Hello, chapos.

I'm posting from Dubai, and I hate everything this country stands for. I was born and raised here to immigrant Indian parents, and my dad owns a business, with a small number of migrant labourers under him. He pays them "more than what they'd get somewhere else" and that basically amounts to "send some money back home and live on the cheapest most affordable food" wages.

My mother is a manager at a company, and I recently saw her reprimanding a group of workers who came to raise a silent protest about their wages being halved. I stood there silently and cringed helplessly.

In this hypercapitalist cyberpunk (it is indeed low life, high technology sans the lawlessness) dystopian hellworld, racism, sexism, homophobia and classism is a way of life; and if it isn't overt, it is most definitely covert. I have been suffering from depression, suicidal ideation and mood disorders for the better part of a decade now.

After getting exposed to Marxist theories, the idea that I have been brought up on the fruit of surplus value stolen from labour weighs down on my mind. I also consider myself an ecosocialist, and that in itself is enough for me to hate the hellhole that I stay in. On the few occasions where I have tried to talk about my leftist ideals to either friends or family, I have been mocked, belittled and disregarded as a crazy fucking loser (been NEETing for 3 years now, I haven't been able to find a job with my college degree, and my mental illness makes it hard for me to persist/commit to anything) who is simply bitter and lazy, and is anyways just living off his parents, and is not to be taken seriously. Or they accept that I'm probably right, right before they sarcastically wish me good luck with a revolution.

I'm sick of living like this. I don't fit in anywhere, and when I do, I feel like I'm faking it. And oh yeah, to top it all off, I'm a closeted queer and an ex-Muslim atheist. I feel like I have very little to look forward in life. Doom-scrolling through r/collapse, seeing how the world is being overtaken by neoliberalism, the hate for minorities back in India led by the current fascist government, climate change denial ensuring a shittier quality of life down the decades in the region I live right now, lack of real social connections with irl folks...

I have been seriously considering suicide for the last week, and it feels like more than ideation. I think I've reached that stage of being at peace with suicide, and I think this post is some half assed attempt to reach out for help. I weirdly relate to a lot of the things you dudes say, so I thought I'd post here.

  • TheDonkeyedKong [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I'm in a (currently) better place than Dubai, but can relate. Only had ideation though, no planning, just thoughts of giving a speeding bus a hug and some prolonged stares from my window.

    I know I got angry when I read it said online, maybe you will too, but it does get better. For me the first step was talking to people. Even insignificant stuff like doing group projects at uni would make my entire week.

    Maybe you don't think you can get that, be it because of your country (please try to move though), the constant belittling, your queerness( haven't figured that one out myself tbh) and general hopelessness (I think you already know doomscrolling isn't helping). But you did take one step forward by posting this. Much love, I hope this helps a bit! :Care-Comrade:

    • Lumpenproletariat [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      Thank you for reaching out, comrade. Posting this helped me feel like I'm not all alone in the world, and it helped. I'm going to try to move out soon, other chapos on here have suggested the same.