• CornwallCletus
    5
    I am not expecting positive feedback, or pats on the back. I know I am miserable. There is no need to point that out. I wrote this some time ago when yet another person who was supposed to be a friend let me down. I keep coming back to read it, reminding myself of where almost all of my frustration and built-up hate comes from. I don't know if there is anything to discuss, I just need to post it somewhere.


    I am starting to accept defeat...

    My battle has not been public. It has not been political. It has been personal. With family, teachers, employers, authority figures. I have, all my life, called out people who have lacked decency, or have treated myself and others immorally. I have gained absolutely nothing from this, and have received little to no support from people around me who in the shadows have acted tough and pointed out the very things I have later called out. When I have stepped up, they have stepped away.

    I have to admit, I have myself been an absolute piece of shit at times in my younger years. I like to think that I have grown up now. However, I was never a coward.

    That's all I see these days. Cowards. Everywhere are these vile cowards. They talk big, but act small. They willingly dumb themselves down, and find pleasure in things that only children and mentally handicapped people should be able to enjoy. Anything, in excess, to not have to think about reality. When someone points out an uncomfortable but indisputable reality they scream conspiracy theory, or unconsciously yell a random (according to the degenerate norm) derogatory -ism.

    Children are in this very moment distorting public opinion, re-writing history, and carelessly tampering with morality. They scream made up issues from the top of their lungs, without any thought process other than trying to fit in with the group, and regurgitate whatever catchy chant they are presented with. 20-something year old kids whom I know from experience of once being one myself are absolutely retarded. These kids have more agency and power to change things (for the worse) than what educated, grown up women and men with actual knowledge of life and the world do. These kids are cowards of epic proportions. Afraid to think for themselves. Afraid to challenge real authority. Afraid to be individuals. They're buying straight into whatever pushed agenda they are being served.

    This lunacy is supported and even praised by a legion of adult cowardice babies, cowering away from the harsh realities of our world. Their indebted comfort is more important than meaning. Their materialistic worth is more important than decency, rationality, and integrity. Their media and pop culture regurgitation is more important than spirituality.

    The one person still alive in my family that has not succumbed to victimhood as an excuse to not provide for our family economically or emotionally, or to not take responsibility for one's own actions, is treated and looked upon as some loon because she dares to question the nature of reality, our existence, and the foundations of our degenerate society. She is 80 years old and is in total control of her environment. She is the only stability left in this family, and even though the others turn to her for help and support time after time they still belittle her as if she is some old senile lady. I do not provide much myself but at least I know my place (in the very real but forgotten natural hierarchy) and show gratitude and respect for the one that does. 

    These people are family and I am supposed to love them, but I hate them. I fucking hate them.

    I have long suffered from depression and have struggled to find purpose and direction in life, even though I have traveled, moved around a lot, and tested myself in different types of relationships, workplaces, and environments. I have been told that it's chemical, or perhaps seasonal. In reality it is nothing but reasonable. To be anything other than miserable in this shit stain of a world is to me a sign of severe cognitive dysfunction. 

    Whom or what is to blame? 

    People blame the economy as if it is some kind of omnipotent force from another dimension. People blame traditions as if they are so deeply rooted that change is impossible. People blame culture as if culture overrides individual responsibility and justifies acting like a piece of shit. People blame politicians as if we did not put them there and continuously legitimize them year after year, and as if the politicians themselves are not people. It's all people. Everything is either created by- or is a subsequent product of people.

    I blame people, a group of which I am a part of... sadly. 

    ...and what will become of me when I no longer have it in me to pretend that I do not genuinely despise people. I don't know if I care anymore.
  • iolo
    226
    Why does someone have to be 'to blame' for anything? Don't you think it might be an idea to relax into a little humility? Here we are, so we might as well get used to it, surely?
  • Tzeentch
    3.3k


    Modern news distribution has us worrying about all sorts of things which in fact have very little influence over our day-to-day lives. Who cares what the kids think or what the politicians say? Cut out all these things which are being artificially injected into your life and are making you miserable. Focus on what is real.

    Furthermore, don't blame other people for your unhappiness. Focus on what you can do to make yourself happy, because no one else will do it for you.

    Lastly, being virtuous is its own reward. Not being virtuous its own punishment. If you intend to stay a decent person, it's important you understand this.
  • Gnomon
    3.5k
    I have long suffered from depression and have struggled to find purpose and direction in life, even though I have traveled, moved around a lot, and tested myself in different types of relationships, workplaces, and environments. I have been told that it's chemical, or perhaps seasonal. In reality it is nothing but reasonable.CornwallCletus
    Depression does indeed have chemical causes. But in view of the depressed brain-state, a person's sour attitude is reasonable. The same could be said of a schizophrenic, whose perception is distorted by chemical imbalances in the brain : they are acting rationally in order to survive in their warped inner world.

    But in both cases, modern medicine has developed other chemicals to block those distortions. Of course, they can have mind-numbing side-effects. But if you are rational enough to write such a lucid post, you can also see that your perception has been blinded toward the good, and focused on the bad aspects of society. Those who are not depressed can deal with disappointments of human frailty, via simple attitude adjustments, without descending into self-pity. But for those with unbalanced brains, it often helps to fight chemicals with chemicals. However, there are also other ways to brighten moods without drugs.

    To be anything other than miserable in this shit stain of a world is to me a sign of severe cognitive dysfunction.CornwallCletus
    Do you really believe that you are among the minority of sane people? Or could it be your own "cognitive dysfunction" that you project onto others. Don't dwell on the Dark Side. Find someone you can trust to help you find your way back to the Light. As with alcoholics, the hardest part is to take a leap of desperation to ask for help. This post may be your first step. :smile:


    Natural Depression Treatments : https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/natural-treatments#1

    Former Misanthrope : https://jeffthewriter.com/misanthropy/
  • jellyfish
    128
    People blame the economy as if it is some kind of omnipotent force from another dimension. People blame traditions as if they are so deeply rooted that change is impossible. People blame culture as if culture overrides individual responsibility and justifies acting like a piece of shit. People blame politicians as if we did not put them there and continuously legitimize them year after year, and as if the politicians themselves are not people. It's all people. Everything is either created by- or is a subsequent product of people.

    I blame people, a group of which I am a part of... sadly. 

    ...and what will become of me when I no longer have it in me to pretend that I do not genuinely despise people. I don't know if I care anymore.
    CornwallCletus

    I agree that people blame, blame, blame. You do put your finger on the puppet master or source, human nature, but maybe you are ignoring that you are also a human expressing outrage at human nature. So human nature is tangled up and opposed to itself.

    I'm not saying 'cheer up, Charlie.' I'm saying (to joke a little) that you aren't being negative enough. You grant that 'I am part of it' but hardly emphasize that your position needs all the idiots and sinners. Virtue and intelligence are relative.
  • jellyfish
    128
    ..and what will become of me when I no longer have it in me to pretend that I do not genuinely despise people. I don't know if I care anymore.CornwallCletus

    I do empathize with the dark passion here. The time is out of joint. Something in our despised human nature craves something beyond this nature. I associate this kind of bitter alienation with the artistic temperament. I just saw Joker and the riot scenes are exhilarating. Maybe some part of all of us would like to see this candy-coated wasteland go up in flames. But I also think that humans (some more than others) are haunted by a tantalizing impossible object. This or that project or person or object looks from a distance to maybe finally be it, the real thing, the plenitude of being.

    Children are in this very moment distorting public opinion, re-writing history, and carelessly tampering with morality. They scream made up issues from the top of their lungs, without any thought process other than trying to fit in with the group, and regurgitate whatever catchy chant they are presented with.CornwallCletus

    These 'kids' (who can amusingly forget that they'll also get old) do have their leaders --the ones who 'carelessly tampering with morality.' Their leaders are challenging authorities.

    Afraid to think for themselves. Afraid to challenge real authority. Afraid to be individuals. They're buying straight into whatever pushed agenda they are being served.CornwallCletus

    This is a universal 'sin.' We're all subject to peer pressure. A genuine challenge costs something. To really go against the grain will likely mean poverty. It might mean prison or death. Maybe that's why we have a two-party mentality. Both tribes allow their members to feel like crusaders and revolutionaries, at the same time providing a nice bubble.

    When someone points out an uncomfortable but indisputable reality they scream conspiracy theory, or unconsciously yell a random (according to the degenerate norm) derogatory -ism.CornwallCletus

    But there are all kinds of conspiracy theories. This is an age of suspicion. As I see it, we're all dreamers who don't want our dreams interrupted. We face unpleasant realities when we are forced to (and also when those 'unpleasant' realities allow for more sophisticated pleasures.) Maybe you (like me) are addicted to the dark pleasure of unveiling Medusa. Is it comedy or tragedy? There's a festival of cruelty here. 'He who despises himself still respects himself as one who despises.'

    I have been told that it's chemical, or perhaps seasonal. In reality it is nothing but reasonable. To be anything other than miserable in this shit stain of a world is to me a sign of severe cognitive dysfunction.CornwallCletus

    The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Healthy is sick. Sick is healthy. Thus spoke Pure Reason. Even if there's some truth in what you say (and I think there is), such a perverse reversal of common sense should maybe give you pause.

    Aren't you implying after all that human cognition was designed for misery? Usually pain is a kind of warning signal. I do think it sucks to age. Nature doesn't need us once our groins dry up. I'm not there yet, but I'm on the way. It's not all bad. Years of living, thinking, reading...they all add up. Death becomes a bittersweet prospect ('learning how to die.') The soul is a bag full of wounds, aphorisms, immense embodied/tacit skills. It wants to crumple up this draft and start again. Abased to be exalted, penetrated by 'God'/reality in the sense of recognizing itself as nothing but repetition with variation.

    I have to admit, I have myself been an absolute piece of shit at times in my younger years. I like to think that I have grown up now. However, I was never a coward.CornwallCletus

    I relate. But the avoidance of being a coward often means being an asshole. I look back and think I should have been more cowardly, more careful. I was chasing 'it' over boundary stones. And now I remain afraid of my rashness and desire to challenge, disagree, swerve. I joke to myself that I am mad in my sanity. Some people are itchier than others. I envy the RAF fighters of WWII. Their situation was clear. They used their bodies and minds to face death in the sky. In your anger I hear the old 'divine violence' and the siren call of Dionysus. We want an impossible something beyond better mousetraps. But we also like the comfortable mousetraps. Peace offers the dream of war.


    I know that I shall meet my fate
    Somewhere among the clouds above;
    Those that I fight I do not hate
    Those that I guard I do not love;
    My country is Kiltartan Cross,
    My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor,
    No likely end could bring them loss
    Or leave them happier than before.
    Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
    Nor public man, nor cheering crowds,
    A lonely impulse of delight
    Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
    I balanced all, brought all to mind,
    The years to come seemed waste of breath,
    A waste of breath the years behind
    In balance with this life, this death.
    — Yeats
  • CornwallCletus
    5
    Thank you for taking the time to read my hopeless and rage fueled rant of self-pity. Thank you even more for taking the time to respond to this in a way that made me feel seen and heard.

    Since I posted this, I have decide to leave my job of two and a half years, and leave the country I am currently residing in, to go help a childhood friend who has been dealing with sickness in his family for a long time and is consequently struggling with the family business.

    I am leaving here in 7 days. I am going to swing by my hometown to sort a few things out, and tell my aunt (the 80 year old lady) I love her, before heading up to the arctic in about 14 days. I have a place to stay, and everything is taken care of. It was all just a call away. It is time to give back to this family, and this mountain range community, that gave me so much love, care, and enjoyment when I was a lost adolescent and young adult.

    It's not all for him though. I need to do good in order to feel good. I must surround myself with nature and inspiring people I respect and love in order to not lose myself in the egocentric self-realization of the inner city. I need a long break. I am getting out. Hopefully this will bring me back to a path in life I can be proud of.

    Insert "Well that escalated quickly"-meme. It feels much better now. It's not the first time a mental breakdown leads to major changes in my life. I have been struggling with depression for about 20 years now. I know I lose control of emotion and thought. Thank you for pointing that out, as it slips my mind at times.
  • jellyfish
    128


    I'm glad things are looking up. I've walked through Hell a time or two or three or...and yet am strangely fairly happy when I don't get sucked into that vortex. Highs and lows, and it all gets stranger with age. Anyway, I think it's cool that you had the guts to spill it all out. That's the real stuff. That's when philosophy is more than a clever game of concepts.

    I salute you, fellow mortal.
  • CornwallCletus
    5


    Thank you, friendly stranger.

    I have been lurking around this forum for a while now. I will try to join in on a few discussions when I have finally settled on the other side of the continent.
  • Gnomon
    3.5k
    before heading up to the arctic in about 14 daysCornwallCletus
    Be forewarned that the arctic climate can cause Winter Blues (Seasonal Affective Disorder). So take precautions. Maybe Light Therapy Lamps will help. :smile:
  • iolo
    226


    'A change is as good as a rest'. Best wishes in your new project.
  • Terrapin Station
    13.8k
    Try to be less judgmental. Try to not moralize (moralizing being "commenting on issues of right and wrong, typically with an unfounded air of superiority) Most people aren't going to want to hang out with someone who regularly nags, complains, or who is regularly negatively judgmental about others. It's important to learn how to be comfortable with different dispositions, different opinions, etc.
  • uncanni
    338
    ...and what will become of me when I no longer have it in me to pretend that I do not genuinely despise people. I don't know if I care anymore.CornwallCletus

    There's something mighty liberating to admit that our family acted despicably, and that the people all around us act despicably. I think that a survival mechanism is to find 2 or 3 kindred souls you can count on, who see the world in all its phoniness, deception, hypocrisy, amorality and psychopathy. I think our species is becoming more and more psychopathic.

    I have 2 friends who recognize the same things; it seems to be enough. Thankfully, I am free of family. I'm close to retirement. So many fewer games I have to pretend to play on a daily basis.
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