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2020-09-26 at 6:04 PM UTC in Scientists Predict There's 90% Chance Civilization Will Collapse Within 'Decades'I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There.
I lived through the end of a civil war. Do you know what it was like for me? Quite normal. I went to work, I went out, I dated. This is what Americans don’t understand. They’re waiting to get personally punched in the face while ash falls from the sky. That’s not how it happens.
This is how it happens. Precisely what you’re feeling now. The numbing litany of bad news. The ever rising outrages. People suffering, dying, and protesting all around you, while you think about dinner.
If you’re trying to carry on while people around you die, your society is not collapsing. It’s already fallen down.
I was looking through some old photos for this article and the mix is shocking to me now. Almost offensive. There’s a burnt body in front of my office. Then I’m playing Scrabble with friends. There’s bomb smoke rising in front of the mall. Then I’m at a concert. There’s a long line for gas. Then I’m at a nightclub. This is all within two weeks.
Today I’m like, ‘did we live like this?’ But we did. I mean, I did. Was I a rich Colombo fuckboi while poorer people died? Well, yes. I wrote about it, but who cares.
The real question is, who are you? I mean, you’re reading this. You have the leisure to ponder American collapse like it’s even a question. The people really experiencing it already know.
So I’m telling you, as someone who’s been there, in similar shoes to yours; this is it. America has already collapsed. What you’re feeling is exactly how it feels. It’s Saturday and you’re thinking about food while the world is on fire. This is normal. This is life during collapse. Just read what it says on the tin:
LIFE! Now with 20% MORE DEATH!
Collapse does not mean you’re personally dying right now. It means y’all are dying right now. Death is sometimes close, sometimes far away, but always there. Usually for someone else, but someday, randomly, for you. I used to judge those herds of gazelle when the lion just eats one of them alive and everyone keeps going but, no, humans are just like that. That’s the real meaning of herd immunity. We’re immune to fundamentally giving a shit.
It honestly becomes mundane (for the privileged). As Colombo kids we used to go out, worry about money, fall in love — it all went on. We’d pop the trunk for a bomb check. Turn off our lights for the air raids. I’m not saying that we were untouched. My friend’s dad was killed, just gone with a land mine. RIP Uncle Nihal. I know people who were beaten, arrested, went into exile. But that’s not what my photostream looks like. It was mostly food and parties and normal stuff for a dumb 20-something.
If you’re waiting for a moment where you’re like ‘this is it’, I’m telling you, it never comes. Nobody comes on TV and says ‘things are officially bad’. There’s no launch party for decay. It’s just a pileup of outrages and atrocities in between friendships and weddings and perhaps an unusual amount of alcohol.
Perhaps you’re waiting for some moment when the adrenaline kicks in and you’re fighting the virus or fascism all the time, but it’s not like that. Life is not a movie, and if it was, you’re certainly not the star. You’re just an extra. If something good or bad happens to you it’ll be random and no one will care. If you’re unlucky you’re a statistic. If you’re lucky, no one notices you at all.
Collapse is just a series of ordinary days in between extraordinary bullshit, most of it happening to someone else. That’s all it is.
One day, I was at work when someone left a bomb at the bag check at NOLIMIT. It exploded, killing 17 people who were out shopping. I experienced this as the phone lines getting clogged for an hour. My wife experienced it as, well, a bomb, it was 500m from her house. 17 families experienced it as the end. And their grief goes on.
As you can see, this is not a uniform experience of chaos. For some people it destroys their bodies, others their hearts, but for most people it’s just a low level hum at the back of their minds.
What’s that buzzing sound you hear now?
Today I assume you went to work. Bad news was everywhere, clogging up your social media, your conversations. Maybe it struck close to you. I’m sorry. Somewhere in your country, a thousand people died. I’m sorry for each of them. A thousand families are grieving tonight. A thousand more join them every day. The pain doesn’t go away, it just becomes a furniture of bones, in a thousand thousand homes.
As a nation you don’t seem to mourn your dead, but their families do. Their communities do. Jesus, also, weeps. But for most people it’s just another day. You’ve run out of coffee. There’s a funny meme. This can’t be collapse, because nothing’s collapsing for me.
But that’s exactly how collapse feels. This is how I felt. This is how millions of people have felt, including many immigrants in your midst. We’re trying to tell you as loud as we can. You can get out of it, but you have to understand where you are to even turn around. This, I fear, is one (of many) things Americans do not understand. You tell yourself American collapse is impossible. Meanwhile, look around.
In the last three months America has lost more people than Sri Lanka lost in 30 years of civil war. If this isn’t collapse, then the word has no meaning. You probably still think of Sri Lanka as a shithole, though the war ended over a decade ago. Then what does that make you?
America has fallen. You need to look up, at the people you’re used to looking down on. We’re trying to tell you something. I have lived through collapse and you’re already there. Until you understand this, you only have further to fall.
https://medium.com/indica/i-lived-through-collapse-america-is-already-there-ba1e4b54c5fcThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-21 at 11:32 PM UTC in The Social DilemmaJust watched this on Netflix, it's about social media and how it is affecting us and our perception of reality. Pretty good one too.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-25 at 4:05 AM UTC in Police raid in Vietnam finds more than 300,000 used condoms being packed for resaleMarket inspectors in the Binh Duong province raided a factory near Ho Chi Minh City, where they discovered used condoms being repackaged to be sold at the market. An inspector said the factory's 34-year-old owner, a woman, confessed they purchased the condoms from someone else, the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, according to the AP.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vietnam-condom-recycling-police-raid-factory-used-resale/The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-25 at 2:28 AM UTC in Should we ban all pedophiles from this website?Children cannot consent to sex. Raping children is detrimental to society. Like people who have urges to start fires in buildings, or people who are prone to violent outbursts, people who want to have sex with children have a condition that needs to be controlled.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-25 at 3:17 AM UTC in Should we ban all pedophiles from this website?
Originally posted by Meikai It matters in the context of "pedophilia is in the DSM"
It really doesn't matter whether pedophilia is in the DSM or not, or whether it is LGBT+ or not, what matters is how people act. I would rather live in a world where pedophiles get the treatment they need to control their condition and the opportunity to live a normal life than a world where these people are either ostracized or preying upon children.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-04 at 1:25 PM UTC in Scientists Predict There's 90% Chance Civilization Will Collapse Within 'Decades'The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-24 at 11:23 PM UTC in Scientists Predict There's 90% Chance Civilization Will Collapse Within 'Decades'Melting Antarctic ice will raise sea level by 2.5 metres – even if Paris climate goals are met, study finds
Research says melting will continue even if temperature rises are limited to 2C
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/23/melting-antarctic-ice-will-raise-sea-level-by-25-metres-even-if-paris-climate-goals-are-met-study-finds?CMP=share_btn_tw&utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletterThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-24 at 11:14 PM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans"This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” the Vermont senator and Democratic runner-up said in remarks on Thursday. “This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy – and democracy must win."
Bernie Sanders details Trump's efforts to steal election in urgent call to action:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-2020-election-joe-biden-b578294.htmlThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-23 at 12:07 PM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans
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2020-09-23 at 12:47 AM UTC in How much money is just right for youThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-21 at 10:49 PM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans'Trump Lied, 200,000 Died' Neon Sign Displayed at White House as U.S. Nears Milestone
https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-trump-lied-covid-200000-1533311The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-21 at 10:42 PM UTC in Scientists Predict There's 90% Chance Civilization Will Collapse Within 'Decades'Anarchist Jurisdiction.
Right up there with War is Peace', 'Freedom is Slavery,' and 'Ignorance is Strength'.
And 'ANTIFA is fascist'.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-19 at 2:15 PM UTC in I’m drinking wine 3.0
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2020-09-18 at 10:47 PM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading AmericansThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-18 at 3:40 AM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading AmericansThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-18 at 3:12 AM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading AmericansConservatives, FFS. I already know the answer to this but: Where is your dignity?
Southerners: Trump is a NY, coastal elite trust fund baby. Remember - the people you hate? He is pretty good at mocking Southern accents and wouldn't be caught dead in the presence of 99% of you.
Alphà males: He tweets more than any 12-year old girl. He can't fire anyone face-to-face. He is incredibly thin-skinned - he can't handle any criticism. He's always a victim, whining incessantly every waking moment of his life. He can't walk down a ramp or drink a bottle of water, has never worked a hard day in his life, is afraid of germs, and thinks "exercise depletes your life battery." I bet Greta Thunberg could beat him in a fist fight.
2A supporters: Does Trump give one. single. shit. about guns? Is there any evidence of him caring about guns or gun rights that wasn't in a political context? He threatened to take away guns without due process.. He keeps flip-flopping on stances and seems confused, probably because he can't relate to his supporters at all on the issue.
The ultra-rich - When you take away the fact that he's catering to the rich with tax cuts and deregulation, you're reminded that the rich in NY hated Trump before he ran for office. He did not have a good reputation among the elite whatsoever before politics. He's cheated his whole life to get where he's at. He inherited $400 million in fraudulent money from his family. And even lost more money than any American for a decade. He's bankrupted countless businesses and his entire career is built on shitty branding with his name.
Military: 5-time draft dodger. Shit on a Gold Star Family. Ridiculed veterans with PTSD. On a sitting Senator who was a decorated war hero and spent 6 years in a POW camp: "I like people who don't get caught." Avoids war memorials because it's raining. Has incessantly requested extravagant war parades, with seemingly no other goal but to boost his image. Shamed the National Security Council on live television. Provoked the resignation of Mattis, who has now called Trump a "threat to the Constitution." Calls dead soldiers "suckers" and "losers."
Christians: The dude can't name a single bible verse. He doesn't go to church and just lazily repeats empty platitudes about God like a used-car salesman.
Women: "Women, you have to treat them like shit." "Grab 'em by the pussy." "When you're famous, they let you do anything." He is a vicious sexual predator. 26 sexual assault claims (literally a new one today). Many with ample corroborating evidence, as well as DNA evidence by Jean. He cheated on all of his wives, including his third wife with a porn star while she was raising their newborn son.
Qanon pedo conspiracy idiots: Trump bragged about barging into teenage locker rooms as they are undressing, is close friends with Epstein and Ghislaine and thinks highly of them, and is accused of raping a 13-year old.
"Patriots": This guy bragged about himself on 9/11 and the Saudis are basically his homies.
People who want the "swamp drained" and corruption out of politics: Trump has hired arsonists to the fire department in every aspect of government. DeVos, Mnuchin, Ross, Pruitt, Zinke, Bernhardt, Perry, Barr, etc. It's like the all-star cast of corruption. Completely unqualified billionaire friends with huge conflicts of interest that seek to enrich themselves. He has the biggest turnover of any President by humongous margins, and then after firing them, whines about people he hired every time.
"Law and order party." The man has committed at least 10 felonies. Committed two felony finance violations, committed 5 felony OOJ charges, including trying to fire the person investigating him. Twice. Committed numerous instances of witness intimidation. Soliciting a foreign national, etc, etc. We haven't even seen his finances, which would not surprise me at all to include money laundering, tax/bank fraud, tax evasion. After promising to release his tax returns in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, and claiming they were "under audit" for 3 years, he has now blocked and appealed them all the way to the Supreme Court.. Nothing to see there, right?
Republicans - Ted Cruz in 2016: “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward” "Consistently disgraceful” “Nominating Donald Trump would be a train wreck” “Big government liberal”
Lindsey Graham: “kook,” “crazy” and “unfit for office." My favorite: "If we elect Donald Trump, we will get destroyed. And we will deserve it."
McCain was basically his arch-nemesis.
The last two living Republican presidents, George Bush and George Sr., publicly opposed his presidency.
There's a gigantic list of Republicans who opposed his presidency
...Is all it takes in this country to get 42% support an anti-abortion stance and an R next to your name? Is Fox News and hyper-partisanship really this powerful?
For the life of me, I can't think of someone further from the people that support him.
How embarrassing it is to have been conned so hard. If only they knew.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-18 at 10:23 PM UTC in Ladies of NiS... What exact sequence of words would unlock your pussy instantly?Just be all like:
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2020-09-18 at 3:53 AM UTC in Do Black Lives Matter?The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-09-18 at 3:48 AM UTC in Do Black Lives Matter?
Originally posted by rabbitweed I'm much happier since I stopped using reddit and twitter. It feels good to conquer your vices, instead of being their slave.
Like you. Smoking weed every day. Furiously CONSOOMING soy content from big tech. Posting other peoples opinions as your own.
Why not try and do better? I know it's hard. But the struggle is a noble one, and you feel better at the end.
You really don't seem all that happy. I would describe your personality as bitter.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-09-18 at 12:21 PM UTC in Trump admits he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading AmericansThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
