I wonder if the story about H1B visas and older americans being sacked provides a hint of a back story here. It seems to me that social solidarity impedes immediate profits; things like healthcare and pensions are very awkward for folks who want to smash open the value locked up in corporations for redeployment into yachts and sports cars. The consequences have been out of the public eye till now, but as the boomer bulge starts being the focus of this, and as boomers discover that they are working till they are 80 and retiring poor maybe things will change. How to change things - well that's going to be one of the challenges of the future.
All the lonely people
121–130 of 220 posts
Re: All the lonely people
#122The more I read about this, the more weird I think I must be. I've always preferred being alone. My time in San Francisco was utter hell. I couldn't get a moment away from people and noise. Now I live in complete isolation. My nearest neighbor is two miles down a dirt road. I only go into town to stock up on foods, which I vacuum seal and stuff in the deep freeze (enough to last me 3 months at a time). I've never bee…
You are you - all humans are unique. You have your needs and desires and you have found a way to satisfy them. I'd be interested to learn if you feel any commitment or duty to others - do you have a social impulse separate from your desire for personal isolation? For example some people in your mould have written books to try and share their thoughts with other humans, some people make art, perhaps some people give money or other support? Would you like to do any of those things or do you think that you should?
Re: All the lonely people
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Counterintuitive, amazing, horrifying. Everyone should read about this experiment. I would love to know if it has been re-created.
If you like that, you'll love this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_of_despair
Where we learn more about the experimenter than the subject.
Re: All the lonely people
#124I don't know Canada well enough yet, but I can tell you what life used to be like in the UK in my mum's time as a kid, around 55 years back in the North East of England. All families lived near each other and you lived near your school. You'd walk home past your nan's house and stop in there or at your uncles. Maybe when you got home your mum was out at the shops - ok go to your nan's a few yards away. Or just go to…
People were living in squalor up to and right after the second world war. I might not like the rentier economy but I try and remember some of the alternatives are worse.
Re: All the lonely people
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was also brought up to greet people, but try to greet neighbors in London, UK and they will look at you like you fell from the sky. Most of them will not even give a response. Big cities are a lot like this now.
Keep greeting them - they will come around. I am from the US South and not saying hello (or waving when they pass by) is considered bad manners. I have done this all my life and people have told me that they like it when someone says "good morning" with a smile. Maybe I am lucky or biased, but I don't care. I like it when people are nice and I treat people the way that I want to be treated. I sometimes have to spend…
I should move to the South.
Re: All the lonely people
#126> When she couldn’t find her way back home, confused and scared, she screamed for help. She banged on people’s doors and tried to claw her way into vehicles, setting off car alarms. > Neither offered to help, nor called 911 — they pulled the curtains shut and went back to bed. This is a insult to my intelligence. This sort of emotive bullshit is both a lie (This is not what happened) and totally unconstructive. There…
> This is not what happened.
Tell us what did happen.
Re: All the lonely people
#127I was a semi introvert and extrovert guy but after working for one startup for more than 3 years in isolated environment makes me feel like i am fully introvert. There is no one with whom i can express my feelings openly. I don't have friends to hangout, and the most depressing thing is the people of my age have all this thing. What's more awkward is I can't even able to approach people, seems like i forgotten how to…
Sorry to hear this. I chose to work at a big company because I knew that this would let me work 40 hours a week and so I'd have a chance to socialize outside work hours.
Please bear in mind that this is always an option for you too. I actually had a startup before I got my current job, but decided to get a job at a big tech company instead.
Re: All the lonely people
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Keep greeting them - they will come around. I am from the US South and not saying hello (or waving when they pass by) is considered bad manners. I have done this all my life and people have told me that they like it when someone says "good morning" with a smile. Maybe I am lucky or biased, but I don't care. I like it when people are nice and I treat people the way that I want to be treated. I sometimes have to spend…
One problem in New York is that the vast majority of people who try to talk to you on the street want something--they're selling something, canvassing for a candidate, begging, creepily flirting or running a scam--and another big segment are under the influence or mentally ill. Usually the best case is a lost tourist asking for directions. The worst case, that everyone's aware of, is someone trying to get you to stop…
I always found New Yorkers to be exceptionally friendly and not in the way you describe (ie wanting something). It's one of the things I love about the place.
Re: All the lonely people
#129Again, something my grandfather taught me, was that it was important to walk around your neighborhood and say "hi" to the people who lived there. He called it "Being neighborly." We also, periodically but not on a particular schedule, put together a block BBQ where people can bring food, or not, and share a moment together to talk about what is going in or what they are worried about etc. Generally people respond wel…
I wouldn't go greeting people randomly. But if it's somewhat related to your day by day, by all means do (neighbours, attendants in nearby shops, people you know, etc) One thing I've noticed about Canadians is that despite their supposedly friendliness they don't give a f. about you . Granted, different cultures and ways to express feelings (canadian.show_emotion returns NotImplementedException) but it seems their th…
I remain pretty dubious about generalisations about the populations of countries as a whole. In my experience, these sorts of differences are more local. People in city centres are less friendly, because it's an intimidating environment. Walk your dog out in the 'burbs or a park somewhere and people are far more likely to be relaxed and say hi.
Re: All the lonely people
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't go greeting people randomly. But if it's somewhat related to your day by day, by all means do (neighbours, attendants in nearby shops, people you know, etc) One thing I've noticed about Canadians is that despite their supposedly friendliness they don't give a f. about you . Granted, different cultures and ways to express feelings (canadian.show_emotion returns NotImplementedException) but it seems their th…
I remain pretty dubious about generalisations about the populations of countries as a whole. In my experience, these sorts of differences are more local. People in city centres are less friendly, because it's an intimidating environment. Walk your dog out in the 'burbs or a park somewhere and people are far more likely to be relaxed and say hi.
Yes but I'm not talking about saying hi to any person in the city center.
I'm saying about people you see daily (like people in a reception) not saying hi/not acknowledging it when greeted (amongst other things). It's weird
Or someone starts a conversation then the conversation dies suddenly and that's it.