Brit Boomer. I grew up in a single parent family near the bottom of the heap in England. What kept us going and saved me from early death or a life of crime or drug dependency was the welfare state. The NHS, free school meals and host of other measures meant that there was a safety net in place, even so much was done by charities like the NSPCC. Later there were grants, with tuition fees paid, to go to higher educati…
I disagree, if you are going to be poor then there are far worse places. I had a similar upbringing btw, single mother with 3 siblings.
Shit life syndrome
231–240 of 244 posts
Re: Shit life syndrome
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's accurate to say that all coastal towns in the UK are doing badly - I can't help noticing there here on the east of Scotland you have on different sides of the Firth of Forth Methil, which is deprived, and North Berwick which is doing very nicely. Different histories, reliance on different industries, quality of transport links make a huge difference. Not even all coastal "tourist" towns are doing b…
It seems to be true that they are either doing very well or very badly. St Andrews? Elie? Lovely. Methil? Granton? Pass. Are there examples of “it’s alright” seaside towns above some threshold size?
Re: Shit life syndrome
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nah, they are a bastion of suffering, you just don't hear about it because the people don't speak English and don't get visibility in your media; and because your media prefers to write about idealized views of Buddhist life rather than actual problems.
You assume an awful lot about me. I visit the region quite often and have studied Buddhist for the past 30 years. You assume an awful lot more about the people and Buddhism. With first hand knowledge of what you speak of, I feel it’s hard to believe you’ve got a lot of exposure to either these parts of the world or Buddhism. Buddhism teaches you that while we can be comfortable or uncomfortable, true suffering comes…
What I saw there was a lot of broken people who have learned to cope by not caring; I call that resignation. Talk to them a little and you'll see they don't appreciate their situation.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a whole lot warmer in Australia. Here in Britain there are very few days when it is pleasant to sit on the beach in Blackpool, let alone go swimming in the sewage-filled sea. Cheap flights make it easy to go abroad to the warmer and nicer environment of Italy or Spain.
Were seaside towns in the UK in the past particularly dependent on tourism though? And has a similar phenomenon occurred in other cooler-climate countries, in Europe or elsewhere? Tasmania's climate isn't so far off the UK's, yet I'm not aware of any hollowing-out effect among coastal towns there (Hobart has roughly the population of Blackpool, and was doing just fine last time I visited).
Hobart is the largest town on Tasmania, so presumably as well as tourism it is also a regional focus for industry and non-tourism services.
Blackpool is 25km from Preston (same size), a little further from Liverpool and Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield (all large cities). The industry and services are in the other cities.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, you're right, if someone's addictions are so severe that they would otherwise not eat. I don't know any such people but I don't doubt they exist. I think you know I was making a valid point initially though. I was giving an example of how readily available these schemes are to people who don't really need them. There is a perception that people have to qualify for such help when, in reality, they just need to kn…
The overarching organization claims otherwise and says one is only considered when the budget for food & clothes is below € 300 : "Ben je bijvoorbeeld alleenstaand en houd je minder dan € 300,- over voor eten en kleding? Dan kom je in aanmerking. Die € 300,- is ons normbedrag voor een alleenstaande zonder kinderen." https://voedselbankennederland.nl/ik-zoek-hulp/rekenhulp-voe...
Re: Shit life syndrome
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
The advent of cheap flights made holidays within Europe affordable to most people. As a consequence, traditional UK holiday destinations became much less popular. Over time old-fashioned guest houses, B&Bs and cheap hotels transitioned into very low cost housing for people with 'problems'. The inevitable doom spiral began... Destinations on the South Coast were not affected in the same way though and have remained a…
Over here in Ireland the cost of staying in a B&B or “cheap” hotel is eye watering, to the point it is often cheaper to fly somewhere sunny for a longer stay.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
The overarching organization claims otherwise and says one is only considered when the budget for food & clothes is below € 300 : "Ben je bijvoorbeeld alleenstaand en houd je minder dan € 300,- over voor eten en kleding? Dan kom je in aanmerking. Die € 300,- is ons normbedrag voor een alleenstaande zonder kinderen." https://voedselbankennederland.nl/ik-zoek-hulp/rekenhulp-voe...
May differ in other countries. I've been told by people in the UK that the criteria is very strict yet I know it is not.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don’t get it. It’s uncivil to police jokes. Instead of starting with blame and condescension of your own, try to seek understanding from the people you accuse. Every profession that is about caring for other people have these jokes because it is necessary to maintain some distance from human suffering to remain professionally functional. Humour makes it possible to maintain two dissonant thoughts in one’s head. I…
> It’s uncivil to police jokes I 100% agree! This isn't a joke, it's an insult.
It’s absolutely not an insult. It is a lament.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
And infamous for the tweet: https://twitter.com/sarahoconnor_/status/616282747200479232?...
What's the context here?
Sarah O'Connor is an FT reporter
Sarah O'Connor writes an article about a human dying from a factory robot
In the Terminator movies, Sarah Connor leads the resistance and her son is the leader of the future resistance. The machines try to kill her and her child. The whole movie is about robots killing humans and Sarah's efforts to save humanity from robots.
Sarah O'Connor the FT reporter appears too young to have watched the movies and/or remember the movies (1984, 1992) gets deluge of Twitter engagement given her article and her name.
For whomever hasnt seem the original two Terminator movies, the are absolutely huge culture moments for robotics and AI. Part II is also a cautionary tale about scientists who dont think about the effects of their work.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#240Even without poverty in the picture you still have the problem of the medical system failing pretty badly with the complex cases. Everything is geared towards short appointments, that simply doesn't give the doc enough time to see a complex picture. Unless you can afford to go outside the system to docs who actually have the time you're not likely to get good answers.
Short appointments on the front end, specialisation on the back end. Both of them doing a remarkably good job in the circumstances, but the front end doctor's job is to figure out which specialist you need or send you home with basic painkillers or antibiotics. And the specialists deal with their area, as such perhaps more concerned with the body part or system rather than the patient and their circumstances. Not a g…