What do we mean by “doomer,” here? Because the so-called optimists I meet are the ones who actually act like “better things aren’t possible.” The people I know who claim to be happy may as well be saying “Fuck you, I got mine,” since they seem to be the least likely to give a shit about the world’s problems. Whereas absolute pessimism and relentless negativity are perfectly sober ways of looking at the world, as long as they don’t lead to resignation and inactivity.
A while back I was quoting Eugene Debs or something and saying we should judge a society by how we treat the worst-off, etc. And my interlocutor thought this was too pessimistic, so they ended the conversation by saying, “Well, I’ve had a good life.”
What do we mean by “doomer,” here? Because the so-called optimists I meet are the ones who actually act like “better things aren’t possible.” The people I know who claim to be happy may as well be saying “Fuck you, I got mine,” since they seem to be the least likely to give a shit about the world’s problems. Whereas absolute pessimism and relentless negativity are perfectly sober ways of looking at the world, as long as they don’t lead to resignation and inactivity.
Yeah most of the people I know who are happy or content are extremely myopic. And extremely annoying to talk to.
A while back I was quoting Eugene Debs or something and saying we should judge a society by how we treat the worst-off, etc. And my interlocutor thought this was too pessimistic, so they ended the conversation by saying, “Well, I’ve had a good life.”