Even 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.
Shit life syndrome
151–160 of 244 posts
Re: Shit life syndrome
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
And this would be the same tired refrain of every tankie who will justify atrocities committed under communism by pointing out that bad things also happen under capitalism. I'd call myself a neoliberal (for lack of a better term), but I agree that the OP's comment is naive and is the kind of things that almost always comes from people who have never experienced actual scarcity or desperation for more than a second of…
> And this would be the same tired refrain of every tankie who will justify atrocities committed under communism by pointing out that bad things also happen under capitalism. Oh look. The name callings begin almost immediately. Isn't there some badly applied rule here on HN about insults? Anyways, I never said I was communist either. One can critique capitalism AND communism both. And this is about capitalism and the…
> This is what neoliberalism does to the brain... Notice that when communists are discussed...
> Oh look. The name calling begins... I never said I was a communist...
Try reading to yourself, and recognize that you literally opened this thread by accusing the OP of being a neoliberal (he never said he he was!) and disparaging their cognitive ability based on your assumption of their ideological belief. You then follow up with a defense of communism, but then make out like I'm the one jumping to conclusions by assuming you're communist.
You can read 19th century political philosophy till your hair is grey, but I think you may have some pretty important philosophical (and personal) truths staring you right in the face here.
Also, it doesn't seem like you read my reply beyond that first line because I also said that OP's comments usually come from people who have never experienced actual scarcity, I agree with your sentiment, just not on your conclusions. Every form of communism seems to have also implemented their own form of social darwinism, it's just that the "undesirable group" and the means for removing them from society are different.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#153I’ve always wondered if a brute force approach to this is to money bomb these areas and let people get large amounts of funds to leave the area and go somewhere where they are slightly more likely to have positive interactions.
I'm reading Small Is Beautiful[0] (1972) and they make the point that the modern economy incentivizes interlocking problems of smart, healthy people leaving ~rural areas to move to urban areas, and subsequent disinvestment in rural, which creates a dual economy. The solution cannot be bringing the modern economy to non-urban areas, which would be like building a skyscraper in a farmtown.
Your solution would just drain the area of any remaining talent. The remaining people would be the elderly, disabled, and stubborn--and SLS would be even worse.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#154This is quite darkly hilarious tbh. And consistent with my experience of Blackpool. I once went there on couple-week-long driving course when I was a teenager, hoping but eventually failing to get my license. I was put up in someone's house that was run as a sort of unlicensed b&b. The entire place, the curtains, the linen, the pillow,.. all smelled of old nicotine and damp. On my first evening I went out by myself t…
You reminded me of this [0] fantastic review of Sheerness in Kent. Blackpool is mentioned several times in comparison. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/u2vu5x/i_thi...
I specifically went to Sheerness to go and see the UK’s only scorpion population. A local copper saw me, asked what I was doing, and offered to get his massive UV light out of his car. Saw quite a few!
But yes, otherwise all rather run down. The extreme wealth discrepancy was an eye opener.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except Buddhism and similar “self help” movements evolved over thousands of years in South Asia in an environment of of extreme poverty with literally no health care, and purposefully work in a life of poverty. The idea that only wealth and leisure provides mental health or self awareness is at complete odds with how most of the knowledge around self awareness came about, as most of our modern conception around such…
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 from gripping tightly onto what happened or might happen, and a lack of acceptance for both what’s happening now and it’s temporary nature. You can endure the pains of cancer and imprisonment, the crush of poverty, or the pleasure of lavishness of opulent wealth, but whether you are suffering or not is entirely based on your view of things and how you frame life. The wealthy suffer unbearably just as the most deprived prisoners in the worst jails, and people in abject desolation can be content just as much as a middle class person. Note, a lot of folks confuse this with “giving up,” or being stoic, or any number of confusions as to how a person that should be miserable by your measure could not be.
I know - I’ve suffered more than most, and have a lot more than most, but I’ve not always had what I have and have been deep in some dark dark places without hope. Buddhism taught me to be non attached and content in all those places, and I don’t suffer any more. I used to be anxious, depressed, all sorts of other forms of misery. But once I realized what Buddhism taught and internalized it, even as I draw my last breath whether it’s in my bed peacefully or wracked with cancer, I know I won’t be suffering.
I’m not saying everyone in Myanmar is blissed out and enlightened. Many do suffer, and it’s not a pleasant place for most people, and being a Buddhist doesn’t mean practicing Buddhism. But many people do practice, and they live full and content lives despite the unpleasantness of their situation. This is at odds with what we expect in the west, because our underlying belief system teaches us poverty is misery, wealth is happiness. Truth is, we choose whether we suffer or not, and the temporary reality of poverty or wealth only offers pleasure or unpleasantness. Suffering is certainly correlated, but Buddhist teaches that it is actually independent and the correlation comes from how you frame your experiences and an over reliance on the “self.”
Re: Shit life syndrome
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
Although Croydon is a London borough, it's quite far outside of central London, to the point that it doesn't really feel part of London. It's also quite a deprived area. So that quote is weird on a number of levels!
The average "Index of Multiple Deprivation" [1] for Croydon is about 14,000, where every area (of some equal population size) is ranked from 1 to 32,884. Very roughly average for England. Scotland isn't included, so I can't compare Strathclyde, but Blackpool's average is 5,900 — and includes 8 of the 10 most deprived places in the country. Only one bit of London (part of Haringey) makes the top 1000. Only 106 bits of…
Scotland has the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation... Currently house-hunting at the moment, it's a great tool!
Re: Shit life syndrome
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Which ever party is in power is invariably hamstrung by the opposition voting the other way just 'because' As the other comment has pointed out, this is irrelevant: in practice, as with Brexit, a majority of 1 can let you do almost _anything_ in the British constitution. No, the real constraint is either internal opposition - party infighting - or what the newspapers will hammer you for. Many of the UK's most depre…
Except that the Commons is only the start of votes. Then there is the Lords. Then there are legal challenges.
The House of Lords is at most a speed bump (they can only delay, not block), and legal challenges cannot block primary legislation.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally I think that aspect is more locked in to the aging of the post-World power great expectations of “up and to the right.” If people have never had decent health care, and their classmates from school haven’t either, then how are they meant to move into something as rarefied as self-assessed mental health? That is something that people with too much time and not enough existential threat get up to.
Except Buddhism and similar “self help” movements evolved over thousands of years in South Asia in an environment of of extreme poverty with literally no health care, and purposefully work in a life of poverty. The idea that only wealth and leisure provides mental health or self awareness is at complete odds with how most of the knowledge around self awareness came about, as most of our modern conception around such…
You chose quite the counterexample. Siddhartha Gautama was royalty before he became the Buddha. He pursued yoga for six years after having been married and had a child before he sat down to do nothing. He was an introspective rich kid. He was not a laborer at any point.
Further, Buddhism originated in temperate zones where asceticism works and originated separately because you can easily survive outdoors year round and eat very little (that is not naturally provided) because of low thermal demands on your body. You don’t see very many ascetics very far from the equator.
You mistakenly equate lack with poverty, which is the point I was trying to make more subtly in my earlier comment.
Re: Shit life syndrome
#159Re: Shit life syndrome
#160Earlier 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…
The South Coast towns got pretty badly run down in the 80s and 90s but mostly it recovered or is recovering. Brighton reinvented itself as a party town and creative hub thanks to Norman Cook and its large student and gay scenes and its fast links to London. Worthing and Eastbourne became popular spots to raise a family for London telecommuters (two days a week in a London office is viable from there, and property is…
> Brighton reinvented itself as a party town
Rediscovered, maybe. It has long been a party town, from the Pavilion - a faux-Indian palace put up by a Prince Regent in a previous century for seaside parties - Quadrophenia-era nightclubs to being the gay capital of England all before Fat Boy Slim was born.
It’s also the south coast town closest to London, with a direct railway line. Huge geographical-economic advantage over Blackpool.
It was a wonderful place to be a student in the ‘90s.