Is it just me or are things actually bad at multiple levels these days?

[Gumby]

Couple all that with the 47 shootings in Chicago over the last weekend and we are in trouble!

I just did a little research on the history of shootings in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. Here's the data for the past ten years:

2022 -- 47
2021 -- 37
2020 -- 39
2019 -- 43
2018 -- 36
2017 -- 52
2016 -- 68
2015 -- 56
2014 -- 21
2013 -- 15
2012 -- 35

Chicago is just very large and a violent place, and always has been. Nothing shockingly new here.

 

[Koolau]

That is so sad! I remember back in high school (1960's) my girlfriends and I loved to shop in Honolulu's China Town, especially at the lei shops. Of course, we'd string our own plumeria or ginger leis at home, but the lei shops had some more rare and special leis that we'd buy for our mothers, for $1 or $2 IIRC. And then we'd browse through other fascinating stores in China Town. The sights, the scents, everything down there was interesting and fun to explore.

We never felt even slightly unsafe, and our parents were never concerned about two or three of us girls spending an afternoon shopping down there either. Well, as long as we promised to stay away from the sailors!

To quote the title of Thomas Wolfe's novel, "You Can't Go Home Again". But in my memories China Town will always remain as it was in the 1960's.

I especially miss Wo Fat. The building bearing the name is still there but the restaurant is long gone. As a tourist, I always wanted to go there at least once per trip.

Oh, and the Hubba Hubba club is long gone as well though Honolulu is better off without it IMHO. I got a chance to see part of a Magnum PI episode being filmed on the street in China Town about 11PM back in the 80s. Filming took place right across the street from Hubba Hubba.

You can't go back and now I don't WANT to go back to China Town. Efforts are being made to fix the problems, but because so many issues are due to homelessness and drug abuse, it is difficult because we (as a city/state) don't take a strong stance against crime caused by these social issues. YMMV

 

[Qs Laptop]

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Not just what happened this month or in the past 3 months -in several cases things are turning bad globally. Here in the US in particular I'm sensing a gradual societal decay that I've never witnessed before. Anyone read the book "EMP Los Angeles"?

I have not read EMP Los Angeles, which according to Amazon is a fictional account of what might happen if an electromagnetic pulse were to happen over Los Angeles. It's fictional. Why would you even entertain this as something that is bad news?

And speaking of fiction, this is from your OP:

...impending famine and plot to thin the global population theories from the 'preppers', to de-dollarization and 'the new world order'.

Why would you be worried about this sort of stuff? It's all hypothetical.

 

[Amethyst]

My thoughts also, and presented better than I could present them.

Things were not necessarily better in the past. As a minority I can attest to the "good ol' days" not being so good for everyone .

In sum: technology has allowed us to monetize information to such an extent that "bad" news far outpaces "good" news, and we are "wired" to focus on "bad" news.

Technology has made the world a lot smaller. In the past what might happen outside of one's country was not focused on much by the media.

Technology has also changed news in that MUCH more money is now associated with news-related issues. In the past, you paid one price for a newspaper or magazine, and got all the news they wanted to share. TV was "free", and you got as much as a station was willing to share in 90 minutes each day.

Now, it is all about the "clicks", the likes, the views, the followers. Technology has allowed that to be all monetized. Related to now 24x7 news cycles, the focus in more on "what can we do to keep people watching/clicking/social media-ing about us all the time?" Not just news organizations, it is the goal of anyone with a blog or social media account. The ones presenting the news have tended to become more "celebrities" with their associated income (and part of the news cycle itself) than letting the news take front and center.

As others have mentioned, bad news attracts more views than good news. So everything is in a "bad news" perspective. And there is a rush to get out "bad" news even before it can be verified. It is analogous to the political view of "never let a good crisis go to waste". IMHO 90% of what is presented as "news" is more "opinion", designed to generate revenue and/or followers.

Even good news is never shared without an element of bad news. For example, At times then the economy was strong, unemployment low, markets at all time highs, etc. there are still plenty of stories in the vein "not everyone is benefiting from this economy".

Overall, I think things are better. Few today would want to live in the true (not "glamorized") world of the past. The bigger problem I see, is the increasing notion of "things are worse for you because of what 'others' has done, and that is 'unfair' " or "things might be better for you, but things are a lot better for those 'others', and that is unfair"... which plays directly into peoples' insecurities and the resultant issues... but it keeps the clicks/likes/followers rolling .

 

[Cobra9777]

Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers

A few people mentioned Steven Pinker. So I'll just leave this here. It's under 19 minutes. I hope you will watch it, listen carefully, have an open mind, and think about what the actual data says...

 

[audreyh1]

Voltaire gave us the answer in 1759, in the last line of his novel Candide - "we must cultivate our garden" ("il faut cultiver notre jardin") - an injunction that I take both literally and metaphorically. There is so much wrong in the world that it could destroy me to think about it every waking moment. The vast majority of it does not affect me directly and, even if it does, is normally not within my control. So I try to focus on the things that are close at hand - my family, my home, and my garden. I cannot solve the problems of the world, but I can grow a pretty tasty tomato.

Great! Thanks.

 

[travelover]

........Chicago is just very large and a violent place, and always has been. Nothing shockingly new here.

In my experience, casting aspersions on places like Chicago or Detroit is a political / racial dog whistle given their demographic makeup.

 

[youbet]

I admire those members who have discovered or increased other pursuits in their new-found lives. Beyond endless perusing/tinkering with their financial spreadsheets.

+1

 

[youbet]

Chicago is just very large and a violent place, and always has been.

Perhaps "and has been for some time" would be a more accurate phrase than "always has been."

 

[Koolau]

In my experience, casting dispersion on places like Chicago or Detroit is a political / racial dog whistle given their demographic makeup.

Casting aspersions (or dispersions) may well be a dog whistle but that doesn't mean Chicago (and Detroit for that matter) are anything like a safe place to live. If we can't point out that things are bad out there because someone might be offended, we won't ever make things better. The first step toward fixing a problem is naming the problem - not ignoring it because of demographic makeup. YMMV

 

[youbet]

In my experience, casting dispersion on places like Chicago or Detroit is a political / racial dog whistle given their demographic makeup.

Could you claify? I think I'm getting your drift with some reading between the lines. But could you give us some detail behind your thoughts?

 

[USGrant1962]

Thanks for this. Another book along these lines is "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think" by Rosling. He doesn't dismiss today's problems, but one of his points is that more of the world's population than ever is able to live at a standard beyond struggling to survive.

+1

I was going to mention "Factfulness" but didn't get a chance to go find it for the full name and author.

 

[travelover]

Casting aspersions (or dispersions) may well be a dog whistle but that doesn't mean Chicago (and Detroit for that matter) are anything like a safe place to live. If we can't point out that things are bad out there because someone might be offended, we won't ever make things better. The first step toward fixing a problem is naming the problem - not ignoring it because of demographic makeup. YMMV

Given the horrific mass murders that have taken place recently, I don't think that I'd be pointing fingers at Chicago as my first example unless I was dog whistling. YMMV

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

It is a perception thing. Everyone remembers the good ole days.

And whether or not those days were good depends on your status in society.
There is a lot that wasn’t so good for non WASPs.
Still true today.
My personal opinion is that we have ignored many problems for years and now they are colliding with each other. Seeping into peoples lives who used to be immune and could ignore them.
Homelessness for example has been a problem for years. About 40 years ago the federal government stopped increasing the section 8 vouchers- subsidized housing for low income people. My particular area has doubled in size but we still get the same number of vouchers. That’s just part of the problem but it definitely adds to it after 40 years.
I could go on… but I won’t.

 

[youbet]

Things were not necessarily better in the past. As a minority I can attest to the "good ol' days" not being so good for everyone .

Sure not arguing that....... But it's also important to remember that some folks who suffered as "minorities" in the past are considered to be in the "majority" today as our definitions and demographics ebb and flow over time.

 

[youbet]

There is a lot that wasn’t so good for non WASPs.
.

And there was a lot that wasn't so good for WASPs either. I don't think it works out well to categorize one religious group (in your case Protestants) as being omitted from "hard times." It just wasn't the case. The past wasn't such a nifty place to be for lots of folks.......... And, of course, it was great for some others. I think how we stand today is the real issue.

 

[Koolau]

Given the horrific mass murders that have taken place recently, I don't think that I'd be pointing fingers at Chicago as my first example unless I was dog whistling. YMMV

The difference is that mass murders are random and though horrific and in your face, take FAR fewer lives (on average) than just your normal week in Chicago. We (rightly) spend hours on TV talking about mass murders and, for heavens sake, what we can do about it - but no one mentions the WEEKLY mass murders happening in Chicago (and elsewhere) for fear of hurting someone's feelings I suppose. Well, I guess once in a while one of us "dog whistles" about Chicago but other than that, it's just business as usual. YMMV

 

[dvalley]

I have not read EMP Los Angeles, which according to Amazon is a fictional account of what might happen if an electromagnetic pulse were to happen over Los Angeles. It's fictional. Why would you even entertain this as something that is bad news?

And speaking of fiction, this is from your OP:

...impending famine and plot to thin the global population theories from the 'preppers', to de-dollarization and 'the new world order'.

Why would you be worried about this sort of stuff? It's all hypothetical.

I'm not worried per-se, just making observations and trying to be more aware of what's going on in the world. The thing is many things are hypothetical until they're not. No one thought a pandemic of the level we just experienced would happen in the 21st century where in the middle of the afternoon you're sent home from work/school...for 2+ yrs.

I'm sure a lot of people and families and even the govt of Ukraine felt Russia wouldn't invade Ukraine. That changed overnight.



As for the book I only mention it because it's written by not just a fictional writer....


Frank LaFlamme graduated with a BA in political science from the University of Southern California before going on to earn his MA in criminal justice from Chapman University.During his twenty-three-year career in law enforcement, LaFlamme worked for three local agencies in Los Angeles County as well as serving on a federal DEA Task Force. His assignments include patrol, gang enforcement, tactical warrant service, narcotics, antiterrorism liaison, and detective positions.LaFlamme's insights into the inherent weaknesses of the public safety system combined with his observations into human nature inspired him to write EMP Los Angeles as a cautionary tale for both professionals and citizens.

 

[Koolau]

I have not read EMP Los Angeles, which according to Amazon is a fictional account of what might happen if an electromagnetic pulse were to happen over Los Angeles. It's fictional. Why would you even entertain this as something that is bad news?

And speaking of fiction, this is from your OP:

...impending famine and plot to thin the global population theories from the 'preppers', to de-dollarization and 'the new world order'.

Why would you be worried about this sort of stuff? It's all hypothetical.

Not hypothetical. It happened to Hawaii back in 1962. The damage was not nearly as great as it could have been had the nuclear device been closer to the Islands. And, even had the damage been near total, there would have been brief deprivation of food and other important items, but Hawaii is so isolated that resupply would have been as simple as sending more stuff by ship. FIXING everything would be MUCH worse today, simply because we have more broad band equipment that would be destroyed - especially by a targeted strike. See here:

https://sofrep.com/news/the-us-accidentally-hit-hawaii-with-an-emp-in-the-1960s/