There was that subreddit, r/hermancainaward, where you could spend all day reading tales of people who weren't afraid of Covid, until they were. Then they died.
I guess we're in agreement. It's terrifying because we're not making reasonable decisions to mitigate the risks.
I'm a rock climber and I've gotten into enough tricky situations on the cliffs. So long as you can take action the fear is manageable. It's when there is seemingly no viable action to take that the bad fear sets in.
Thing is, the risks I take personally as a climber aren't as big as the risk were taking collectively as a civilization by not acting on climate change, even though the risks I take go well beyond what most people would accept if they understand what they were in for.
We are most certainly not in agreement. You implied that one had to live in fear of covid in order to make rational choices about it.
I mean it's okay that you were, you don't have to do the macho act to save face or anything. It's a very common response even irrational fear (and is unfortunately exploited). I was not saying that's the "wrong" way to feel or live, just that it saddens me to think of people feeling like that.
If you were 70+ then COVID was far more likely to kill your than driving. But most of us weren’t 70+ and couldn’t really empathize with those that were.
You got that right. I inform myself, I empathize with people, and I don't live in fear of things largely out of my control. Millions of people including my loved ones and likely I will die of a heart attack or cancer. Millions of elderly including my loved ones are at risk of flu and other common illnesses, falls, etc. Countless young (and old) people will die of auto wrecks and violence. The sun will strip the atmosphere off the earth in a few billion years. I simply don't live my life terrified about all these things. Just because you do doesn't mean you also have to get angry at people who don't, or try and fail to shame them -- not to scare you more but it's bad for your blood pressure and stress levels.
There is a crucial difference though: you can't do anything about atmosphere being stripped but you definitely can reduce risks of getting the disease or dying once sick. And the most terrifying part for me was that maybe I could have done something to help other people but didn't
That's not a crucial difference for me when you include all my other examples. There are things you might or could have done, but it's not reasonable to think you can make perfect decisions. Life is full of ifs and buts. There might be some path in life I could take from here that would lead to malaria being eradicated. I simply don't feel the need to live in fear of any of it. Covid, malaria, driving, McDonalds, climate change. Strike 2 for attempted shaming though.
Well none of it is going to affect you personally so it makes sense. Grandma and grandpa were going to die sometime, and who cares if the grandchildren are going to have a hard existence because the world they will grow up in is much more harsher than ours? We probably won’t see substantial consequences of our actions in our lifetime, so why not YOLO? Only if there is really a God would we see any kind of punishment for this attitude.
But still, if you had some empathy for those who are older or much younger (not even born yet), their would be a lot of guilt in this thinking, the shame would be deserved.
Such a bitter angry hateful sad way to go about your life. Wishing for god to punish people for not being a mopey sad sack like you are. Lot of projecting in your comment I'm afraid, none of it applies to me despite your seething armchair psychology.
I was sincere in my comment. I don't wish punishment for anything, and I'm pretty much an atheist when it comes to God (so eternal punishment isn't waiting for anyone who doesn't "do the right thing"). I'm not projecting at all, and since you are a throwaway account, I'm pretty sure you aren't here to do much more than troll anyways. It just is what it is: some people care about the future, others just care about YOLO, just lots of self gratification I guess.
You might want to consider whether to have children though, they change the way you think about the future.
I was sincere too. Hope you manage to cheer up and stop being so scared and hateful one day and wishing for god to smite people for not being the same way you are.
It's just the bunny slopes or foothills of extremist signalling, having to demonstrate that you're the sort of person who doesn't get upset at the things that cause other people grief and despair (which of course you take every opportunity to exaggerate) with the presumable but unspoken conclusion that you're the AntiSnowflake gifted with exceptional reserves of mental fortitude or maturity. Like bullshiting, these positions don't care whether the arguments they are contradicting are right or wrong, they only care that it in opposing them they can project an image of cool unconcern.
This is what being an internet tough guy has sunk to in the age of twitter.
Not living in terror and despair of things that are largely outside my control = extremist? Maybe it is you who is the extremist.
Living in fear, anger, a strange frothing hatred for people who are different. If anybody would appreciate why someone would not want to live their life that way, I'd think it would be you.
I'll answer this in good faith. I can't help but be skeptical yet practice a version of "pascals wager" but apply it to climate change. I drive an electric vehicle, power my house with solar, reduce air travel, etc. I have 2 major issues: The first is that the environmental damage we are currently doing-- destruction of our oceans, polluting our air and water, etc. will destroy our planet in a few generations any ways, climate change not required. Second is that I am skeptical of our governments response. I don't believe they genuinely care about solving it other than making money off it. Does it really matter if I am skeptical? I am doing what little a normal citizen is expected to do to fight it.
Air/ocean pollution and environmental damage !== climate change.
Climate change is specifically about greenhouse emissions trapping the suns heat causing long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
> It’s apathy
I am following the prescribed "action plan" for the average citizen. What would you have me do? Not everyone can be a political activist.
My point was that even in a hypothetical scenario where climate change is false (no rise in global temperatures or change in weather patterns), the damage we are doing to the earth is still enough to destroy it.
That is not why we would need such a thing. It's not necessary or sufficient to prevent terrified people living in perpetual fear of things politicians and experts tell them to be afraid of.
Rational and level headed efforts to tackle problems like climate change would be welcome. A great first step would be to vote out all politicians who use it for political games by riling up panic and then actually doing very little about it.
