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No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

robkhenderson.substack.com

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Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#361

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

Ensorceled wrote: post #294
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"US thinkers" is a ridiculously broad term. There are plenty of Americans who think and know what a social safety net is. Some of them know about it because they read, some because they think, some because they've travelled, some because they've lived in countries with a stronger social safety net than the USA. What is true in the USA is that there are people who know what a social safety net is and are adamant that…

> "US thinkers" is a ridiculously broad term. It's a pretty good generalization, however. I see it over and over again in US political discussions a total, and possibly (probably?) deliberate, blindness to the idea that health card could be socialized, UI and welfare could be better, access to education could be universal and things like job training or maternity leave could exist, etc.

Then you're not connecting with the US "left" (probably not a coincidence). The Nation is both the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the US (founded in 1865) and consistently represents different parts of the US left. Jacobin is another good example.

It is true that if you watch network or cable TV from the US, you will not find the actual left represented, other than perhaps Bernie Sanders. What they will call "the left" is mostly centrist Democrats whose position can be summarized as "things as basically OK but we need to be nicer in a few specific ways".

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#362

Post by giantg2 »

mountainriver wrote: post #296
lolinder wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True. But people also just give up if they're constantly told that all the opportunities are gone, whether or not it's true. If you combine "there are no opportunities for me" with "there are no expectations for me", you get "I'll do nothing".

Yes, opportunity is a belief, in reality there are plenty of opportunities, it takes imagination and hope

It depends if they're realistic or not. Without that, the hope portion disappears.

Then one has to weigh if the job is worth it. With the high cost of modern living (shelter, taxes, healthcare) one might decide it's better not to work and just rely on assistance programs (I know someone like that).

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#363

Post by UncleMeat »

hardrcafe wrote: post #65
what-the-grump wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yay the patriarchy! :)

At least it has a track record of creating coherent, functioning civilization the world over since time immemorial. Can’t say whatever we have today looks all that compelling, and I say this as a “winner” with a high salary, owned home, wife, and children. I think of a future beyond my ability to retire to Margaritaville. What future lies for my daughters and sons? A hedonist utopia that denigrates and denies the mos…

"Functioning" is a word for it, I guess.

I really don't think I'd describe a system where 50% of the population has basically zero rights to be "functioning."

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#364

Post by croes »

fnqra wrote: post #282
Ensorceled wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The political window has shifted further and further left in recent years. As an outside observer, I'm Canadian, this viewpoint of many Americans that their politics has shifted "left" is flabbergasting. The SC has definitely shifted hard right and Roe v. Wade is essentially overturned, or being, overturned in many states. "Don't say gay" and other anti LGBQT+ laws are being passed. I feel you are using a very "tru…

Quoted post unavailable.

Define frivolously.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#366

Post by gwbas1c »

rayiner wrote: post #3

This is an important read, especially this part. > This highly educated and affluent person prioritized stability for her own children. But refused to publicly endorse this value so that less fortunate children could also benefit from family stability. I’m from a rigidly socially conservative immigrant family that professes fashionably liberal values in public—imposing a double standard between “us” and “Americans.”…

> I’m from a rigidly socially conservative immigrant family that professes fashionably liberal values in public

I don't consider believing in matrimony, fidelity, and prioritizing ones' children as socially conservative.

It's just normal.

Just spend some time watching Tiger King to pick up on their lifestyles and politics: They might appear liberal because Joe Exotic is a freewheeling, open homosexual with multiple partners. But on closer inspection, they love Trump and hate Nancy Pelosi.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#367

Post by photochemsyn »

captainredbeard wrote: post #314
lkey wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Watching and hearing about the family instability in these communities is heartbreaking. Half or more of everyone’s parents are divorced. The kids float around seeking stability and the adults can’t provide it. You seem to be attributing the cause of this to 'Telling men and boys it's cool and fine to divorce' and not attributing to say... declining material and social capitol in the lower four quintiles of wealth…

> but female suicide rates dropped by 20% ...hmm, male suicide rates are going up...

You might want to age-control that:

https://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20200911/suicide-rate-...

> "Suicides among children and young people aged 10 to 24 rose 57% from 2007 to 2018, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... In actual numbers, the suicide rate among 10- to 24-year-olds jumped from about 7 per 100,000 in 2007 to nearly 11 per 100,000 in 2018, according to the National Vital Statistics Report published Sept. 11."

That's called massive societal failure any way you look at it. Oh well, I guess there's the upside that wealthy boomers can ride off into their cruise ship futures on the backs of 401K retirement plans financed by investments in student loan debt, fossil-fueled global warming, price-hiked pharmaceuticals and the war machine. What a wonderful picture, really shows the mentality here.

Jim Morrison was speaking for that class when he said, "I don't know what's gonna happen, man, but I'm gonna get my kicks in before this whole shithouse goes up in flames."

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#368

Post by FridgeSeal »

kasey_junk wrote: post #188
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Defund the police" is merely an agitational short slogan for "we need some other way of governing the safety of our communities, because this is clearly not working." Like many short and pithy slogans, it may not be communicating that message effectively at all. It's not like police forces are an eternal attribute of all civilizations. Modern policing is actually pretty young.

And it’s a particularly bad short slogan because it says something a) no one really believes and b) something that is particularly unpopular. Defund the police sets back the very things it’s trying to address. Contrast that to “Black Lives Matter” or “We are the 99%” which are also short slogans that encapsulate the broad and varied beliefs of the respective movements without being off putting to even the people who…

It’s not a great slogan, sure, but it’s got staying power, and enough people clearly understand (or are willing to listen to) what it actually means, so maybe we can all get on with enacting some change instead of bike shedding what would have maybe been a better pithy slogan.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#369

Post by SamoyedFurFluff »

> Over the past half-century, the number of men per capita behind bars has more than quadrupled.

This then talks about poor people dating too much/families being unstable… as if the instability isn’t put on the poor by overpolicing. Is this more blaming poor people for their poverty?

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

#370

Post by Longlius »

gryson wrote: post #30
PaulHoule wrote: post #11

A counter is that other countries (Japan, Korea, Italy, ...) that enforce traditional values have had a collapse in the birth rate. Having children out of wedlock is a safety valve for broken institutions that keeps the birth rate higher in the US than comparable countries; that plus relatively open integration helps us maintain our economy, welfare state, pensions, etc. If we turned the screws on women and men to di…

The US has a low (and falling) birthrate. Not quite as low as South Korea, but certainly not high by any means.

It has one of the highest of the developed countries and has only recently declined. South Korea and Japan have had terminal birth rates since the 80s.
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