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The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

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Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#161

Post by Klinky »

Spooky23 wrote: post #159
Klinky wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of mental gymnastics are involved in portraying the people who aren't sinking $200K into a child as decadent?

I'd ask what mental gymnastics are involved for a rich country to ignore tens of thousands of elderly to die alone and abandoned until their bank accounts drain?

My grandparents all died when I was young, mainly from alcohol and cigarettes. I never knew my father. My mom is a terrible person. Each elderly person has a story, and it would be wise to review how they got to a scenario that involves them dying alone. I am sure there are some sad tales, but there are probably some less than sad tales involving the life of an asshole.

I would agree that there should be better social safety nets in place for the elderly, not because their family members failed them, but exactly the opposite. It should be intended to free up family members from the burden of being someone's retirement plan. I have heard people say a good reason for having kids is so you have someone to take care of you when you're old. That sounds like a great way to set yourself up to die alone.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#162

Post by Futurebot »

Loneliness is deadly: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_exa...

The "epidemic of loneliness" has spread to many places. If you haven't read "The Lonely American" I implore you to do so if you care about this topic at all. An incredibly sobering read.

Book blurb:

"In today's world, it is more acceptable to be depressed than to be lonely-yet loneliness appears to be the inevitable byproduct of our frenetic contemporary lifestyle. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, one out of four Americans talked to no one about something of importance to them during the last six months. Another remarkable fact emerged from the 2000 U.S. Census: more people are living alone today than at any point in the country's history—fully 25 percent of households consist of one person only.

In The Lonely American, cutting-edge research on the physiological and cognitive effects of social exclusion and emerging work in the neurobiology of attachment uncover startling, sobering ripple effects of loneliness in areas as varied as physical health, children's emotional problems, substance abuse, and even global warming. Surprising new studies tell a grim truth about social isolation: being disconnected diminishes happiness, health, and longevity; increases aggression; and correlates with increasing rates of violent crime. Loneliness doesn't apply simply to single people, either—today's busy parents 'cocoon' themselves by devoting most of their non-work hours to children, leaving little time for friends, and other forms of social contact, and unhealthily relying on the marriage to fulfill all social needs."

Here's an article for Britain:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/...

It's everywhere.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#163

Post by smil »

jonahx wrote: post #124
smil wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How has your country (you must be American) distinguished itself by doing these same core social and psychological issues? Or are Americans stubborn and ignorant?

Serious question: What gave you the impression he was American? I assumed the opposite -- that only a Japanese person, or at least the child of first-generation Japanese immigrants, would have made that post.

He obviously knows nothing and so fit the ignorant and arrogant American stereotype to a t.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#164

Post by lani »

jackvalentine wrote: post #44
lani wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about a startup where one can dial a 1-800 number from Japan and get someone in ,say, Europe, who is also bored, and the two can rant to each other about how bad things are , and then go back to their lives ? International PainBuddy program, Dial-An-Agony . 1800-call-pain !! Best part, we pay a couple of life coaches to analyse some rants and provide anonymous advice

I was going to comment that you'd have language issues but then I realised, most people who want to vent don't actually need to be understood they just need to get it out. Good idea!

there's also google translate to help out

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#165

Post by goldfeld »

deckiedan wrote: post #158
goldfeld wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When bigots run the place and "community" more often than not stands for segregative christian values, they really don't.

Trying not to feed the trolls, but: Segregation and discrimination are far away from any of the teachings of Jesus. He partied and hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and other social outcasts of the day. He was killed alongside thieves, and spoke to them without disparaging. He, as a Jew, travelled to the Samaritan towns (a people-group treated apartheid style by Israel back-then), stayed with them and treate…

Sorry, I'm no troll on most days. I agree with you on Jesus, but mainstream christianity was already so far removed from his teaching just a few centuries after his death. I could be interpreted to have said "those christians with segregative values", of which there are many communities, priests/pastors and churches. You can say they're not christians, and I'd even fancy your definition, but they would beg to differ, splattering Jesus on your face.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#166

Post by mwhite »

reddytowns wrote: post #47
Spooky23 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Society is bizarre in innumerable ways. The number of people who I know that have contempt for children or people having children is repugnant to me. I think the disdain for the young and old is a sign of decadence.

Having children is the single most damaging thing to the environment a person will realistically do in their lifetime. Edit: why all the downvotes?

If the people who care about the environment don't have children, then future generations will just be comprised more of people who don't care about the environment.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#167

Post by sdrothrock »

kazinator wrote: post #62
impendia wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Japan for two years, and studied the language, and it was amazing how that sentence always brought any discussion to a conclusion. Grammatically, its negation would be "Shikata ga aru", but I never heard this said once.

Maybe that negation would be too obviously related to the idiom. There are other ways to say there is a way; e.g. instead of shikata, there is houhou： 方法 （方法がある）. The counter-idiom, if you will, to "nothing can be done" might be "where there is a will, there is a way": 意志のあるところには方法がある。 If someone says しょうがない or しかたがない, and you don't agree, that might be the thing.

> The counter-idiom, if you will, to "nothing can be done" might be "where there is a will, there is a way":

I've always thought of the counter-idiom as being やればできる (yareba dekiru) -- "you can do it if you try."

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#168

Post by evan_ »

facepalm wrote: post #160
evan_ wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bridge, or chess, or mah-Jong, or any number of other games. Sudoku, different solitaire variations, crosswords...

Sure, but they might lack the social aspect of MMORPGs (guilds?)? And what would be good sites for those games?

> they might lack the social aspect of MMORPGs (guilds?)?

The first games I listed are highly social though with a relatively small number of players in a single session.

> And what would be good sites for those games?

local community centers, senior living centers, coffee shops, parks, private residences, etc.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#169

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

anovikov wrote: post #154
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please elaborate - this could get interesting.

I thought everyone is aware of that. Life of a Slavic man is sadly, similar to a life of an American black man [1], for the same reasons - poverty, low educational level, lack of opportunities, which causes crime and self-destructing behavior. Which results in that by the age of marriage, there is a shortage of men at least as bad as a shortage of black men in U.S. - except black women have a slim chance of getting i…

Thanks. I don't think this is widely known.

Re: The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed

#170

Post by facepalm »

evan_ wrote: post #168
facepalm wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but they might lack the social aspect of MMORPGs (guilds?)? And what would be good sites for those games?

> they might lack the social aspect of MMORPGs (guilds?)? The first games I listed are highly social though with a relatively small number of players in a single session. > And what would be good sites for those games? local community centers, senior living centers, coffee shops, parks, private residences, etc.

I meant online games. A lot of elderly people are not really mobile anymore, after several falls and broken hips.
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