting here waiting for them to ban me too, just for calling out the mods 🍿
So the chat is locked, and somehow the two most interesting threads over at the Democratic Party are also shut down—seriously? Is there even any point in living after this happens?
I’d much rather just call it a night and pick it up tomorrow than force myself through it when I'm totally wiped—honestly, it's just not worth ruining the vibe. Like, I could power through Ben-Hur in one sitting easy, but if my brain is fried, even ninety minutes feels like a marathon. Plus, there are movies out there that run way longer than six hours—think stuff like The Best of Times; how am I supposed to sit through those without a break? Impossible.
Some people just have it naturally—others have to work at it—but honestly, I think a lot of it depends on the crowd you're with.
I've had folks tell me I'm basically emotionally stunted, mostly because I don't always react when they think something is hilarious. I rarely laugh at jokes either, so people constantly ask if I even "get" them, as if it's impossible for something to just... not be funny to me. Even those comedians on YouTube? They don't really land for me.
On the flip side, those same people sometimes totally miss my sense of humor—which regularly cracks a completely different circle of friends wide open, and I'm usually dying laughing right along with them. So, I'm "emotionally broken" to some, but witty to others. Some people live for dark humor and cynicism, while others think things like making jabs at minority players during an NBA game or watching certain edgy clips on YouTube is peak comedy. To me, those types aren't funny at all, but within their own circles, they’ve clearly got a reputation for being hilarious.
You can probably find that same vibe in the same situations without having to force yourself to be funny. At the end of the day, we just don't all laugh at the same stuff.
I definitely laugh at Carl Rivera43 more than anyone else on this forum.
Carl Rivera43 said:Of course you can learn it! Honestly, you could probably just go out and develop your own set of principles from scratch if you really wanted to.
I have absolutely no idea what that sentence means, but it's still funny to me. Then again, this forum is crawling with "comedians" who troll 24/7 and are the textbook definition of unfunny, even though they're clearly trying way too hard to seem clever.