Our Mean Entertainments (after Ehrenreich)

[krinndnz]

Let me tell you about a terrible habit of mine. I think less of my money-starved friends when, for instance, they make serial videogame purchases, they go see movies, they eat out. I shout in my head - no! what are you thinking, those are luxuries, save your money and fight the poverty

Comments

[ff00ff]

Morale is critical in a long term survival situation. Being poor, not having access to medical help, healthy food, safe shelter, is a long term survival situation. In a condition of poor morale any crisis might kill you. When on the verge of a psychological crisis, caused by poor morale, sometimes all I can do is make an otherwise irrational purchase. Cold comfort can only be lived on for so long. Rationing satisfaction and happiness eventually starts to starve you of it. Alertness for ways to minimize the next crisis is exhausting. A replenishing splurge of self gratification is needed. If movies and video games are your only vice you're probably managing your poverty fairly well.

[circuit_four]

This.

[circuit_four]

And if you don't get "This," then you can end up going Bad Crazy, and shoplifting trading-game cards from WOTC and energy bars from the local grocery.

It was not a happy time in my life, though it was fortunately brief. I'm not proud of it.

[tixen]

We didn't have a Wizards of the Coast where I grew up. I had to shoplift my trading-game cards from the small local chain of gaming stores that had a location in town. Energy bars, candy and the nice pencils were shoplifted from the grocery store down the street.

I never felt worse about this phase in my life then when I revisited that small town to find the aforementioned chain of gaming stores had gone out of business. ;_;

[prickvixen]

If you eat it all before you get out of the store, it isn't shoplifting. :)

[masstreble]

No, they call that "grazing" in the biz.

You know. The retail biz. Is retail a biz? Or a circle of hell? Maybe both. On second thought, I think those might be synonyms.

[krinndnz]

Morale is critical in a long term survival situation. [...] Alertness for ways to minimize the next crisis is exhausting.

That's interesting, that's very close to what Laurence Gonzales says about shorter-term survival situations.