Is anyone else feeling depressed about the level of hatred that seems to be brewing these days? It seems like a large portion of the population thinks racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry are totally ok. Maybe there isn't more than before but its like now people are very open and proud about it. I feel like these people have no empathy and it just makes me feel like we have lost our way as a society. The mass shootings that are now daily occurrences baffle me. I've felt angry , depressed and hopeless before but I cant imagine just opening fire on strangers and even children. I worry for my kids when they go to school every day. The leading cause of death in children is gun shot wounds now. Its just so bizarre and sad.
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I also worry about China and their military. They've been building up like crazy. I was really hoping I would not see any type of Nuclear Holocaust in my life time. But.... it could easily come. It only takes one insane person.
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I don't worry about it as much as I used to. I have noticed similar things as you have. I have worked to only worry about what I can control. I can't control others. Instead of worry, I try to educate myself about the things in the world, work to foster a better world locally for my family.
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I try to take breaks from the news and to focus on any positives that happen every day as small as they may be.
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@LindaLindaEye3 Yes, very important!!
I live in Lithuania and there are little to no occurences of mass shootings, so I'm relieved to know I'm still alive. I hope your kids stay safe and well.
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I don't dwell on Shootings, Military involvement etc. I do think about all of them from time to time. I'm very much for certain types of gun controls. Especially Automatic Weapons. I live in a state where you can still carry your gun/weapon on your hip. There are many signs on the doors of public buildings, "No guns allowed". I was raised with guns at a very young age. I was taught to respect and never touch them without my dads consent. I never did touch them..... I was taught well. Most of these kids that use guns, are NOT taught well. Often they come from families that don't teach them enough respect. And the fear of God. I was taught the fear of God, and the fear of Dad!!! I pulled up a list of mass shootings from all states in the USA. Amazing how most are from the southern states. Over and over and over again. Yet, guns aren't the only weapon to kill with. To different incidences, two women went over to their neighbors house and got into an argument over noise, mainly barking dogs. They either grabbed a nearby knife or walked over with one. And during the argument, stabbed their neighbor to death. Both women are now in prison. This sort of thing is fairly common. Two men had an on going argument over neighborly noise. Both shot each other. Luckily both survived. I have dogs, one of the main things I teach is, No Bark! And they DON'T. People are sick of noise and disrespect from neighbors. Barking dogs, loud radios and stereos and loud parties. More laws need to be created to make it harder to get guns. At the same time, if we had laws banning guns, then what? Mexico has had very strict laws. And they do have a constitutional right to have certain guns and calibers. Guns would be bought from the black market easily and very often in the states just as Mexico does now. And there are those incidences where a person, especially a woman has had a break-in, in her home. She and her kids may have been killed or raped. And that gun she owned, saved her life and maybe the children. To many countries now and in the past, made it difficult to have weapons. Their police and government were corrupt. And they had no protection or way of protecting themselves. Civil strife without weapons can last generations. A person with a serious record, should not be allowed a gun. Classes should be a must to own a weapon. Proof of an actual gun "Safe" should be mandatory also. Machine guns and automatic weapons should also be outlawed.
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Heres some examples of things I'm concerned about. At work ive actually gotten into arguments about whether slavery was wrong... SLAVERY?! How is this even an argument that can be made in this day and age. I have to hear alot of racial slurs and just general racist talk. A thing I actually had someone tell me was "Im not racist but I hate asians"...seriously???The other day when I was playing a game online there was someone with the screen name "Ad0lf H1tler" and when I pointed it out expecting others to be as disgusted as I was sadly I was met with nothing but indifference or support for that idiot. It used to be only extremist neo-nazi types that would ever be ok with stuff like that. As far as guns go I am not anti-gun. I own a some guns and they are kept at home under lock and key at all times. I work on peoples cars during the day and its shocking the number of loaded weapons people just have lying around in there vehicles. I was always taught extreme safety when it came to guns when I was a kid and most people were back then... now its like people treat them like toys or part of some Rambo/mercenary cosplay prop. Instead of talking or in extreme cases putting your dukes up people just pull out a gun now. Obviously there is no putting the genie back in the bottle when it comes to the number of assault weapons already out there but its time to start making SOME kind of change in gun control. Military style weapons should not be handed out to people so easily. Its not oppression to limit certain types of weapons its just common sense. Nobody NEEDS a 30 or 50 round clip for basic home defense or hunting... if you do you should probably work on your aim.
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@SoloDad if you do you should probably work on your aim. Hahahaha… I can’t believe you had an argument over Slavery! And that really is a crock to me. I come from an Irish Catholic Family. And it’s believed by many Historians that the first Slaves brought to the Americas were the Irish. How could anyone even think that enslavement is OKAY? I grew up around Bigotry. My dad… and yet, when it came to many things about certain races etc. He would argue FOR them. Funny how his mind worked.
"Is anyone else feeling depressed about the level of hatred that seems to be brewing these days? It seems like a large portion of the population thinks racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry are totally ok. Maybe there isn't more than before but its like now people are very open and proud about it. I feel like these people have no empathy and it just makes me feel like we have lost our way as a society. The mass shootings that are now daily occurrences baffle me. I've felt angry , depressed and hopeless before but I cant imagine just opening fire on strangers and even children. I worry for my kids when they go to school every day. The leading cause of death in children is gun shot wounds now. Its just so bizarre and sad."
I've got this overwhelming feeling that I don't belong here any more; this is completely foreign to me. These are no longer recognizable as kith & kin, and this is no longer home. I can imagine what folks felt like in 1930's Weimar.
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@Piobaire Although I know exactly how you feel, don’t give up. Don’t let the extremist take over. Most people are not that bad. I think this is just a hiccup in the normal progression of our society. A last desperate gasp of bigotry before it dies.
It does seem like a lot. At the same time, there is so much less prejudice than 100 yrs ago. But with Internet, TV and radio, we hear much more now. I read many years ago, "Today, there was a Drive by shooting. A woman was molested in her home. And there were two burglaries". Then the article went on to say, "When was this". It had actually been taken from a newspaper over 100 years ago. The drive by shooting was a drunk guy on horse back. That was newspaper, our only type of news other than by mouth. Now days we are bombarded by news from many sources.
I find when I start focusing on that stuff, it's because Ive been watching too much news and youtube, social media etc. In real life, bigotry does happen, but not nearly as frequently as we think. Most people are loving, kind, and accepting. Speaking as a visible minority, in Canada. Maybe the states is different, but because there are no guns allowed here we almost never have school shootings, most people arent living in fear of eachother, so there's also less prejudice of other cultures or dark skin---since usually colored people experience a lot of poverty and discrimination, I think maybe that could make some people feel anger and theyre more easily recruited into gangs? I dont know. But then cops form the experience that colored people are disproportionately more risky, and all the racism happens, and generalizations and expectations are formed. Plus the colored people on tv I see are mostly rappers and stuff like that, which makes me feel like OH this is their culture, when it isn't. When you meet enough people from different cultures and ethnicities you realize how large a spectrum exists within each culture, and gender and all that. So dont let the media warp your perception. Most of the world is full of loving people.
@Blueberries1234 Unfortunately its not the news or social media I’m talking about. These are real life bigots that I cant turn off. I agree that for some people they get depressed about the hyped up news and I stick to very boring just the facts type news.
The world is in a very sad state these days. We seem to have forgotten how important kindness is, how important it is to curb our hateful opinions and try to understand those they are directed at. What is it that makes us hate? Is it fear, jealousy, or just our overall insecurities? Everything and everyone just annoys us now, they are inconveniences in our lives that people dont seem to think they need to suffer through or tolerate. It makes me very sad too.
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I might be late to the party here, but I thought I might add my 2 cents anyways. There may or may not be more, but basically almost every person these days is a sort of standalone media outlet with all of the platforms there is access to with their phones. These type of "fringe" thinking groups are able to more easily find each other and band together. But the bigger problem may be the politicians that encourage this type of behavior and even embolden it. America has always had it's problems, but at least (to a point) there was a sense of unity that has been shattered in recent years. It seems now that most politicians are more concerned with consolidating their power base and yelling diatribes and agendas than actually trying to do any good in their communities - this goes for both sides - I used to be set in the ways that I voted, but the ways things are now, I honestly want no part of any of it. Which in itself is also part of the problem - it's like being stuck in the middle of bickering family, you really don't think either are entirely right but you have no choice but to pick a side otherwise you are considered part of the problem. If you want to read something messed up, there is a post going through Reddit right now about a local weatherman who basically threatened to shoot a little girl who knocked at his door looking for her kitten, and then defended himself by saying it is his right to "defend his property".....from a little girl...looking for her kitten. This unfortunately is the mentality in which we live in now, I mean just wtf. Honestly the only winners here are the lobbyists and politicians, and we are stuck in the middle (as always) killing each other for them.
Sorry for the rant.
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@Squaccoon I agree, I miss the times when it felt like we were all part of team America. That used to be one thing we could all count on being more important than our differences. Now people talk about wanting a new civil war… don’t they realize what a living nightmare it would be if that happened?? It would completely destroy the entire infrastructure of the country. People would be starving to death, you’d be very lucky to even have electricity, phone service, gasoline not to mention seeing your family, neighbors and friends murdered. We need to get back to that “we are all Americans” mentality and if you don’t like something vote about it and if the vote doesn’t go your way just try again next time.
There is NO compromise anymore. Everything is like computer code a 1 or a 0. Its not just the politicians, unfortunately its all of us.
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@starship maybe not all 
black and white thinking is common in trauma. globally maybe are all experiencing that—a trauma response. first, extreme isolation from covid, loss of jobs, then the poloticians became insanely controlling, there were revolutions… we are all afraid. This is what happens before, during and after fear.
I understand not all of us see everything in black and white. But here in the America it seems we are making everything political. Its like we are heading back to the wild west days for law and order. Yes, Covid and the lock downs pushed us further into the divide. Back in the 60’s there was a song sung by Barry McQuire titled Eve of Destruction. It rang true then and rings true today. https://youtu.be/xkJznlYNYc8