229
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2024
229 points (90.2% liked)
Showerthoughts
29522 readers
1301 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics
- NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
- Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
- Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct-----
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Most people seem to want others not to have a good life, ignoring or disregarding the effects that might have on themselves.
Many if not most would sacrifice their own wellbeing if that guarantees that "the right people" will also suffer. They see the world as a zero sum game, and can't conceive the possibility of having a good life if others aren't having a bad one.
Most people suck, often to the point of being monstrous by any decent definition.
Source?
I'm pushing back on this viewpoint wherever I'm seeing it. Humans are certainly flawed in a lot of ways, especially in how easy it can be to mislead us, but this cynical worldview that most people are actively wanting others to hurt is not based in reality. Honestly it sounds like me when I was in the depths of depression.
I think we have a major problem with how we share and consume news. Stories are shared as screen-capped headlines that emphasize the Bad thing that happened, and even if you find the original article, it's stuffed with ads that make you not want to bother. Random one-off bad/stupid things that one person did somewhere far away are reported as world news without statistics and context.
The result? Increasing cynicism. The good, uplifting stories rarely come through. People begin to base their worldview and how they interact with other people on this "fact" that most people suck. This culminates in them becoming the thing that they think everyone is - they go through life scared of or angry at other people by default.
It isn't an inevitability. Maybe I'm wrong, but believing in people is a much better existence, even when they occasionally let me down.
I mean... [ gestures broadly at everything ]
Yeah checks out for Lemmy
Problem is that people are fairly easily told that their less-than-optimal situation is the fault of those people, regardless of it being true or not.
I mean, I could go on, but I don't think I need to for my point.
People aren't telling me how horrible they are. THEY are telling me how terrible they are.