LumberjackHero [he/him]

Keep your cats inside, fix em, treat them for parasites and you’re good. Leave the rest up to nature. An aside, fuck carpenter bees. Obnoxious pricks.

And it’s not getting any better. The housing crisis is part artificial and part organic. Obviously we’re still feeling aftershocks from 2008, but we’re also dealing with a massive bloc of aging people who aren’t ready for the retirement home because, whoopsie, it feels like everything was designed around people dropping dead at 67-70 and now longevity and quality of life is way up (which is good!) The only problem is that you need to have protocols and contingencies in place to deal with a population that isn’t dying on time (so to speak). People living longer means more housing, more affordable housing, universal healthcare, more and better public transit so that travel isn’t based on a personal vehicle, along with other policies that could be controversial but necessary in a democracy (such as an age limit on voting or holding public office, or, lowering the age to vote or hold office).

Yeah no shit. We either wind up with the Troubles where there is occasional violence between various factions and the odd bombing OR we wind up in a civil war like in the global south where every psycho and ideologue comes out of the woodwork to torture and rape their way through the conflict. This isn’t good, and anyone downplaying civil war or thinking it would be easy is a rube.

Lol irregular warfare in the suburbs would traumatize the shit out of those people. They still think there are rules in a guerrilla war?! I’m not even advocating anything or trying to be edgy, but if the gloves come off they wouldn’t grab their guns for long. They’d kill a few and then go racing off into the sunset while their house is ransacked. Garrison doesn’t understand what modern civil war looks like. I don’t want it to happen, because it’ll be ugly and in true American fashion we’ll make it as ugly and brutal as possible.

Man...I need to workout more so I can be like one of those Soviet posters of a factory worker who is ripped. I’ve already got the industrial thing down, so I’m just missing half the equation lol

Think about how and why they have a life of luxury and comfort. It’s built on stress, overwork and a sense of competition with others. This is purely anecdotal evidence, but me personally, I’d be quite content with a modest three bedroom home and some creature comforts, my current job (with a little extra pay and no mandatory overtime), and a good and secure future for my children so they can have the same kind of life. I don’t compare myself to others save for my behavior in the broader scheme of things and I don’t want much save for a good and happy and long life with a few trivial things along the way that won’t make me or break me. I truly believe this is only accomplished under socialism and a paradigm shift in our culture that goes with a shift from how we treat work and see ourselves as workers. People are made to feel inadequate not because they might be lacking in some concrete way, but because that inadequacy is manufactured artificially. There will always be existential dread and longing because that is our plight as humans, however, there is a big difference between, “I think I’d feel better if I lost ten pounds” and “I need to buy all these things so I can look like a celebrity and maybe feel better.” Same goes for, “I think I’d be happier if I owned my home,” rather than “I need to have a rich house so I’m valid as a person.” We all have our ups and downs, regardless, but I know people would be much happier with community and humble purpose to live a life that’s worth living. I don’t know you, but I hope you’re okay.

You’re okay. My wife’s the same way, but understands the sad and grave reality that we may need one in the near future. It’s not a comfortable thought though, that’s for damn sure.