Psyche damage

[Malcolm McLeod]

Realize that the last one hundred years or so have been a very unusual time in human history. Many kids grew up never seeing a dead body and not having young friends or relatives die. My Mother born ,in1920, Said she was told as a child the ideal family had four children: two to replace the parents, one to increase the population and, one to die.
I certainly grew up thinking it was very unusual for a child to die. I only know of one girl who got lekumenia in high school and died. No one else in my school of about 2,000 died except three by drowning.
I would hate to see people die of drug resistant diseases and return to historically "normal" death rates.
the native population of the new world never reurned their previous levels after being introduced to new diseases from Europe. Some tribes lost 80-90% of their members in a few seasons.
I am not aware of any new diseases the europeans got from the new world?
Bil lD
Bill D.

Recent history is VERY unusual as it relates to children. If anyone has done any genealogical research, likely they will be amazed at the infant mortality rates. I have found 3 children in the same nuclear family with the same name. The first 2 never saw their 2nd birthday, so the name just got 'recycled'. Pre-1900, it is tough to find a family that did not suffer from some manner of childhood death.

(And if memory serves, syphilis was part of the Columbian exchange - moving west to east! Take THAT ...you Euro-trash! )

[Jacob Reverb]

A few thoughts:
1. Even with CV, things today for kids are a heck of a lot less traumatic than they were for probably any generation that came before them.
2. Kids are tougher than many people give them credit for. They're remarkably durable.
3. Hovering over them, continually coddling them and assuring them that "everything will be OK" in between our tears will probably traumatize them more than anything.
4. Buck up, Buttercup.
5. They'll get over it.

[Jim Becker]

I've got a number of printed diaries and journals that I read years ago. Most were written in 17th and 18th centurys.
There are comments like " leaving tomorrow many are dying here". Most of the time the next town was fine.

...until they arrived at the next town, bringing "whatever it was" with them...

[Jacob Reverb]

(And if memory serves, syphilis was part of the Columbian exchange - moving west to east! Take THAT ...you Euro-trash! )

Tobacco, too -- though we bought it with whisky. Not sure who got the dirtier end of the stick on that one...

[Patrick Walsh]

Same story now is it was then.

It’s all about me...

Shameful bunch of space and resource wasters most of us are in general.

Sure there are those out there on the front lines of this fighting tooth and nail. Scientist in labs dedicating their lives to cures for disease. Climate activists and again scientist dedicated to not just watching this whole thing go down the pooper.

The rest of us, the majority are just along for the ride and imop fully responsible for the mess us humans make.

Sounds so negative but think about it. I’d say 99.9% of us humans are all about me. Ok maybe their children also. But beyond they it’s all self preservation.

Pretty sad and honestly pathetic imop. That we all put this spin on things that us humans are so Nobel and great a tribe and or one. I love the song “imagine” but let’s be realistic here. It’s a great song but what was John really trying to say wink wink..

I say give this whole dam thing back to the animals. We sure don’t deserve it.

On a whole and largely we fully deserve this planet to consume us vrs is consume it.

And so that people don’t think that I don’t think my poo don’t stink. I’m guilty as any, my highly toxic DuPont Emron paint for my giant overbuilt cast iron babies. Crap I went through a gallon of laquer thinner just this last week alone. My exotic wood fetish, my garden full of uber expensive overpriced so called “specimen” trees, my bonsai and the nasty nasty chemicals it requires to keep these crazy expensive self righteous little trees alive is taking life from me and this this great earth with every pump of the pump sprayer. My own list goes in and on...

Drive through northern jersey and the horror of all those power plants and chemical factories to serve the needs of a earth overrun with peoples selfish desires. Travel to parts of the southwest and west and it’s oil Riggs as far as the eye can see robbing the earth so we can have a new Tesla ever four years. Travel pretty much anywhere anymore and the horizon is covered in wind mills again to deliver us power to make things derived of the earth once stripped of the earth that can’t be replaced only for us subscribe to culture of disposable everything as if we dare build anything to last our buisness models will surely fail. Selfish selfish selfish and so short sighted. How can all that not be about me me me.

I’m sorry but what kinda dam world is that? And thus as a whole us humans what good are we really. Shame on us all is my honest opinion. And yes I can wrap a pandemic into my thinking regarding all of the above.

[Art Mann]

In comparison to the history of mankind, the current challenge is only slightly more than trivial. We are a much more resilient species than some people give us credit for being.

[Patrick Walsh]

True,

And I agree.

But my perspective is resilient kinda like a dam germ.

In comparison to the history of mankind, the current challenge is only slightly more than trivial. We are a much more resilient species than some people give us credit for being.

[Jacob Reverb]

Same story now is it was then.

It’s all about me...

Shameful bunch of space and resource wasters most of us are in general.

Sure there are those out there on the front lines of this fighting tooth and nail. Scientist in labs dedicating their lives to cures for disease. Climate activists and again scientist dedicated to not just watching this whole thing go down the pooper.

The rest of us, the majority are just along for the ride and imop fully responsible for the mess us humans make.

Sounds so negative but think about it. I’d say 99.9% of us humans are all about me. Ok maybe their children also. But beyond they it’s all self preservation.

Pretty sad and honestly pathetic imop. That we all put this spin on things that us humans are so Nobel and great a tribe and or one. I love the song “imagine” but let’s be realistic here. It’s a great song but what was John really trying to say wink wink..

I say give this whole dam thing back to the animals. We sure don’t deserve it.

On a whole and largely we fully deserve this planet to consume us vrs is consume it.

And so that people don’t think that I don’t think my poo don’t stink. I’m guilty as any, my highly toxic DuPont Emron paint for my giant overbuilt cast iron babies. Crap I went through a gallon of laquer thinner just this last week alone. My exotic wood fetish, my garden full of uber expensive overpriced so called “specimen” trees, my bonsai and the nasty nasty chemicals it requires to keep these crazy expensive self righteous little trees alive is taking life from me and this this great earth with every pump of the pump sprayer. My own list goes in and on...

Drive through northern jersey and the horror of all those power plants and chemical factories to serve the needs of a earth overrun with peoples selfish desires. Travel to parts of the southwest and west and it’s oil Riggs as far as the eye can see robbing the earth so we can have a new Tesla ever four years. Travel pretty much anywhere anymore and the horizon is covered in wind mills again to deliver us power to make things derived of the earth once stripped of the earth that can’t be replaced only for us subscribe to culture of disposable everything as if we dare build anything to last our buisness models will surely fail. Selfish selfish selfish and so short sighted. How can all that not be about me me me.

I’m sorry but what kinda dam world is that? And thus as a whole us humans what good are we really. Shame on us all is my honest opinion. And yes I can wrap a pandemic into my thinking regarding all of the above.

Good God, what a tiresome pose. I mean, seriously, could you have possibly fit one more empty platitude, one more hackneyed pose, or one more "woe is me" worldweary affectation into one post? I'm not sure there's a single cliche you missed. It's even got John Lennon lyrics in it, FFS!

I mean, if getting a job, having a family, raising them to the best of our ability, and trying to make enough to retire and maybe leave our kids something to maybe have a better life -- if that's so awful horrible icky "me me me" ... then what is it, Patrick, that you would have us do?

What is it that humans could do that would redeem our species in your eyes?

Yeah, we get it: You think humankind is a scourge that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Awesome. Kinda takes refuting American exceptionalism to a whole new level, doesn't it? It's not just Americans who are horrible, it's humans! That's some heavy stuff, man.

Obviously, the only possible way to prevent The Destruction of Teh Universe is for humankind to be extinctified, yes?

All I can say is, there's nothing quite like leading by example!

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I just have very very little patience for this kind of self-indulgent navel-gazing, mainly because in most cases, I don't buy it. I don't believe it's sincere. If it were sincere, you would do something about it, such as abandon your aforementioned bonsai tree chemicals, your lacquer thinner, your Maserati and your Emron paint. The fact that you don't abandon etc., shows that it's all just talk. Which means that all you're doing is blowing a lot of hot air around the room in the name of striking a virtue-signaling pose. Sorry, but I just consider that hypocritical horse sh_t.

Sorry to jump your train, but I'm not sure you could have begged for it any harder. I'm sure you're a nice guy and you mean well, but -- well, remind me not to let you corner me at the next neighborhood party. ;-)

[Patrick Walsh]

No..

I don’t see your desire to raise your kids work hard and leave them a better life as bad. Not one it....

What I see as bad is end result of what it takes “or at least what us humans think it takes” us to sustain life.

I was thinking as I’m emptied my dust collector. Our government, not just our and not saying government is bad as I’m not at all. But based on looking at what’s going on right now like this very moment I can help but think our government and whole world economic system on a whole. Maybe economic system is the wrong analogy. Maybe human approach to problem solving is a better way to communicate my thoughts. Is much like a vehicles built to last four years or a paper cup or plate.

If you think it all the way through it is not sustainable. And if that be the case maybe thinking the thing all the way through making very hard choices “not gonna happen now” we are clearly to deep might have been wise “if us humans are so dam smart” but we are not. We only have the capacity generally speaking to tend to what’s right in front of us. Well we choose to only recognize our capacity for instant gratification vrs what’s coming down the road. Generally we are willing to make sacrifices within our family units but dare we think Briton’s our own family nation and recognize us as humans globally.

For instance today there are news report of directing the virus at the young “sending them back to work” as to build a immunity for a second round predicted to come. Or the opposite side of the coin sacrifice our elderly “send them back to work” to keep the economy going and sacrifices for the young.

My point is we all do have the capacity as a whole to make very different decisions. Decisions that could result in the preservation and good of us all as a whole but we don’t. Instead we all “myself included” participate in digging the hole deeper.

Use the giant pile of plastic in the middle of the pacific for instance, or al the places across the globe without even the fundamental basics like clean drinking water, roofs over their heads, food and a government that protects its people from the ravages up the evil.

Yeah huge sweeping broad topics I’m touching here but it’s all comes back to the choices each and everyone of us make.

And the choice I see us all make over and over and over again is “me, mine my bank account t my 401k my my my my”

Yeah I see that as a huge problem.

The crux of the problem the core of the problem. And yes I’m making clear I’m probably more guilty than many..

[Eric Danstrom]

Kids have been facing this kind of adversity forever. Instead of expecting them to fold we should be helping them cope. Life is full of these kind of challenges. Kids lose parents, friends, etc....

[Bill Dufour]

Thanks to the community for not flaming my post. I was hesitant to post it because I worried it might come off as uncaring. I meant it to be reassuring that children can cope with bad stuff and have done so for 10's of thousands of years. At least now we know how disease is spread and how to wash our hands unlike our ancestors who had no clue about what made people sick. It used to be that bathing was considered unhealthy and sinful. Saint Francis did not bathe for the last 20? years of his life. That made him smell better to the wild animals I suppose.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

Bill, honestly, one of the biggest challenges right now is with everyone in a family at home, everyone has to "get along". Parents think the tweens/teens are obnoxious and the tweens/teens think the parents are obnoxious. They are both likely correct...from their own points of view at least. I do think that teachers will get a bit more respect going forward, at least until folks forget this lovely experience.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Patrick, you CAN have the world of your dreams. Simply remove all but 2 people from the planet. ...I get to choose.

[Larry Frank]

The biggest psyche damage is some of the comments on this thread. I have never read such negativity and some in this thread seem ready to cash it all end. I believe that we will find solutions and survive. Rather than the glass half empty that some seem to have , I am a glass half full.

[Darcy Warner]

Good God, what a tiresome pose. I mean, seriously, could you have possibly fit one more empty platitude, one more hackneyed pose, or one more "woe is me" worldweary affectation into one post? I'm not sure there's a single cliche you missed. It's even got John Lennon lyrics in it, FFS!

I mean, if getting a job, having a family, raising them to the best of our ability, and trying to make enough to retire and maybe leave our kids something to maybe have a better life -- if that's so awful horrible icky "me me me" ... then what is it, Patrick, that you would have us do?

What is it that humans could do that would redeem our species in your eyes?

Yeah, we get it: You think humankind is a scourge that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Awesome. Kinda takes refuting American exceptionalism to a whole new level, doesn't it? It's not just Americans who are horrible, it's humans! That's some heavy stuff, man.

Obviously, the only possible way to prevent The Destruction of Teh Universe is for humankind to be extinctified, yes?

All I can say is, there's nothing quite like leading by example!

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I just have very very little patience for this kind of self-indulgent navel-gazing, mainly because in most cases, I don't buy it. I don't believe it's sincere. If it were sincere, you would do something about it, such as abandon your aforementioned bonsai tree chemicals, your lacquer thinner, your Maserati and your Emron paint. The fact that you don't abandon etc., shows that it's all just talk. Which means that all you're doing is blowing a lot of hot air around the room in the name of striking a virtue-signaling pose. Sorry, but I just consider that hypocritical horse sh_t.

Sorry to jump your train, but I'm not sure you could have begged for it any harder. I'm sure you're a nice guy and you mean well, but -- well, remind me not to let you corner me at the next neighborhood party. ;-)

Not worth the time or effort. Sometimes there is no point wasting ones time or effort and I assure you, this is one of those instances.