Is the common person in the US ready to snap? (anxiety, parent)
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I think one of the differences between now and a generation ago is the lack of social support or sense of community that many experience now. When I was growing up, my family was probably in the "dirt poor" category until I was a teen, but we had a strong family, both in our home and with a large extended group of cousins, aunts, uncles.. I lived in a small town and everybody knew each other, and got together regularly at church or community events. There was more 'human touch".
Now my husband and I and our 3 kids live 1000+ miles from that family. We have moved frequently during our marriage. I'd say our stress level is generally less than many modern families, but we've had some recent health issues that made me realize just how alone we are here. We have friends, but the relationships aren't as deep as the ones I grew up with, I'm not comfortable leaning on them the way I would family or long-term neighbors or friends. I'm lonely and that in itself is stressful.
I think road rage is caused by idiot drivers. LIke yesterday, I'm driving along, someone in the lane left of me has the person in front of her slow down abruptly. So this moron swerves in MY lane, so I have to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting her.
I used to love driving but not anymore. I live in WA state and I think many drivers are stoked on marijuana. Really.
Stoked on MJ? clarification, please. Most people high on MJ are not aggressive drivers. It is most likely your average hot headed idiot neighbor or some other entitled like minded jerk.
Then: Father has breakfast with family and heads to work. Mother brings Tommy to school. Mother run some errands. Mother pays the bills. Mother waves to neighbor. Mother makes sure garden looks beautiful. Mother gets a call that Tommy got a bad grade. Mother picks up Tommy from school. Mother scolds Tommy. Father returns home from work around dinner time to his moderately sized house. Tommy is in his room. Fathers asks Mother why Tommy is not playing with his friends. Mother says he got a bad grade and needs to study more.
Now: Father goes to work. Mother goes to work. Bus comes to pick up Tommy. Tommy isn't at the bus stop. Idiot in front of Mother crashes into guard rail. Mother is stuck in traffic. Father arrives at work. Father is buried in paper work. Father's boss informs him that Jim has been let-go. Boss hands Father Jim's work. Boss tells Father that he does Jim's job now. Father asks about additional compensation. Boss tells Father it is not in the budget. Mother arrives to work late. Mother explains accident to Manager. Manager swears at Mother in front of customers. Tommy is with his friends. Tommy smokes a cigarette. Tommy is so cool. Old Man walks by. Tommy pushes him to the ground because it's funny. Friends laugh. Tommy spits on Old Man. Teacher calls Mother because Tommy has bad grades and is absent a lot. Mother doesn't have time to answer. After work Mother listens to voicemail about Tommy. Mother drives to school. Mother yells at teacher for giving Tommy a bad grade. Mother threatens to end Teacher's ****ing life. It is now dinner time. Mother eats alone. Tommy is dead. Father is still at work. The end.
This would be funny if it wasn't so true. Tommy decides to run with a gang because they spend more time with him then Mother and Father. Mother and Father self medicate to ease the stress, Father by banging his secretary and Mother by downing two bottles of wine a night, or they just pop prescription drugs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newtoks
You left out the part of the story where some old geezer yells at Tommy to get off his lawn.
What is wrong with asking little Tommy to stay off the lawn ? Some people pride themselves with how well their lawn looks, and don't want a bunch of kids hanging out on it. They've got their own homes to hang at. It's probably because little Tommy doesn't know a thing about pride, and or respect so he doesn't care what he does and who too.
Yes, I do believe that a lot of people are ready to snap. The reason being is the middle class is disappearing. Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, all of corporate America's vast profits (and make no mistake, corporate America is making money hand over fist) is being funneled upward. And the way that the board of directors are implementing greater ways to increase the profit margin is to ship more and more jobs overseas.
Case in point: Some towns rely heavily on major employers. One is Galesburg, IL., which saw over 2000 jobs disappear when Maytag closed and went to Mexico. It still has not recovered, and may never. Another new development is Mitsubishi Motors is closing its plant in Normal, IL., next month and will be seeing over 1200 good paying jobs disappear to sweatshop labor in Asia. This is repeated all across America, and employers who do stay are moving to the south, where they too can pay slave wages. So the tide is going out on the middle class, and it does not appear to be coming back. This causes people to not only struggle to get by, it causes them to lose hope things will improve.
One of the biggest reasons, in my opinion, for people being so on edge is that corporations are so intent to make greater profits at the expense of working Americans, and every day, Americans are losing just a little more. It's been happening for decades. And this makes those of us with something feel a little more desperate we can lose it all too. For those who have already lost it all, they are prone to snap and feel like they have nothing left to lose.
And if you don't have health insurance, you are one illness or accident away from bankruptcy. So yes, I'd say people are on the edge, and ready to snap. Sure would.
I think a lot of the stress attributed to today's society can be traced back to the advent of the information age. Through the wonders of TV and the internet, it is now possible to become stressed out before you even head out your front door in the morning. In the US, our political system has become impossibly corrupt, unemployment is rampant and many folks feel that an economic collapse is looming somewhere in the near future. Couple those factors with the plethora of news outlets ready to shove sensationalistic stories down our collective throats, stories of racial inequality, crime, terrorism and police brutality and you have one heck of a concoction that's guaranteed to drive blood pressures skyward.
Look at the glut of "reality" shows that feature off the grid type living, it's an allure that's hard for a stressed out American public to resist. The "simple life" or in other words, being concerned mostly with food and shelter is now appealing to a whole new subset of people. People who in an earlier time probably would have never considered such a lifestyle
With the traditional middle class vanishing, families are more fractured than ever and the ones that aren't are becoming more disconnected from one another as money woes have forced both parents into the workforce rat race........when they can find jobs. Even when they find those jobs, for many there is no economic security as the threat of downsizing, outsourcing or "restructuring" is often looming on the horizon. All usually in the name of higher corporate profits.
The people that need to institute change in America are the ones who stand to lose the most from it and those people have no motive to affect that change. The US has lost the heart and minds of it's people and I don't know if it can be regained short of a catastrophic event. Until that time, the stress of everyday living is only going to get worse.....and so will it's offshoots.
Yes, I do believe that a lot of people are ready to snap. The reason being is the middle class is disappearing. Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, all of corporate America's vast profits (and make no mistake, corporate America is making money hand over fist) is being funneled upward. And the way that the board of directors are implementing greater ways to increase the profit margin is to ship more and more jobs overseas.
Case in point: Some towns rely heavily on major employers. One is Galesburg, IL., which saw over 2000 jobs disappear when Maytag closed and went to Mexico. It still has not recovered, and may never. Another new development is Mitsubishi Motors is closing its plant in Normal, IL., next month and will be seeing over 1200 good paying jobs disappear to sweatshop labor in Asia. This is repeated all across America, and employers who do stay are moving to the south, where they too can pay slave wages. So the tide is going out on the middle class, and it does not appear to be coming back. This causes people to not only struggle to get by, it causes them to lose hope things will improve.
One of the biggest reasons, in my opinion, for people being so on edge is that corporations are so intent to make greater profits at the expense of working Americans, and every day, Americans are losing just a little more. It's been happening for decades. And this makes those of us with something feel a little more desperate we can lose it all too. For those who have already lost it all, they are prone to snap and feel like they have nothing left to lose.
And if you don't have health insurance, you are one illness or accident away from bankruptcy. So yes, I'd say people are on the edge, and ready to snap. Sure would.
And of course these instances of outsourcing tend to turn once, generous people into hate mongers.
They get wind of their former jobs going to Mexico or some random country in SE Asia, their anger will turn to that of a potentially racist type.
Call it a coincidence, but the corporate greed and loss of the middle class seems to be reinvigorating these attitudes we thought were limited to the 60s/70s.
Even worse, if a natural disaster happens in an area like that, they'll probably throw a macabre celebration over it.
With so many people living paycheck to paycheck, on meds and just downright depressed its no wonder we see road rage incidents often. Is the common person ready to snap? Sure seems everyone is more tense than 10, 20 years ago.
Honestly, I think the example of Road-Rage is not really the issue, since those who do this are a certain personality who likely push others aside no matter where they are or what they do. I don't think they are as common, but are a problem, endangering those around them.
There does exist a lot of stress and mental health needs amongst many, yet is surprising how most appear otherwise pleasant and courteous, no matter if driving or anywhere else, which I am grateful for. Even if stressed, it may not show outwardly, but I think contributes to overdoing - drinking, eating, spending, shopping and acquiring, addictions, sex, the etc., somehow seeking relief or an escape from day to day dissatisfaction, frustration and a lack of control. It seems the thought is, that if only "this or that is resolved" or "something needed or wanted is attained", things will ultimately become settled... but are usually always chasing something. The idea by some is that everyone is just supposed to "be happy".
Great movie.. and what he says certainly applies to today. It does appear worse now than ever, with a lot of contributing factors and pressure felt by most, I would imagine. I have wondered if I ever went to the window and yelled this phrase, how many might join me!
No Rage is increasing due to chemtrails that has been spread everywhere in every single city. People attitude has been changing consistently since those chemicals are destroying our society.
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