Damaged vending machines. "No change" messages on broken ATMs. Pepsi ads sponsoring diabetes research. These images may have little in common, but transmit a widely shared yet subtle sensation — they’re the unsettling reminders of a dark and strange twist in the reality we find ourselves in today. And unfortunately folks, it’s also a pretty bleak one.
Let me present to you the 'Boring Dystopia' subreddit, an online community dedicated to "chronicling how Advanced Capitalist Society is not only dystopic, but also incredibly boring." In case you've never heard of this term, it was coined by the late British academic and cultural theorist Mark Fisher. It refers to the feeling of unease in the form of mildly coercive signs that flourish in a late-stage capitalist society.
We at Bored Panda scoured the online group and handpicked some of the most vivid examples that illustrate there's something not quite right with this world. Continue scrolling and be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. And after you’re done reading this piece, take a look at our earlier compilations full of dystopian madness right here, here, and here.
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We're All Just Profit Potential
It's so well-written as well, sounds like a passage from a dystopian novel, but the dystopia is our reality.
From A 7-11 In Allen, Tx
Real Nice System We Have Here
To learn more about boring dystopia, we reached out to Macon Holt, Ph.D., a researcher at Copenhagen Business School and author of Pop Music and Hip Ennui: A Sonic Fiction of Capitalist Realism. He told Bored Panda this phrase is related to Mark Fisher’s critical term capitalist realism, "which he used to describe the pervasive belief that capitalism is the only viable form of the political, social and cultural organization following the end of the cold war."
It may be difficult to wrap your head around the term "boring dystopia" but once you get the hang of it, chances are, you’ll start seeing it everywhere. "[It] is more about the aesthetic experience of living in capitalist realism at a point in time when the system appears ever more unsustainable (ecologically, [politically], and in terms of increasing inequality and decreasing standards of living) but in which no other way to organize society has emerged," Holt explained.
“If I Had A Super Power, It Would Be To Fly. I Would Tell Other Children From Around The World To Come And Play With Me And My Sisters, And To Drink Tea Together!” – Mohamad, A Syrian Refugee In Lebanon
Sadly, This Situation Is Only Gonna Get Worse
It's sickening how screwed up the economy is. All we can do is hope it gets better in time, but unfortunately, that seems like wishful thinking. I'm so used to living in apartments (and now a trailer in a trailer park because rents for apartments are ridiculously high) that I have no idea what it's like to live in a house. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough. But only maybe.
Wait? Am European Lol
While freedom is still a glorified statement against healthcare or weapon laws- my mind humming some lines of Bobby McGhee. and it 's gettin louder everyday
Although most of us grew up imagining a dystopian future full of terrifying end-times scenes, brutal police states, and decadent rulers, it is more likely to consist of mundane and unappealing scenarios. Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang, "But as the years in which those images came around, none of the dreams or nightmares came true," he said.
"Instead, space travel is becoming the hobby of billionaires while they ignore the ecological crises they could perhaps help with, AI and robots seem either to be surveilling us while they vacuum or when we click on a link, and the VR worlds of the metaverse are just ways to charge us more rent for spaces that we can't actually occupy."
"Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag", From United Auto Worker, October 1937
This one made me kinda smile, but it is sadly true. 1937 authors knew what was up!
Normal Country
Cool Era We're Living In
The media needs a dose of reality. (also, yes we should allow trans bathrooms)
Typically, the most evident samples of boring dystopia are senseless ads and ordinary images of broken machinery. When asked about other examples of this experience, Holt mentioned we can find it in bureaucracy, "like the terms of a rental contract that forbid tenants to use cooking oil on the stove, so a landlord can keep the deposit if a single drop is found on the extractor fan hood."
"NFTs are perhaps a good example of boring dystopia,” he continued. "If a sci-fi writer were to dream up a situation in which people paid the money they had earned doing actual work for a certificate of verification that they own a .jpeg of a bored ape, their editor would probably say the world the story depicted would be too depressing to publish."
Sign Here
One Day The Masses Might Cotton On
You’re Not Wrong
He also noted that outlets such as Bored Panda draw attention to the conditions of contemporary boring dystopia in its name and try to break up the monotony of the everyday. "In boring dystopia, people are often anxious about work, housing and the future of the planet, and there's very little to alleviate this. As Mark Fisher put it 'No one is bored, everything is boring.'"
Unions Are Needed!
The American Dream: Move Out
Don't assume it's all peaches and daises in Europe, people are broke here too, with the same ridiculous housing costs and everything else, In the U.K. for example we just have universal healthcare, no guns and nowhere near as much racism but it isn't perfect by any means.
2% Of Musk's Wealth Could Help 42m People
Boring dystopia tells us that while capitalism is often labeled as the most efficient economic system out there, it is not necessarily geared toward human flourishing. "Depending on who you ask, it can be argued that in some particular corners of the world at a certain point in history when there was a relatively strong welfare state and high tax regime, capitalism was part of what brought a good number of people out of poverty."
Siri To Stop Bad Cops
Back To School
Honestly heartbreaking that they have to take precautions like that.
Validating Your Employees By A Pointing System
If my boss tried any of that s**t (not that she would), I would sue the company to the ground, holy s**t!
The only company that I know of that does this anywhere in the U.S. is Walmart. So yes, they deserve to be sued to shreds.
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When are Americans going to demand proper employment laws that prevent this sort of abuse?! Employees should have rights!
I had kidney stones once and collapsed at a morning dental appointment before work. I went by ambulance to the ER where I was drugged up for hours. The next day at work I was raked over the coals for not calling in. I walked out.
I once collapsed at work and was taken to the hospital. My next shift at work my manager berated the crap out of me for it and he witnessed the collapse happen. It was a medical issue but somehow I was suddenly on thin ice. I quit about a month after. He begged me not to quit and when I said no I definitely quit he immediately became threatening and saying I could never in my life work for the company again. I said good! Never regretted that choice. I was 19 and that company was Ross dress for less. Pretty sure my ambitions in life didn't end at a discount retail store.
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About 20/25 years ago I was a bar manager accountable to the general manager. I was never late, I worked hard, I was always late leaving, I helped with close-of-business till management, I waited late to accompany the GM to the bank to deposit the takings (he was afraid of being mugged) and I was routinely left to manage the rowdy sunday crowd and had to physically eject people and defuse aggro because they were too cheap to hire door staff. One morning my mum was ill and I was ten minutes late making sure she was gonna be ok. The GM was waiting in the bar to delightedly issue me with a written warning. This guy had a smile on his face! So I quit on the spot. Have fun making those bank deposits jerk!
The problem here isn't (just) the employment rights, it's that employees have been so mentally conditioned she has to ask if she's an AH just for standing up for herself, in the face of abuse from her own peer group. It's not even the managers at this point.
The problem is absolutely with the laws. You can't brainwash employees into thinking this kind of thing could be their fault, when labour laws literally say it isn't.
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This is how companies see ALL employees. I'd tell her if anybody calls again, I'd be calling the CEO of the company in person about her. But this is how companies are allowed to treat employees. No matter how good you think you are, or how good you actually are.......they will fire your ass for no reason and show you the door!! This is why I NEVER give notice when I have quit a job. THEY don't give ME any notice when I've gotten fired!! WHY they hell should I give THEM notice when I quit?? I just get up and walk out.
I totally agree. And giving notice is purely a courtesy, it is never required.
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Once I suddenly got sick and almost passed out every time I stood up. I kept calling my work, no one was in until right before classes start. We had a new manager who took over my classes and he wasn't confident in his role yet so he didn't say more than "You can't call off on the same day." Yes, it didn't matter that even if I had tried, I might have died on the way. He quit within 2 weeks, I left ASAP
Christ, you guys really need to demand workers rights, wtf is going on over there?
I got fired within minutes of walking into my work one day, my boss sat there with a smile on her face as she informed me that I was being let go because I didn't get on with anybody else in the kitchen(I know this is a total lie because I got in great with everyone with one exception, the exception just happened to be a guy she fancied who I'd told to get stuffed when he tried to use his "seniority" to make me do his work for him) she told me I could work the rest of the day to avoid being embarrassed at being fired but I just laughed and walked out only to have my phone ringing within minutes asking me to come back. Sadly for her I knew the Hotel was hosting a conference with the UK's Department Of Defence later on that night and that we were supposed to be preparing for it all day so by firing me they were left with only one other trainee who wasn't as good as me.
"Staying late" at work without compensation is regarded as a virtue in the US. In most of Europe, it's illegal.
It is so typical for the coworkers calling HER an ass, instead of the boss. Why do people not undertand how exploitation works?
Words! It is the use of words and how you can twist them!
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Hate to say it, but don't live/stay or move to a red state.....always check the labor laws before moving somewhere...........If they tried that s**t in California, you could sue......big time, great labor laws here!!!!!
It happens in blue states too. Oregon has these kinds of ridiculous problems too. Employers dont care about laws! If you complain cuz they're breaking a law, they will cut your hours back to 4 hours a week so you quit working for them. That way you cant get unemployment. The vast majority of people I know cant afford to choose what state they want to live in. Moving anywhere is expensive. Moving to a different state is even more expensive and time consuming and its a stressful nightmare!
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Glad your husband supports you. I had a similar situation in 2016. I was in the hospital for 9 days, the first 3 in ICU. When I was released I was on 1 week of bed rest. My employer was very kind and understanding. They told me to get well soon and my job was secure. I was in total shock. My former employer would have fired me after missing 3 days. In fact, they had laid me off after an injury. I was grateful to be treated decently for a change.
For me (German 🇩🇪) it is so hard to believe, how your bosses and companies are allowed to treat you. Doctors here would write you a sick note for at least (!!) 1-2 weeks, which companies are required by law to accept it. Your collegues and your Boss would send you a „Get well soon“ card, tell you not to worry and take as much time off as you need. 💗
I worked in a call center (tech support). If you were calling off 3 times within 30 days, you were getting on their watchlist. I called off one day because I had serious diarhea, I was 2 days out. 28 days later I called off because working call center is stressful and depressing. Ended up on watchlist. I ended up getting terminated for gross incompetence, got very anxious that I refused to take calls until I spoke to my supervisor. I was on probation and getting mixed signals about my performance. Supervisor was saying everything was going fine, my mentor was saying everything was s**t.
Some organisations clearly don't realise that treating their employees with kindness reaps massive rewards. Most treat us (and I'm now one) as replaceable components, cogs in wheels. They don't realise that inanimate objectives are unable to resolve problems and create relationships.
That boss was plain malicious. The points for "calling out" and "calling out w/in 4 hours of shift start" SHOULDN'T STACK. They should be for two different TYPES of "call-out" calls. Otherwise what happened here is the company's goal - taking away benefits for ONE short-notice call-out - since her ONE call-out put her over the point limit..
Right! Having retired from a major airline which has used a point system for decades, I see some value in it. This situation, though, is insanely demonic.
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WTF? What a horrible way to treat employees!! Makes me sad so many bosses lack compassion and empathy.
NTA, but could have done it smarter. She should have made them fire her for not signing, the. She’s have gotten unemployment.
The boss is definitely the a*****e in this. A similar thing happened to me when I developed a migraine that didn't go away completely for over a year.
Wtf is wrong with employers in America. Points system? Shouldn't workers be allowed sick leave? What are your workers' rights over there! This is nuts!
The fact that this person even questions their response after suffering in such a blatently abusive and illegal situation only proves the employer has ,sadly, won. Much in the same way that a person is broken in prison or a cult.
I live in Orlando and all the theme parks have point systems. Disney, sea world and universal studios. In 2019 I was pregnant while working for universal studios. The first time I ever called out was because I was in the hospital loosing my baby. When I returned to work I was told they were sorry for my loss but I still loose a point. I continued working for them for 2 more years until I was fired for getting a cup of coffee on the clock. A week after I was assaulted by a manager in the parking lot which my HR representative told me was all caught on camera. Workers have no rights or protections in America
Yeah I got fired once when pregnant and the other time was when I went septic in ICU and was signing my legal Will documents in there.
That boss of yours - is she in her right mind? Does she realizes that good workers are scarce - also: that you need to be rewarded for your dedication in the past? She knows?
Absolutely NTA! Have a lawyer talk to your former employer and if the company will follow their own rules instead of acting like TA, maybe you will consider their calls, but I would have a lawyer do the dealing to keep them straight. Walking away from it all might be fun though...
That's fine if OP has a lawyer friend who will do it as a favor. The last time I used a lawyer, 10 years ago, it was $350 an hour. It doesn't sound like OP's job justifies that level of monetary commitment.
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You are in the right! She is nothing but a control freak! She only seen an opportunity to keep the money from bonuses, etc.. I pray, you found a better job!
Restaurant Managers, are generally people without a degree, their human experience relays on many years as a server, companies does not give them proper training, and their role model used to be the jerks they are now. They never learn anything about how to treat people
Isn't better to be fired? Something about severance? As far as I understand, if you walk out, they don't have to pay you. Correct me, if I'm wrong.
I can't believe that after all of what happened with her boss she's still had some doubts and asked ppl if she was an a*****e. I mean... WTH?
No you're not the AITA at all. Good on you for sticking up for yourself and now just go get an even better job.
I hope you're feeling all better now and have found a brilliant job with a human boss.
Bonne chance! You'll be fighting for the same position with dozens of others, if not hundreds. Who'll get chosen? The one best at kissing the boss's @s$.
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Absolutely NOT the A-Hole. Boss deserves any heat they get for such a stupid thing.
I had a friend who got fired for being physically beaten by his supervisor. I had another friend get fired for having a stroke at work. And there was nothing they could do about it, because every lawyer they went to told them they didn't have a case...............because the company was paying off these lawyers NOT to sue them!!!
If you bother to ask the Internet if you're an a*****e for objecting to this kind of treatment, you might need a little therapy.
This is what happens when you put Democrats in control. I was fired from a Federal job by Biden and Obama because I was born a gay man and used the men's restroom and refused to get a sex change because I'm happy being a man!
I get that you're angry, and I don't know your whole story, but you do realize that Democrats are the ones who typically fight FOR worker's rights, not to mention gay and trans rights?
Load More Replies...However, other people will point to the historical and contemporary violence, the destruction of the environment, and the inequality and exploitation required to make such "market dynamism" possible. According to Holt, capitalism has only ever been efficient at producing more capital. But "capital doesn't care who holds it. How it is made, what it is spent on or invested in and who gets to decide these things have always been political questions. And the answers to these questions have been, largely, deferred to the market for a long time, which has produced a world of increasing inequality, anti-democratic power structures, ecological ruin and boredom," he told us.
Glad Critical Medical Care Is Being Taken Care Of By Private Companies That Definitely Give A S**t
American Healthcare In A Nutshell
After The Government Let Companies Influence School Curriculums, My Exams Now Look Like This
For some, pictures pointing out our dull dystopian reality could be a source of entertainment. For others, they may create a daunting sense of a lost future. Speaking of the latter one, Holt said that the material things that make people feel that way (skyrocketing housing prices, student-loan debts, insane medical bills — the list goes on) stem from actions at various levels of society. "It is just what happens when the interests of people with power align," he added. "Boring dystopia is the experience of our faith in the future having been betrayed. There is not a quick fix. Instead, to quote Donna Haraway, we have to "stay with the trouble" if we want to commit to a future we can flourish in."
Epstein's Homie
Capitalism At Its Finest. Smh
the $150 is a fair price, giving that they need to do a mass amount of tests (aids on of them) and store the blood. They also do a lot of non-profit support. But charging thousands for a blood transfusion is criminal
Found On Linkedin. Fantastic
"One piece of advice that is really easy for coming to terms with and starting to imagine a way out of boring dystopia would be to read Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Is there no Alternative? It is an incredibly accessible piece of critical theory and is only about 86 pages long. It is a great jumping-off point for finding out more. Read it with friends and talk about it after. It is a great way to feel less alone in a world that seems to be ever more isolating," Holt concluded.
Gen Z And Millennials Are Ruining This Country! How Dare They
Capitalism Leads To Concentrated Wealth. Concentrated Wealth Means Concentrated Power. Therefore Capitalism Is Incompatible With Real Democracy, Which Requires Dispersed, Not Concentrated Power
A Grim Reality Sets In
I feel this. You just work and work everyday with the aim of life or economic status getting better. But it feels as though it never does.
The Way Most People Engage In Online Discussion Today Is On A Handful Of Centralized Platforms Owned And Operated By A Few Very Large For-Profit Tech Companies
Don't Solve The Problem, Just Spend Tons Of Money To Ignore It
Reality Is Often Disappointing
Supercops
Walmart Is Selling “Support Local” Shirts
In The Modern Dystopia, You Become The Ad
State Trooper Fired For Disloyalty Simply For Speaking Out And Telling The Truth
How Might This Have Happened
Reddit, I Just Discovered The Meaning Of Life
Arrested For Holding Up A Blank Sign
Facebooks Re-Brand Did Nothing
Anti-Ai Face Paint
There's an AI technique called universal perturbations which subtly changes pixel values which are entirely indistinguishable to humans but completely mess up classification algorithms. You can even train them to cause the algorithm to mistake you for something specific: like a panda! 🐼
Whoever Made This Billboard Can Shove It Up Their A**
Texas Lawmakers Posing As Human Beings, After Passing The New Abortion Ban
After Working From Home For Two Years, "Return To Work" Today
Nbc Is Turning Water Into Thousands Of Pounds Of Real Snow For Their 'Once In A Lifetime' Superbowl Coverage... In Southern California... During A Drought
Haha, There Was A Tussle At The Rich People's Gold-Statue Party
“I think I’ll just watch from here. From my balcony. In my million dollar mansion”
Yea... Let's Go Ahead And Bring Back Slavery
Note: this post originally had 130 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
If you are a bit too mad here is a cat to lower your bp. imagesqtbn...sqpCAU.png 
Im honestly scared for the future right now
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And sadly our govt might have a escape clause but if anyone decides that they wish to redo our govt people will be hurt
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I hate how in society, especially American society, everyone is just another cog in the machine, and people aren't treated like actual people.
Every time I read or watch a movie about an apocalyptic future, or those articles about "what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?" I'm like "Die. I would happily die. Hopefully fast enough. Why would I fight to live in a frickin' apocalyptic world plagued by creatures who kill everything that makes a sound?!" (A bit off-topic? Mmm, maybe... But that's what this article made me think of, soooooo... 🤔)
oh what the hell. I hate these articles because they make me feel so hopeless and useless but I always read them. I'm scared, so scared for the future. I'm really into sci-fi and dystopia right now, and those realities keep seeming a little more realistic :(
You live in the wealthiest and safest time in the universe.
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Don't have kids. Don't force them into this horrible world.
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If you made it to the end and haven't realized more government isn't the solution, go back and review the pics. And then your life...
This is not about distopia, it's mostly stupidity, and some of them are simply not understanding how the society works, or not understanding that people are living from money. I think mostly collected by r/antiwork, what i basically like, but there are some wild ideas connected to it :D
Today I was explaining a conspiracy theory to my husband (not supporting it just telling him) I found he had never heard of Q Anon, and he had missed the story about the White House invasion. I think I might change to his news source
I was feeling pretty bad today. Depression and anxiety really has its grip on me at the moment. And then I read this article. It reminds me how I can't treat my depression and anxiety issues properly. So I feel a lot worse. I shouldn't be here.
I'm in the same boat. This really makes me feel hopeless, like I'd be better off gone than living on this horrid world
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And only one or two was even about Ukraine. There's so much more that isn't on the list.
I realized today that most everything is "rant -able" nowadays. Except for cat videos, discussion of the real world leads directly to a rant. Every example above is rant -worthy. So, cat videos!
Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the world we want to leave for our grandchildren/grandpets?
Nope. So I'm not having kids. It's the kindest thing you can do. #antinatalism
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My appendix was in the process of bursting yet I had to sit waiting in a shi**y plastic chair in front of a woman to fill out forms on a messed-up computer before being eventually wheeled back for emergency surgery. Had to wait for her computer to go back online with the internal system before I could "complete the intake paperwork" - ie: deal with the financials. I didn't, and still don't, have insurance...
All of this was heartbreaking. This is our reality. What are we leaving for the next generations? Woke? Are we really?
" Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang". - - - - I think Holt has not watched Bladd Runner.
I'm about to head into the workforce 2 years... I REALLY don't want to rn
Hahaha, lies, propaganda and fear mongering, 1st world problems as usual. People rather complain then see how good they really have it. =XD
Whataboutism, "appeal to bigger problems" fallacy. Many of them are simply things that are expected in modern Western democracies. America just sucks too much to provide them.
Load More Replies... Left-wing Americans: too proud to learn a trade, too lazy to get a useful college degree, but stupid enough to think socialism/communism will work.
daniel280456: too ignorant to understand the current situation in society, too lazy to look into it, but self righteous enough to speculate societies problems.
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If you are a bit too mad here is a cat to lower your bp. imagesqtbn...sqpCAU.png
Im honestly scared for the future right now
Load More Replies... And sadly our govt might have a escape clause but if anyone decides that they wish to redo our govt people will be hurt
Load More Replies... I hate how in society, especially American society, everyone is just another cog in the machine, and people aren't treated like actual people.
Every time I read or watch a movie about an apocalyptic future, or those articles about "what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?" I'm like "Die. I would happily die. Hopefully fast enough. Why would I fight to live in a frickin' apocalyptic world plagued by creatures who kill everything that makes a sound?!" (A bit off-topic? Mmm, maybe... But that's what this article made me think of, soooooo... 🤔)
oh what the hell. I hate these articles because they make me feel so hopeless and useless but I always read them. I'm scared, so scared for the future. I'm really into sci-fi and dystopia right now, and those realities keep seeming a little more realistic :(
You live in the wealthiest and safest time in the universe.
Load More Replies... Don't have kids. Don't force them into this horrible world.
Load More Replies... If you made it to the end and haven't realized more government isn't the solution, go back and review the pics. And then your life...
This is not about distopia, it's mostly stupidity, and some of them are simply not understanding how the society works, or not understanding that people are living from money. I think mostly collected by r/antiwork, what i basically like, but there are some wild ideas connected to it :D
Today I was explaining a conspiracy theory to my husband (not supporting it just telling him) I found he had never heard of Q Anon, and he had missed the story about the White House invasion. I think I might change to his news source
I was feeling pretty bad today. Depression and anxiety really has its grip on me at the moment. And then I read this article. It reminds me how I can't treat my depression and anxiety issues properly. So I feel a lot worse. I shouldn't be here.
I'm in the same boat. This really makes me feel hopeless, like I'd be better off gone than living on this horrid world
Load More Replies... And only one or two was even about Ukraine. There's so much more that isn't on the list.
I realized today that most everything is "rant -able" nowadays. Except for cat videos, discussion of the real world leads directly to a rant. Every example above is rant -worthy. So, cat videos!
Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the world we want to leave for our grandchildren/grandpets?
Nope. So I'm not having kids. It's the kindest thing you can do. #antinatalism
Load More Replies... My appendix was in the process of bursting yet I had to sit waiting in a shi**y plastic chair in front of a woman to fill out forms on a messed-up computer before being eventually wheeled back for emergency surgery. Had to wait for her computer to go back online with the internal system before I could "complete the intake paperwork" - ie: deal with the financials. I didn't, and still don't, have insurance...
All of this was heartbreaking. This is our reality. What are we leaving for the next generations? Woke? Are we really?
" Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang". - - - - I think Holt has not watched Bladd Runner.
I'm about to head into the workforce 2 years... I REALLY don't want to rn
Hahaha, lies, propaganda and fear mongering, 1st world problems as usual. People rather complain then see how good they really have it. =XD
Whataboutism, "appeal to bigger problems" fallacy. Many of them are simply things that are expected in modern Western democracies. America just sucks too much to provide them.
Load More Replies... Left-wing Americans: too proud to learn a trade, too lazy to get a useful college degree, but stupid enough to think socialism/communism will work.
daniel280456: too ignorant to understand the current situation in society, too lazy to look into it, but self righteous enough to speculate societies problems.
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