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!
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
That's one of the saddest things I've read in a while. Won't even let the desperate eat their scraps. Dogs are treated better.
They mostly just fish out cans to recycle for cash, especially from street bins like those pictured
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i was homeless in Wisconsin for 14 months. 2020-2021. dumpster diving got me by. i actually ate fairly well. blocking cans is just wrong. isn't it better someone gets fed, than adding more refuse to a landfill?
So, to m rob EVERYONE struggling financially and/or homelsss(caused by no others) is (totally) at fault. What a vile waste of atoms tragic accident shitpile fucktard bitchfungus cuntpie+. He/she can just go jump into a huge patch of Gympie nettles then go play in very heavy traffic slowly as possible.
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LISTEN HERE SAN FRANCISCO! If your economy is so ruined some people are scavenging in the trash, maybe you should fix your economy
I used to scavenge dumpsters and trashcans at car washes and gas stations for cans and plastic bottles, so I could go turn them in for recycling and get money to pay for gas so I could go job hunting. I found a LOT of cash.......you'd be shocked to see the amount of dollar bills and change people throw into the garbage while cleaning out their cars!!!
I scavenged quarters from apartment complex laundry room, change (plus lots of other goodies) from dumpsters. My girlfriend's perpetual yard sale was dumpster finds. UT Austin wished up and now collects and sells for charity the student leftovers (small appliances, furniture, kitchenware, ...)
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Hostile architecture. It's one thing to ignore the homeless, but actively trying to make thing harder for them is a next level assholery.
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Example from Germany: We pay a small deposit on bottles and cans and you can return them at most stores. You can many people here checking garbage for empty bottles and cans. But it many cities you can see now a special rack next to garbage cans for empty bottles and cans and the people relying on collecting them do not need to dive bins anymore
Ah... I should have read all the comments first before writing my own long story about this! "Pfand geht daneben"
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If they have enough money to spend 20,000 per trash can, they have enough money to distribute food and/or find housing
Let's invest in making others poorer and hungrier and more depressed!
How about throwing money at eliminating the REASON people are homeless instead—-including the ones who are also full time employed but can’t afford rent? FFS!
The last time I watched people riot, setting corporate property on fire, I could only say "Good for you… Good for you."
Gee, wonder how much food they could buy for people in need for $20,000 per existing g trash can?
People should be fed, not locked out. And they should be fed better than garbage.
This one is slightly understandable . I work at a chain drugstore in an urban area and have had to report several accidental needlesticks from people going through our outdoor trash can. Sometimes illegal drug users will throw out their dirty needles( which is better than throwing them on the sidewalk, I guess) but obviously doesn't make for a safe situation for folks just looking in there for cans/food/etc. without protective gloves on. Not sure why each would cost 20k tho..that seems ridiculously excessive.
Maybe setting up bins for cans/bottles next to trash cans can cut-down on accidental needle sticks.
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We live in a world where homeless people are treated in a similar level to Rats and Pidgeons, I'm surprised the government hasn't given the ok to mousetraps designed to kill humans.
In my neighborhood (Queens, NYC), there are several individuals who root through the public trashcans and throw everything on the ground and street, creating a giant slimy mess. It breeds rats, blocks the walking paths, and who is responsible for cleaning it up? It's an unfortunate situation but I understand why it's a problem. I will say, there is a vibrant economy for redeemables from apartment buildings and everyone is quite responsible.
Yup, unfortunate but the trash scavengers often leave a mess.
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Or, you could buy 4000 meals per trash can and spend less sending food to the landfill.
On top of just being the f*****g worst, anti-homeless urban design is just so ugly looking. We all know what they are for when we see them in public and it's just a constant reminder of how our system has decided it is better to deprive homeless people of food/places to sleep than it is to actually help them. Everytime I see these anti-homeless designs in the wild... it's just another reminder for me that capitalism is failing.
But yet SF subway system is full of dirty needles and streets full of people living in tents what the heck. Wow Pelosi is great thats who runs that district but yet she lives in DC how is she even helpful to SF when shes not even there. Wtf
Locking trash recycle bins is so infuriating, somebody has thrown it away, if someone needs it, let them have it. Even Sweden, that socialist mecca, they lock up bins. Had a cat that used to bat away the Beagle from his litter box, didn't understand that either.
They invite the homeless for months and years because they get federal aid. They have thousands of homeless in SF and now they don't want them to eat . When will people change California instead of doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome?
What more can one do to further dehumanise someone? We have people that go looking/scavenging soft drink cans to recycle and they're now even taking that away from them. America you are very mean!
You think anyone's gonna try to fit their trash through that little hole?!?!? So littering goes up, too! Wow. This is just disgusting.
California pays people to be homeless $600 cash and $200 in food stamps. Then the idiots living there wonder why their state looks like The Walking Dead.
That's just horrible. All I can think is how lives could change for the price of a trashcan that keeps poor people hungry.
If you solve the problems you work yourself out of a job. No one needs the gov worker or even politician if they solved the actual problem. It also limits the reasons to tax and take more of your money if they did that.
Instead of helping w/ the massive homeless and getting rid of the huge homeless camps.
The really troubling reality is that taxpayers are footing the bill for the initiative to prevent or curtail basic "reuse" of discarded "items". Taxpayers would rather pay to feed the needy, less expensive.
Pffff, amateurs. In my country they place a large canvas underground and use the bin as a handle to open the hatch and change the canvas every other week...
Spending outrageous amounts of money to deprive people without money. Spot on.
Usually they are pulling stuff out to get paid for recycling so that’s just more stuff in the the dump
At least they pay people $180,000 a year to scoop up drug addicts' poop off the street tho, right? SF is quickly turning in to a sh*thole...
Instead of spending $20,000. per homeless person to help them out...smh.
Don't buy the trashcans and use all that money to feed the poor people who are trying to find food in the trash.
I usually place all my refundable bottles beside the recycle bin behind my building, so this is unconscionable to me. It's like putting up spikes so people can't sleep in front of a building, etc.
The hippest city in America, or it was. Now only the obscenely rich can addord to survive there.
I read that 60 million bucks worth of CRV recyclables are unaccounted for in California.
Because San Francisco is so clean and beautiful and doesn't smell like p**s
Several years ago San Francisco decided that because people would sometimes leave bulk items next to sidewalk trashcans and it made the city look trashy, they'd solve the problem by getting rid of the cans. People still leave stuff where the cans used to be, next other people's door poop bags and litter. Did they ever do a follow-up to see if their plan worked? What, are you new here?
In northern germany, i think originating from Hamburg, there is a saying 'Pfand geht daneben' ( recycling goes to the side) and some garbage cans even have bottle-holders mounted next to them. The meaning behind it is to give people who scrummy through trash for bottles to get the money for recycling a little dignity by making the bottles accessible to them. I don't know how good this works. But the idea is neat and!
Years ago, when I worked in fast food, I was told to not empty the trash alone after dark since people may mug me for the bag of food refuse I would be carrying to the dumpster.
Senator Nancy Pelosi, of San Fransisco hard at work! Yet! The homeless are sleeping everywhere! Trash, and junk cars on every street! She wants to spend that much on trash cans so the homeless can't even find scraps!
You are aware that she doesn't make decisions about garbage cans in San Francisco, right? Have you been to San Francisco? Your assertion that "The homeless are sleeping everywhere. Trash, and junk cars on every street." appears to be regurgitated from 🦊 news. Stop watching it, it's not helping you look either smart or compassionate.
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California offers homeless people $600 cash and $200 in food stamps, that's why their numbers are increasing.
Why bother to have a stable residence when you can be homeless for $600 cash and $200 in food stamps? The joys of living outside, at risk of starvation, assault, rape, murder, digging through garbage, not showering, suffering from mental illness or physical diseases, and being treated as a subhuman by people like you is certainly worth some cash and $200 of limited food choices (can't prepare a lot of things living on the street). /s 🙄
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GOOD. The mess left behind while they "scavenge" is just as bad as having no trash cans at all.
You're a heartless scumbag who deserves to live on the streets for a while to see what it's like.
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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.
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
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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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