Survival is a revolutionary act, hang in there folks
Jokes on them, I’ve been this way for well over a decade and I’m still considered young. 🙃
But I will say, the old chapo subreddit actually did pull me out of a dark place a few times. It’s great to be here with you guys again. And I completely agree - don’t let them win.
This is the first year in a long time I haven't constantly thought about killing myself and I owe a lot of that too discovering chapo who helped me not be a dumb lib and start reading theory.
It’s insane to think about the second order consequences of this. It must be pretty unprecedented in human history for a quarter of a generation of a society to have absolutely no hope to the future, to the point of “seriously considering” killing themselves. Especially the youth of the imperial hegemon.
Makes me think of Children of Men, and how there are commercially available suicide kits in that setting.
Rage is the only hope for many people, sure medication and therapy are important and should be free for everyone who need them but people need to realise that things could and should be better for everyone and be very mad about it.
Then you use that fire to keep trucking and you are all set to at least survive this hellworld.
Fuck that's bleak. I've been there. Any Zoomers that are part of that know I love you and I've been in your shoes (figuratively, not literally. That'd be creepy). I was real suicidal from about 16-25. It gets better.
I was RIGHT THERE until Chris Hedges saved my life. I watched him read American Anomie [written] and in that moment understood that society failed ME, not the other way around, and that I needed to study politics if I ever wanted to understand the world around me
not to be a doomer but I'm still waiting for it to get better at age 38 :/
I guess one aspect that has gotten better is: I've been suicidal so often, for so long, that when that urge washes over me, I can be reasonably sure it will pass.
Yeah I agree with the person above. The first step in not wanting to die all the time was learning that the thoughts will pass. It's not forever.
I don't think it's 16-25 itself (I know OP's article is focusing on that, just saying). Even the generation above is pretty suicidal, but probably less so now a days with kids/family. When your "American Dream" is bleak, it's hard to look forward to anything.
Pretty shitty to say it gets better when everyone knows it doesn't
Is America going to get better? Probably not until a collapse.
Can someone get better on an individual/community level? Absolutely.
If it hasn't passed for you yet just know it can.
if the world around you doesn't get better, you can't get actually better. you can only develop and refine your ability to ignore the world around you.
That's not true at all. Clinging on to everything bad happening in the world is only a win for reactionaries because it promotes doomerism.
You can understand that there's a lot going on in the world, compartmentalize and accept that there is nothing you can do in regards to a lot of it, and work towards building a better and more just society within your perview.
Were only all one person. You can't take the fate of the entire world onto your shoulders.
this is naive and not really worth engaging with. doomerism is, unfortunately, correct
Man. This is sad and I honestly just feel bad for you and hope you get the help you need.
I'm here if you need someone to talk to or want to find ways to get involved.
Only 25 and a half americans? That is not a lot, considering the amount of Americans there are.
Is there anything in my profile, beyond my sense of humor, that tells you I am german, or is it really just that obvious?
As someone who spent time in Germany, the sentence structure tends to give it away. Most native speakers combine formal language structure with fancy romance language terms.
Germans who are fluent in English will use Saxon root words with formal structure instead, which sounds slightly terse and direct and sort of overengineered (which doesn't help the stereotype much).
Also you're allergic to contractions.
so, enough young people in their prime are at the point they feel like "if shit doesn't get better, i'd rather be dead" to do a literal revolution.
Pretty much the thing that keeps me going. I'm young enough that the fall of the US empire is all but guaranteed in my lifetime and I know it's going to be brutal and I'll be damned if I don't take a few fascists with me.
I don't really care about fighting or dying I just want to see it. As long as I don't suffer too much, I want to know how it ends. I want to know the history that happens.
An event possibly only comparable to the fall if the Roman Empire, and it's even bigger than that. The implications of America's collapse will be immense. I have no doubt historians centuries from now will still be studying our moment. (If we make it that long)
Part of me really wishes I could be like Fry from Futurama and just freeze myself away to the future and see what the fuck actually happens
I'm not American but this unironically sometimes gives me strength to keep up.
I used to be in this group. But now I'm 33.
Makes me sad things arent yet getting better, but I hope they will someday.
Hey, look at it this way, we win, we get to be the respected Old Comrades who never lost the faith.
Or guillotined as reactionaries by the Zoomer vanguard. Happy with either outcome tbh
New or increased substance use is also at 1:4 for that age group. jesus christ that's heavy. Not surprisingly it looks like young people, people with lower education, essential workers, and people with existing mental health issues are the hardest hit.
this is a good reminder that for those of us who can, simply reaching out to each other and checking in on folks is praxis ❤️🖤❤️ looks like it's time to bake some brownies for a comrade with anxiety and ptsd today!
Looking at it pragmatically, that's a whole lot of potential comrades.
Had one the weirdest and most sudden onset of depression I've ever had last month because of how isolated my life has become. Thankful I could at least call someone I hadnt tlked to in months at that time.
