This is part rant, but also genuine curiosity from people around my age. Is anyone else fed up with the "heated topics" of the world we live in? I don't know if I'm just going insane at this point or if there are others like me. To put it plainly...I just don't care about anything that seems "important" these days. Politics? It's always two impossible people that are up for presidency that I never understand how they got there. The rest of the government is also just as bad. Sex and relationships? I don't care what your gender is, I don't care who you love, I legitimately don't care how active you are. You are you, I am me. What your preferences are and what you do, do not affect me in the slightest. Racial issues? I see it. I see it in the news. It's horrible, and I don't understand how it's still happening. But, all of these topics and more just feel like they've been shoved down my throat for the past 32 years. I am so desensitized to the plights of these issues that I don't care. LGBTQ community? 32 years I've seen it, heard it. You're gay, lesbian, etc? I don't care. You're a person, I know you're a person. What you've experienced is your experience, but I don't think you're brave or necessarily a victim now. You're just another human being. Same goes for anyone trans. Same goes for anyone of any race. Same goes for anyone of any political ideology. 32 years hearing it all, and it's all become so tiresome to care for. Am I alone in this? Is everyone just ok with being so polarized on opposite ends and constantly at war with each other? It's just starting to look like this is it. Like it's just one social debate, political debacle, or international disaster/war to the next until each and every one of us eventually reaches the end of our lives. Does anyone else feel this way?
I completely get it. There are radicalized parts of the US, let alone the rest of the world. There are members of the LGBTQ+ community, let alone racial communities, who are still persecuted for who they are because of this and those are the people who are truly in danger from real harm.
It's just wild that it's 2024. The message has never deviated and the content is clear. A human is a human, we are all the same species. It feels like I'm banging my head against the wall after I'm hearing this messaging year after year, when I personally don't give a damn about it any more because I feel a lot of these issues can be comprehended and rationalized by toddlers. But, it's 2024. It's gotten to the point that the people who are the loudest in their messaging have completely turned me off from either side. The bickering, the antagonizing. It never ceases.
Agreed. We may be a civilized society, but we as a people are still very tribal. People just want to root for their side and think that their side is the right side no matter what logical fallacies may appear.
The people dispensing information are almost solely to blame for the growing divide, and their plan to keep people divided and not look at the actual issues we face has been working pretty well up to this point.
I really hope things will change and history has shown that it probably will. I'm predicting that things will probably get worse before they get better though.
You hit it on the head “the people dispensing the information are almost solely to blame”…..Fox news has an agenda to be the champion of the Republican Party. Facts be damned they’re getting paid to be right wing. CNN’s agenda is liberal but mild compared Fox News. If you watch the evening news on both stations it’s as though they’re reporting on 2 different planets. We give them that power though (personally I don’t) by watching. If you’re getting your news through social media it’s most likely false and overly dramatic because too many people love the drama….facts be damned if someone read something on Instagram they go spouting off nonsense to other people perpetuating lies and conspiracy theories. It’s all BS but until those of us under 50 start cutting off the sources of lies and BS nothing will change. Try taking an iPhone away from a 15 year old and you’ll see the depth of this crisis as you watch how addicted the kid is to his phone.
Unplug brother. Whether it’s social media or the news the sources have motives now and the fact that the tidal wave of info is upsetting you means you’re watching / reading it so they’re winning. For instance 28 years ago if you watched CNN and Fox News when it stated the evening news had similarities and seemed to provide consistent information. In 2024 watching CNN and then Fox News feels like they’re reporting in 2 different planets because they’re so biased and political.
Cut the cord and put down the phone.
That’s not true dude I have a gay brother and travel a lot there are legal ramifications even in the Deep South if you use hate speech etc. 20 years ago it was a free for all in terms of using slurs and spewing racist hate / anti LGBT rhetoric that has definitely improved. If you’re under 50 and have a brain you’re typically socially accepting and those numbers are increasing not decreasing. Even my Republican friends don’t care about the ridiculous far right nonsense going on with abortion laws and weak attempts to transport society back to 1950. The train has left the station and despite attempts by our geriatric politicians to hold on to archaic principles and what they deem to be “values” the US population, generally, is moving forward in a positive direction.
So as someone who literally witnessed my brother get bullied when we were younger with no real repercussions if a gay kid is bullied like that in 2024 it’s a hate crime and would not be tolerated in the US. We’re not going backwards so I respectfully disagree completely
Sure if you go to popular travel sites in the South, it's no surprise they are going to be friendly to tourists. But it's different when you live there.
While I don't live in a place where I feel unsafe to not be straight, I definitely don't plan on coming out to my family. While they don't openly hate gay people, they would never accept one of their own as gay. Especially a gay man. I think a gay woman might be treated differently. I'm not just speaking out of my ass.
Plus, since they overturned Roe V Wade there has been speculation they may try to take on reversing gay marriage rights. While a majority of people's attitudes have changed around gay people, the people that aren't okay with it, are also more emboldened these days. If you can't see that, then I envy you, but you aren't getting the full picture.
No I see it and understand your perspective I just have a more accepting immediate family. Speaking generally I have only seen progress some of which has been legal and some of which has come with generations of people who are so bigoted and set in their ways that it takes them dying off to see any change. Literally I’m very hopeful and proud of all of us who have drawn a line in the sand and will let that type of hatred die with those who are trying to perpetuate it.
I’m very sorry to hear about your situation and can’t imagine how tough it is but know you have a whole new order coming to middle age, and are taking over from the Boomers that support good people and will not tolerate hatred like that.
Unfortunately those who aren’t capable of letting go of that hatred and ignorance are going to die with it which none of us can control….especially you since you’re subject to it as part of your daily life and I can tell it hurts. You’re not going to change them but you shouldn’t feel bad about their ignorance. Progress has been made and will continue so trust that many Americans, including me, have your back. The Supreme Court justices Trump put in place are a complicated problem that will have to be navigated which I have no answer for.
I'm from the south, don't live anywhere near a tourist destination, my state doesn't even have hate laws. And guess what? We all go about our daily lives. Only issue is the closest gay bar is over an hour away.
I’m with you. Especially in the US. Let people live their lives and you live yours. One of the reasons my wife and I moved to Panama. Just tired of the bullshit on top of high cost of living and low wages.
Yeah, I get the feeling of being desensitized to a constant barrage of news. I think it's up to us to control what information we're taking in and limiting it when it's too much. The world will always have war, famine, and problems. You can't fix everything, so just do what is within your power.
Unplug brother. We have that power but too many of us are literally too weak minded to exercise it. Anyone who lets this stuff get to them is not giving themselves enough credit and should totally unplug for a week or two and see what happens
Since 9/11 and with the advent of social media we all have huge media companies that have darn near perfected manipulating the human brain to the point where taking away a persons cell phone can look like the equivalent of watching someone attempting murder. Most of the American population, especially anyone under 35, has become so addicted to immediate news or feedback from their phone.
On top of social media and news outlets, which too many people trust honestly, drama is constantly being created by people who feel oppressed, or even depressed, despite the fact that racism is dying out in the US. promoting drama is the mindset of younger generations and they have platforms to bitch to the world in the hopes of becoming internet famous. You can’t let any of this bug you because you can’t control it but you can definitely ignore it. Don’t get sucked in to all of the nonsense and read a book or go exercise instead
All that shit doesn’t matter
Yea I get you
We're on the same boat.
Rigjtt after occupy Wallstreet the number of divisive news articles shot up like 10000%. For a brief moment it was 99% against 1% but they quickly got us talking about aunt Jemima on syrup and the 3 trsns hs wrestlers in the country
Indeed. I think that's another aspect too. Hitting a $100k salary job to live something of an upper-middle class lifestyle used to be THE goal. But, now it feels like that's another social issue because even 100k doesn't feel like it's enough. The constant battle between the incredibly wealthy and everyone else just trying to make it to next week. I feel like that's been a major thing since Occupy Wallstreet, like you mentioned.
In certain cultures and communities it can be very brave to come out as gay, especially in rural communities. It doesn't make every single gay person a victim, but there are still gay people being victimized and currently we're going back to the way things were before.
Other than that I agree with pretty much everything said. Things are way too polarized and no one wants to compromise anymore