STOP TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER

[warpzonetrekker]

Seriously, don't you guys have anything BETTER to talk about? Complain about classes, crushes, cafeteria food, carpet stains, I DON'T CARE, BUT WHY DOES EVERYONE TALK ABOUT THE GODDAMNED WEATHER ALL THE TIME

COME ON

Comments

[blazinglizard]

So, how about that global economic climate as it specifically pertains to the exploitation of children in third-world countries?

[warpzonetrekker]

Quite tragic, yes.

[blazinglizard]

Seems to me that the privileged nations have simply become so bloated with largess that achievin' a state of equality has become an impossibility. Fair market goods ain't never gonna be nothin' but a niche market for hippies that wanna pretend they're globally aware and makin' a difference.

[warpzonetrekker]

Indeed, but I find that many are unwilling to simply give up on a hopeless cause. You can't really blame them for having morals and a sense of ethics, even though only those with REAL economic clout would be able to make any kind of a difference, and they're hardly inclined to do anything but line their own pockets.

[blazinglizard]

Exactly my point. There ain't no advantage in surrenderin' a hefty chunk of their profits for the sake of a bunch of strangers over on some malaria-riddled continent they ain't never gonna visit. If there ain't nothin' to be gained in terms of material wealth, then the motivation's gotta come from within. In a culture that instills people with the idea that success is defined by wealth and status and shit, that motivation just ain't gonna appear.

[warpzonetrekker]

Hell, you could even discredit many large contributions to charities for the same reason-- obviously one might help their cause in doing so, but what other reason could there be for an extremely wealthy individual to do so unless they simply want recognition? Not counting the very rare case where they might actually believe in the cause being championed.

[blazinglizard]

Truth of the matter is that there really ain't much reason to go doin' shit like that other than recognition. You toss a couple bucks into feedin' the homeless or donate some old books to educate kids in Buttfucknowherestan, you ain't never gonna see the results of that. As far as you know, that charity just used your hard-earned dough to get a real fancy wine and a couple of hookers.

That shit's all just a matter of distance. We're programmed to put our own survival before the survival of people we don't care about. People don't feel no direct emotional impact, they just ain't gonna give a shit.

[warpzonetrekker]

Don't think I can agree with you completely on that, but it's true for the majority of those who the observation would apply to. Besides which, people who really DO give a damn (such as immigrants from such countries) will usually find a way to support said countries in their own way, whether it be sending money back to their family or providing aid during natural disasters. But they may as well be the exception to the rule, because their reasons for doing so are at once selfless and selfish: they do it out of a sense of duty, but only because it's family, or pride for their country, or whatever.

[blazinglizard]

Again, it's all just cultural circumstances and it havin' a personal impact on 'em. Maybe they come from a place where emphasis is on the community or family or whatever, not the individual. Even if they don't, they've experienced how bad it gets firsthand. The average bastard on the street around here don't know dick about starvin' little kids spendin' fourteen hours a day in a sweatshop to make the t-shirt he's wearin', y'know?