Comment by tokioyoyo

Comment by tokioyoyo 3 days ago

10 replies

Society is really fine! I live among millions of people every day, and people are genuinely kind and nice on average. It's up to you how you want to perceive the world, but I wouldn't want my neighbours to ever think people around them are lunatics and etc.

I understand you're coming from a very American-specific point of view, which is very hard for me to comprehend. Growing up, I absolutely never had to worry (and now as well) about any of those topics. Even my nephews in public schools (US) are doing pretty decent maths stuff. I do think some of the things you've mentioned are mostly imaginary problems, but I can be wrong.

I'm not special. You're not special either. Nobody's really special. Yet we find ways to sit down, have a drink, go for a drive, or have sex from time to time. That being said, I have quite a few friends who had very restricted childhoods, and would never want my children to feel the same resentment as they do during our hang outs.

NoMoreNicksLeft 3 days ago

>Society is really fine!

Any healthy, long-term viable society has to prioritize one task above all others... making the replacement people that will be society once the current people die. Your society (if you choose to claim it) doesn't do this. Sub-replacement fertility. It's dying because of this. If you think that's fine, go for it.

>I live among millions of people every day

Sure. And each generation is about half the size of the previous. It will look fine, even crowded for awhile yet.

>I understand you're coming from a very American-specific point of view,

This is global. China has sub-replacement fertility. Korea and Japan have sub-replacement fertility. Europe has it, South America has it, India may have finally crept below replacement, but if it hasn't yet it will next year or the year after. This is everywhere. There's not a hidden corner of the world where it's not happening.

  • tokioyoyo 3 days ago

    You judge people by the amount of kids they have? So like, if a couple has less than 3 kids, they’re awful people and shouldn’t be around?

    Interesting take, if that’s the only way you look at people, and whether you want to be around them or not.

    I agree we have fertility problems, but if people don’t have kids, well, that’s so not my business. Every person is different and has their priorities. If a person wants to have 0 or 10 kids, god speed to them.

    • jacobgkau 3 days ago

      > So like, if a couple has less than 3 kids, they’re awful people and shouldn’t be around?

      Wow, what a strawman. No, that's not what he said.

      What I will say, though, is if a "couple" has no kids (and does not plan to), they aren't contributing to continuing society and should not receive tax or other marriage benefits.

      That's not a punishment, it's treating them the same as everyone else because they have the same burdens as anyone else (and can already take advantage of pooling resources for their earthly pleasure without society bankrolling it). Tax and other financial structure benefits for married couples were meant to encourage and support the raising of families (continuing society), and between several different (and individually well-meaning) social movements, we've lost the plot over the last half-century. Marriage has turned into "best friends with benefits +," which, again, is fine for people to choose if they want to see it that way, but does not deserve any subsidies.

      • tokioyoyo 3 days ago

        You understand that majority of people still want to get married, and have a kid? And eventually most do. The problem with fertility is, nobody wants to have >=3 kids because of multiple reasons. So, society, by large, is fine, and people are decent even by weird standards that have been mentioned in this thread.

        Anyways, I have no idea how this conversation eventually became a "everyone should have a ton of kids because otherwise society is doomed!", because my entire point was "by large, people are nice, we should strive to be around them, and learn from each other, instead of trying to actively exclude ourselves because we are better than them".

jacobgkau 3 days ago

> Yet we find ways to sit down, have a drink, go for a drive, or have sex from time to time.

US born & raised, here. No we don't. I'm 26, have never had a drink, and have never had sex in this country. (ETA: By societal standards, I'm considered "doing well.") You do not understand the severity of the problem.

  • tokioyoyo 3 days ago

    I'm sorry to hear that. Nobody is really stopping you to have a drink at the bar by yourself though. The above commenters might not like to be associated with those type of "lunatics", but I still think that an average person is good. It is nice to be just around other average people, even if one considers themselves higher than others.

    • jacobgkau 3 days ago

      Gotcha, so to borrow a page from your blowing other peoples' arguments out of proportion elsewhere in the thread... your solution to society crumbling is to be an alcoholic by going to the bar and drinking alone. You're right, it's "really fine" after all!