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Not giving a damn about the rest of humanity - is it right?
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Author:  dead1 [ Wed May 18, 2011 2:48 am ]
Post subject:  Not giving a damn about the rest of humanity - is it right?
Sometimes I feel bad for really not caring about other people.

I could not give a shit about a tsunami wiping out thousands in Asia or flooding in the northern Australia or earthquakes in Europe. I don't care if they die, are injured or are left homeless.

Sometimes I feel bad about this.

And then people behave in the usual manner of being rude, self centred, selfish, careless, corrupt, petty and all the other stuff that humans do best and it justifies my opinions.

In fact after witnessing or experiencing this sort of behaviour, I relish in watching scenes of devastation and think "they deserved it."

I am generally courteous and respect other's opinions. At work I try to build consensus and am open and transparent.

Other people tend to try to exploit that for personal gain.

My wife and my best friend work in the legal and correctional systems. Their stories are pure horror - people breaking their own new born baby's bones, people molesting animals, people assaulting random strangers, commiting acts of rape and pointless murder, beating up pensioners to a bloody pulp for a few dollars, going to a family event (Christmas Carols) with the intent to stab someone etc etc.

And where I work people are not better. I've worked in health for 6 years.

This is the sort of shit I've witnessed:

1. Patient's dying due to doctor's negligence (he told the patient they were a hypochondriac when they complained of chest pain) and then being let off.

2. Two doctors complaining they haven't been paid. The reason for this was because they never came to work in 6-12 months and as such never filled in a timesheet!

3. Doctors refusing to do oncall despite it being in their contracts and them being paid a ton of money in their oncall allowance!

4. A clinical director lying to a coronial inquest about a patient's death in order to cover himself.

5. A client dying in hospital and no-one noticing for several hours despite the patient's bowels having completely vented and leaking into the structure of the sofa they were lying on in a public area.

6. A manager trying to buy an expensive iPhone and an iPad using Government funds at a time when we're cutting jobs.

7. Staff not sending a critically ill patient to a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit so that they could earn overtime.

8. Community nurses modifying their client lists so that they're only seeing a couple and spending the rest of the time at home or sipping coffee at cafes while technically at work.

9. Two different instances of nurses and doctors being involved in drug trafficking.

10. A nurse physically assaulting a frailed and elderly patient.

11. A staff member sexually assaulting a mentally ill patient.

This is just some of the stuff that comes to mind.

And this isn't even the stuff I witnessed while working as a stock broker or at University.

Even members of my own family have been absolute bastards a lot of the time. My parents have treated my wife terribly just because she is Anglo-Saxon. My in-laws are better but at times have been absolutely terrible.

People are just horrid. There are some good people but the vast majority appears to be scum. Hence I feel no pity for those who are wiped out in wars and natural disasters. As I said, somewhere and somehow they probably did something that made them deserve it.

I love only a few people. For them I'd gladly die. For the rest, I'd let them all perish without a thought.

RANT OFF!
Author:  Adveser [ Wed May 18, 2011 3:09 am ]
Post subject: 
"some half forgotten stranger doesn't mean that much to me" - Neil Peart
Author:  SilkCrimsonMoon [ Wed May 18, 2011 3:57 am ]
Post subject: 
The world is full of cruelty and inhuman ways of namely "human" beings. Although, there are definitely people that will tell stories of the opposite that you have just told us. I could quote Black Sabbath and other bands and artists that summon up your descriptions of the people around you but what I can really say is that some people experience much more heartache than others in life and that's just a fact of life. It's very unfortunate, but it's the cruel way of nature's way for people to know not to take the good things in life for granted (if they ever learn). I am very sorry for your experiences. Personally, I loose myself in music and books and not think about my surroundings that much. I use to torture myself with these things but it really got me no where though witnessing it once in a while doesn't help does it?
Author:  dead1 [ Wed May 18, 2011 4:08 am ]
Post subject: 
Define Infinity wrote:
I am very sorry for your experiences. Personally, I loose myself in music and books and not think about my surroundings that much. I use to torture myself with these things but it really got me no where though witnessing it once in a while doesn't help does it?


Generally it doesn't bother me. I live my life and am happy with it.

Sometimes though it just boils up inside.

I don't understand idealists though. I think they do not live in the real world where people commit petty little vicious acts against each other on a daily basis.
Author:  GeneralDiomedes [ Wed May 18, 2011 4:59 am ]
Post subject: 
dead1 wrote:

I don't understand idealists though. I think they do not live in the real world where people commit petty little vicious acts against each other on a daily basis.


I see idealists as like a rubber band that pulls us back every so often.
Author:  Thy Serpent [ Wed May 18, 2011 7:19 am ]
Post subject: 
I can relate to this attitude of "not caring" cos I feel the same. I don't feel guilty about it. People dying, committing horrifying acts, being douches etc are all part of life. That's just the way the world is. Whenever possible, we can do our little part in making things better, but if things are beyond our control, we really cannot help it. Things that you, dead1 have come across are sad, pathetic, cruel and definitely fill one with rage, but I don't think you could've done anything about it. I think the best approach is to just live happily and make sure you help others when you can and try not to hurt them. And keep listening to more and more metal :dio:
Author:  Goat [ Wed May 18, 2011 9:50 am ]
Post subject: 
Not being obsessed with all the bad things that happen is perfectly acceptable. Watching a tsunami and going "lol, they deserve it" is what the Americans here would call "messed up". I believe that humanity in general is above the actions of a minority that drag it down, that life and living it well are sacred in and of themselves like no religion can even approach, and that if you believe that then you must cherish them in others as well as yourself.

Let's quote Neil Peart some more -

"Could hell be a place where there is no self-respect? A place where people have no pride in their own existence or behavior, and thus would have none for anyone or anything else?"
Author:  Kathaarian [ Wed May 18, 2011 10:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
fuck people
Author:  Bruce_Bitenfils [ Wed May 18, 2011 10:12 pm ]
Post subject: 
Kathaarian wrote:
fuck people


I was hoping someone'd say that to +1 it.

+1.
Author:  dead1 [ Thu May 19, 2011 12:19 am ]
Post subject: 
Goat wrote:
I believe that humanity in general is above the actions of a minority that drag it down, that life


My problem is that I only ever witness a minority do the right thing.
Author:  Goat [ Thu May 19, 2011 12:31 am ]
Post subject: 
dead1 wrote:
Goat wrote:
I believe that humanity in general is above the actions of a minority that drag it down, that life


My problem is that I only ever witness a minority do the right thing.


Everyone only ever witnesses a minority. All of life is too big to be viewed in the short times we have, man.
Author:  dead1 [ Thu May 19, 2011 12:47 am ]
Post subject: 
Goat wrote:
Everyone only ever witnesses a minority. All of life is too big to be viewed in the short times we have, man.


If that minority is most of the people you interact with in family, social and work, then I must live in some sort of Evilton or Upper Moderately Badville.
Author:  Goat [ Thu May 19, 2011 9:47 am ]
Post subject: 
dead1 wrote:
Goat wrote:
Everyone only ever witnesses a minority. All of life is too big to be viewed in the short times we have, man.


If that minority is most of the people you interact with in family, social and work, then I must live in some sort of Evilton or Upper Moderately Badville.


Everyone else just calls it Australia. :wink:
Author:  noodles [ Thu May 19, 2011 10:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Not giving a damn about the rest of humanity - is it rig
I tend to like humanity because almost everyone I interact with is pretty great.

dead1 wrote:
In fact after witnessing or experiencing this sort of behaviour, I relish in watching scenes of devastation and think "they deserved it."


This is profundly fucked up imo
Author:  Wintermute [ Fri May 20, 2011 5:51 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yeah, I'm at odds with the idea of "deserve" in many (most?) cases. Sometimes shit (volcanoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.) just happens, and could happen to you, and to think that because of somebodies very existence they deserve it is, yeah, kinda fucked up.

But I've been struggling with myself in regards to how I feel about the world.

I think being human and the plain act of being alive involves self-interest, and like I believe I've said elsewhere (somewhere about Marxism), I don't know that true altruism exists, if I think that every action is, at its most basic level, a selfish action.

That said, I appreciate/value people who get a kick (sense of satisfaction/pride/whatever) by performing positive actions/helping others more than people who are raging assholes/sociopaths who think only of themselves. I don't know where exactly I fall in this regard (though I'm pretty sure I'm not a sociopath), but I've been struggling with how I should act.

I recognize that many people are assholes and, for lack of a better word, terrible, and you (OP) have provided many examples of this. But I think there is a lot of beauty in the world, and that many people, despite having their flaws (because, after all, they're people) can be positive, and have a positive influence on the world. And, going back to selfishness, I don't see the use in solely focusing on the evil in the world, because I don't want to walk around the world/my life being miserable. This could be because I don't see a ton of negative stuff going on around me as you do.

Also, humanity isn't really all that old in the context of Earth, let alone in the context of the universe, and one day we're all going to die and the universe will continue on without us. I try to hold this in my mind when I get worked up over rather insignificant shit, but the same idea can also be used as a justification to do pretty much anything, so I don't know.

Ambiguous ramblings over now.
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