Post a controversial opinion

"Russian Doll" looked a bit smug from the opening 3 minutes that I watched

Sorry I'm wandering into this discussion kinda late but I do love that some people have already posited one controversial opinion I hold that all drugs should be made legal and regulated just like tobacco and alcohol. Portugal's done it already and it hasn't killed off their populace, so I honestly don't think it would do much societal damage.

Also, I question the benefit of being selfless. Like, I gave up my youth to take care of one parent or another and locked myself into an existence that rid me of the ability to enjoy my twenties and (most of my) thirties like the vast majority of people, and am still feeling the ramifications to this day. Being selfless helped destroy my life and my parents ended up dying anyway, even if as one of my friends claimed they'd have died years earlier without my intervention. But I didn't get a chance to go to clubs or bars, be a foolish young drunk person, travel inexpensively the way only young people can, go to lots of concerts, divest myself of stifling religious beliefs, etc.

Oh, and while this isn't an opinion so much as an unpopular assertion, I have never seen a single Star Wars movie... even though a very dear friend of mine was actually in one of them!

I have never seen a single Star Wars movie

You haven't missed a thing.

But I didn't get a chance to go to clubs or bars, be a foolish young drunk person, travel inexpensively the way only young people can, go to lots of concerts, divest myself of stifling religious beliefs, etc.

also, haven't missed much here either tbh

I question the benefit of being selfless.

The more selfless the action, the less likely it is to benefit yourself. This is axiomatic.

Being selfless helped destroy my life

I am truly sorry to hear that. I hope there is time enough left to you to repair some part of the damage. But please consider the possibility that your envy of the happy, irresponsible youth you imagine others enjoyed may be based in your lack of firsthand knowledge of that reality.

Thanks for making me feel better about things, y'all. Also, this thread has made for pretty entertaining reading, even the enraging parts.

<i>I am truly sorry to hear that. I hope there is time enough left to you to repair some part of the damage. But please consider the possibility that your envy of the happy, irresponsible youth you imagine others enjoyed may be based in your lack of firsthand knowledge of that reality.</i>

Thanks. I think part of this rant stems from my very recently having turned 40 and feeling as though I wasted my youth on a fruitless pursuit. I'd done a lot of catching up after my mom (my final living immediate family member) died almost four years ago in that I went to as many concerts as I could, visited NYC twice, went on a cruise, etc., but I felt like I would've enjoyed those more with the energy and vigor of a young person. Perhaps this is one of those "grass is greener" moments, but it's honestly far more entertaining having anecdotes handy about being twentysomething and stumbling around the streets with your fellow drunken friends, than the ones I have of visiting my dad in hospice or staying with my mom at various hospitals and the merits/drawbacks of various hospital cafeteria menus.

travel inexpensively the way only young people can

wb dee, and fyi very few youth hostels have age policies.

Sorry I'm wandering into this discussion kinda late but I do love that some people have already posited one controversial opinion I hold that all drugs should be made legal and regulated just like tobacco and alcohol. Portugal's done it already and it hasn't killed off their populace, so I honestly don't think it would do much societal damage.

I know a few people who have said they'd almost certainly wind up dead if this was the case so idk about this one. Being able to legally buy stuff like fentanyl seems like a really really bad idea

I think people should be able to legally buy things that would kill them because if you're stupid enough to ingest something that could kill you, on purpose, you've pretty much got it coming.

"stupid"

"stupid"

lol xp

Sorry I'm wandering into this discussion kinda late but I do love that some people have already posited one controversial opinion I hold that all drugs should be made legal and regulated just like tobacco and alcohol. Portugal's done it already and it hasn't killed off their populace, so I honestly don't think it would do much societal damage.
I know a few people who have said they'd almost certainly wind up dead if this was the case so idk about this one. Being able to legally buy stuff like fentanyl seems like a really really bad idea

― frogbs, Tuesday, February 19, 2019 12:32 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what does it not being legal do to stop people buying it?

i can buy fentanyl walking home from work if i like.

A straight-edger? In my vagina?

Portugal has not legalised all drugs, it has decriminalised them (which yes is a good policy)

that's basically the "only outlaws will have guns" argument - it being illegal creates an extra set of hoops and risks and it's difficult to just impulsively get your hands on a bunch. I get that it's stupid but opiate addiction makes you do stupid things. of course I do agree that 'possession' is a stupid thing to criminalize

idk how controversial this is, but it pisses me off how every time suicide appears in the media there is heaps of "if you need help it's there" and "here is the phone number for the samaritans" and never even the merest hint of "this is what's wrong with the world we've made which is making people not want to live in it any more" or "actually the help you need is not available because the government (and the public) doesn't want to pay for it"

I vote otm as opposed to controversial.

yes, seriously otm, and thank you for posting that

not sure how "this is what's wrong with the world" is better info than "here a number you can call" to someone comtemplating suicide

I suppose it varies from state to state but by and large there do exist publicly funded suicide prevention hotlines

not to mention walk-in mental health clinics

please tell me you are not srsly advicating for a message that informs people contemplatonmg suicide that "actually the help you need is not available" wtf

Help is most definitely available

Was talking to my wife yesterday about some conservative friends we have and how they view every social issue through the lens of "what does this mean to me / my family" only, think this is the thing here too, the analysis being "there are lots of suicidal people, let's them them the number to call" maybe works on an individual level if that's how you view things. In terms of a real solution though, it's nothing.

I'm not saying hide the samaritans number ffs. But there is never any word on the causes, never any responsibility.

suicide happens on an individual level

I don't know if there are heaps of mental health walk-in clinics where you are, but around here there are very few and they are massively underfunded

xp if you didn't understand please re-read

let's them them the number to call" maybe works on an individual level if that's how you view things

well yeah that's how I view things: the idea is to pehaps prevent an individual from committing suicide

xp I live in Massachusetts and help abounds, and a lot of people are not aware this is the case.

If you re-read you might find out that I am not in any way opposed to "perhaps stopping an individual committing suicide" - but that simply isn't enough.
There is fuck all help for people in the uk, what there is is being cut by the day, millions are desperate with no real help available. There is near zero public outcry about this. Posting glib messages about helplines in such a society is not going to do any good.

could we consider neither one of you is proposing a zero sum game scenario here, like...you could communicate...both....messages

I think I quite clearly said exactly that

Agreed, two seperate issues, and the suicide rate and underfunded mental health programs are underreported issues, anything to engender public outcry is good.

Yes, but also. Suicide and depression are not simply issues of curable illness, they are symptomatic of the shitty way our society treats people in general.

Depression is a mystery. It is biochemical but not to the exclusion of trauma, family history, financial hardship, societal problems. It can't simply be laid at the feet of late capitalism or whatever. People kill themselves for an array of complex reasons.

not to mention walk-in mental health clinics

At first I thought you must be from, like, Finland but then I saw Mass, which is more like Finland than the rest of the USofA when it comes to social services.

I am a social worker in the capitol of the USofA and I know of no such thing as a "walk in mental health clinic" unless you are counting the emergency room?

Suicide hotlines are a good thing, yes, but I agree that throwing that out there in a FB post is pretty weak when it comes to mental health advocacy.

http://www.namidc.org/find-support

I'm not gonna argue that social services are up to snuff in general

I think in general people feel helpless when they lose loved ones to suicide and want to take whatever steps to prevent others in their life from going down that rabbit hole. I can't blame them for wanting to contribute the best way they know how.

I don't know about MA, but in DC,"24 hour emergency psychiatric care" equals emergency room at a hospital with an inpatient psych ward. I *wish* we had walk in mental health clinics!

I am a social worker in the capitol of the USofA and I know of no such thing as a "walk in mental health clinic" unless you are counting the emergency room?

we've got walk-in mental health clinics (non-ED) at the VA -- I work in one (sorta)!

24/7???

Walk-in is extended business hours, evening/overnight is ED

People who listen to talk radio, or podcasts with a talk-radio-like format, are evil soulless monsters.

Or

OR

And (I hope it goes without saying) people who actually make talk radio and talk-radio-like podcasts are literally satan

sweet

Hail Satan.

Or rather Hail, Satan.

Making a talk-format program is like doing stand-up comedy in that the mere fact that someone would want to do it is strong evidence that there's something deeply wrong with them

You either die a Rhea or live long enough to be Ouranos