PolarKraken

Totally understand, almost didn't ask for that reason. Glad things are going better for you.

Oh I do remember that one too, found it eye-opening, and yep probably because it's right in his wheelhouse so to speak.

So very sorry about the pain - I've been adjacent to it, which of course is not even a sliver of what it's like to experience it. Someone close to me once had to wean themselves off Methadone, unexpectedly, and without help, which he had been (eventually) prescribed cuz nothing else would touch the pain. I don't really understand how he's still alive TBH (not just from that), but he's the kind of old-school stubborn that defies logic of any kind.

Chronic pain and chronic isolation (esp. of the elderly) are two titans of misery just hiding in plain sight, stomping on life. I hate it.

I didn't understand quite what you meant about a "suicide machine" unless that's just a euphemism for something obvious. If you want to elaborate I'd be curious, but I fully understand if not.

Yeesh! I stumbled onto that image just scrolling, had no prior awareness of the situation. I found even just that without context off-putting and gross, wondered what the poster meant. This person just oozes toxicity, so sorry you've gotta deal with that.

I'm part of this crowd too, sorry 😅

I did, though, just recently do some hard-selling to some folks I care about, toward this instance (and Lemmy in general in some cases), as just a better place to hang out, a previously ~impossible-to-find "home" on the interwebz. My primary reason for doing that was your exemplary approach toward governance, and the way this place works as a result (I know that's not solely down to you, lol, relax!).

Your concern about this sounds like exactly the kind of refusal of authority (including your own) that makes this place lovely.

Like it or not, true leaders arise naturally, and are followed by those who like what they see. Entirely distinct from any hierarchical structure imposing "leadership" (authority).

I'm certain that you understand that far better than me.

db0 it is, then, for shorthand - but if you really hate that, I'll change my own budding habits 🤷‍♂️

I'm only some of the way through and this essay is excellent, again, thank you, I have a feeling I'll be reading more of this author. The article is actually giving me some closure I didn't realize I wanted - I could never put together why I could find some of his (Scott's) writing thought-provoking, yet fail to really come away with any concrete points of view from his long ass posts much of the time. I actually assumed I just wasn't quite sharp enough to fully get it, or just not paying enough attention at any rate.

Nope, dude just writes that way (probably on purpose, "mealy-mouthed") and a razor-sharp reader like Elizabeth Sandifer here can slice through the fluff and see that there is piteously little substance in a lot of his writing.

What's interesting is Scott's essay "Moloch!" did kinda feel to me like a revelation at the time, helped me connect the dots on why everything is getting shittier constantly - I'll have to eventually give that one (the only one I actually remember) a reread someday after this and see what I think.

Cheers!

Thank you, I'll give it a read!

Would you be willing to say more? I read a bunch of his stuff years ago and didn't come away with that feeling, but I also acknowledge I was in a kind of "fun new ideas I stumbled onto" naive phase at that time and wasn't thinking all that critically. And then just moved on outta boredom eventually.

I do, FWIW, vaguely understand his connection to the "rationalist" (fuckin turbo eye roll) community and the kinds of...creatures that comprise the major figures there (a Harry Potter fanfic taken as this illuminating, brilliant piece of discourse? holy shit this is S-tier own-fart-sniffing).

But Scott in particular struck me as compassionate and thoughtful, I didn't get gross vibes. But hey, bro is quite verbose and intelligent and maybe he just hid it ~well and I missed it.

I can't confess to being quite as wholesome as you (well, at least your food decision-making lol) but you're on top of it, ya love to see it. I have, though, been making much more thoughtful choices about how much factory farmed meat I consume. Getting it down pretty low these days, but it helps that I have an Indian spot nearby with vegetarian food at least as satisfying as any meat-based dish. Malai kofta, unnnnfff.

Side note - since parts of this thread run the risk of shaming poor folks for "bad" financial decisions - I'm not going there (and I don't think you were either, you sound compassionate to me). It's a problem to a degree of course, but also being super (often hopelessly?) poor really screws up the brain. Speaking from experience. Scarcity, even self-imposed, can sometimes take me to some dark places, most notably back to personality traits that I developed in those days that I have done tremendous work to repair. Our systems are deranged and nonsensical, not our poor.

Yet another "wtf, y'all?", good point. I can't personally say that grosses me out, but I tend to be in the minority on that sort of topic myself, so I totally see what you're saying. Aint no health inspector checking these vehicles (true of traditional delivery too I suppose).

And I mean...sometimes the drivers straight up eat some food, which is awful from the standpoint of your POV, but also just... truly hilarious to me.

That is a good point (re: COVID) that I had lost along the way, thanks. Those services did do good during that time, you're right. I'm not so sure about the GPS thing, but hey, I never thought we'd see half the ugly shit we're seeing these days, so why not?

Of all the modern capitalistic irritations (to put it mildly), this one I really detest. And not least because of how ridiculously popular it is, wtf people? I watch folks I know, who can barely afford the food itself in the first place, then inflate the price by like 40%, just to eat the already (very!) mediocre food...cold. Solely so that they don't have to leave the house. Just completely unhinged from my POV, and honestly produces almost a sense of alienation in me, I find it so bizarre.

Disclaimer though - I will acknowledge both that I happily enjoy various different foolish things myself, so the point about glass houses is worth my keeping in mind, and also there are some great reasons to use it (limited mobility for one, as another user pointed out).

But sheesh folks. Restaurants largely hate it from my understanding, the drivers doing it hate it (cuz the job - oh excuse me, the preferred exploitation-hiding euphemism is "gig" - is utter shit, a literal minor improvement over straight up homelessness), the environment hates it, the wear-and-tear on a likely broke person's vehicle and the wear-and-tear on already struggling infrastructure...I mean what the fuckity fuck, seriously. How is this so popular, we're all insane and just conveniencing our way to oblivion. SMgoddamnH.

Aside from the aforementioned reasonable uses (largely edge cases, let's be honest), there is precisely one group of people who truly benefit in any serious way from this amazingly destructive nonsense - and wouldn't you know it, it's the exact same group fucking us in every other way! Weird!

Sorry. This one really gets me.

Hey thanks! I probably wouldn't have gone and checked again without your comment, was having all kinds of trouble. Looks good now.

Edit: Hmm, spoke too soon, still seeing that sometimes. But at least now subsequent attempts work, I'm not getting credentials rejection in addition to that (although...I think that part may have been my fault, looking back...embarrassing lol).