[ poll results thread ]

let's start out with the one joke question: "what do you need in your life right now?"

0 out of 25 people voted for humility, of course, because anyone who needs humility would obviously be too arrogant to acknowledge as much.

https://twitter.com/netrunnernobody/status/1510426173926481920

nearly ninety percent of people enjoy how much i talk about depression and sadness! despite it being nearly half of my tweets!

which is amazing, because so many men have it instilled into their brains that no one wants to hear them being mopey and emotional all the time.

why is there such an appeal for depression-posting?

well, because it's a pretty under-served niche.

depression rates, suicide rates, and use of alcohol, antidepressants, and marijuana are at all time highs - and yet **no one feels comfortable talking about it publicly.**

our generation is in the middle of a spiritual war, and we're not even willing to admit to one another that we're hurting.

30% of people resort to private accounts to try and say what they feel they can't express publicly, in fear of shame or being a nuisance or "bad vibes."

people are scared to talk about it in fear of being seen as fragile, unstable, or a "mood killer" - but that's bullshit!

look at that number up above again.

NINETY PERCENT OF PEOPLE enjoy having someone willing to acknowledge the elephant in the room with us right now.

most of us are too afraid of being a nuisance to talk to one another even casually, let alone bring up the important topics.

most of us are sitting here, staring at each other's profiles, paralyzed by self doubt and low self esteem, hoping the other will reach out first.

most of us are starved for connection in a cold and digital world, occupied by social norms that don't make anyone happy.

(seriously, hug your friends, people - it's free positive energy for both of you. and i'm talking long, intimate hugs - none of that american "sidehug" shit)

the amount we neglect each other simply because of social norms is ridiculous. we won't message each other, we won't hug each other, we won't talk about anything that isn't surface level and banal...

virtually no one enjoys this! and yet we all obey these rules nonetheless!

it reminds me of that old story, where a village lived with two rules:

1) you must give yourself painful electric shocks twelve times a day.
2) you must painfully murder anyone that disobeys or tries to change the rules.

or that one passage in principia discordia.

the lives that we're living, the norms that we're living under - motherfucker we are MISERABLE. let me reiterate, we currently have peak records of:

• alcoholism
• antidepressant use
• marijuana use
• suicides

and no one's even talking about it!!

(1999 - 2016, suicides)

suicide rates for middle-aged white women have fucking DOUBLED in twenty years!!

is doubled not enough? how many people need to die before we're willing to sit down and talk about how our cultural norms of suppressed emotions and aloof disinterest in one another is killing us?

just recently, a classmate and neighbor of mine killed himself.

joseph. twenty four years old.
star student. brilliant athlete.
the only guy to welcome me upon moving in.

and i can't help but think about all the people that must've failed him for him to get to that point.

myself included. i never reached out. fuck, i thought someone as talented as him had way better things to do.

everyone who talked about it though just kept saying "wow, i wonder why???" - like we all don't already fucking know why this is happening.

we're depressed, my dudes.

not in the "chemical inbalance in our brains" sort of way.

but in that our brains are screaming, gasping for air as we live in a society that is artificial and distant, removed of the human element. under rules and norms and applications that deprive us of connection and warmth.

suicides, drinkers, drug use be damned - we're all fucking sad, and no matter how matter how many people we surround ourselves with, we all feel alone.

and if we want to live contentful lives, and leave a good world for the people that will come after us, we need to fix this.

anyway.

the reason i tweet about these things so much isn't because i'm desperate for pity or sympathy or anything like that.

but because i want each and every one of you fuckers to be aware that you are not alone, and that it's absolutely okay to talk about things like this.

now go.

go and message the people who you're worried about bothering.

go and give all your fucking friends real hugs. both arms, body, duration.

go and open up to others. talk about your sadness, your anger, your fears.

if you want change, go forth and be the change you seek.