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[FuuRe]

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend about how government screwed us with a lot of stuff, like taxes, bad management of resources and national income, authority abuse and whatnots, and how could we be living in developed countries and how several things that are currently issues for our country (like quality education, good public healthcare, benefits, good care for the elderly and/or parental benefits) were non issues for countries like Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway.

Then he told me we could be a lot worse, for example, being born in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan and experiment war first hand, or being forced to leave your country just to get to another country where authorities force you and your family to leave. Or being born in Nigeria, near or inside the areas where Boko Haram is and having your children killed or kidnapped.

I felt pretty shallow after his commentary because it made me feel like a whiny little shit who knows no better.

I've always felt curious of how humans can be so evil to each other for whatever reasons they might have (Money, religion, power, or even for no reason), but after having two kids myself I've transitioned to a frightening stance towards evil, some things that years ago i'd brush off and move on have been lately affecting me to the point of crying.

For example, the last bombing in Pakistan, where little children celebrating easter died... I read it first on GAF and when I went to tell my wife I started crying, because I looked at my little girls playing with their toys and suddenly a deep sadness invaded me, realizing that it could have been us playing in that park.

All the bombings, shootings and kidnappings that from time to time invade the media now make me feel empty and appalled.

As we live in South America, we are very far from the main sources of my fears, it also helps that I live in a country where those things don't usually happen.

I realize this could be normal since having kids and growing up (I'm 32) usually sensitize people (At least to a lot of people I know) but I hate to lose control of myself as I've never let emotions get me, even in emergencies I normally think and analyze things first to act well informed.

Should I seek professional help?

 

[Lil'DigiOp]

Destroy everyone that tries to harm your family.

You'll feel better.

Some people are straight up evil, just don't let em touch you and those you care about.

 

[Symphonia]

As sad as it sounds, I no longer get overwhelmed or emotional over how evil humanity can be. I'm so used to reading about bombings, etc that I've now become numb to feeling...well, anything. We live in a truly fucked up world nowadays.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

There is good in humanity as well, it just doesn't present itself as boldly and make for as juicy of headlines as evil does so you don't hear about it as much.

Less people are killed every year, humanity is becoming more civil and egalitarian over time.

 

[thecouncil]

As sad as it sounds, I no longer get overwhelmed or emotional over how evil humanity can be. I'm so used to reading about bombings, etc that I've now become numb to feeling...well, anything. We live in a truly fucked up world nowadays.

It's nothing new, y'know.

 

[Forerunner]

The world has always been a pretty shitty and evil place, we are just more exposed to it now because of media.

 

[Arkeband]

Humans are chaotic, it's in our nature. We also tend to seek order in spite of this. Sometimes, you get organizations who seek to create chaos in order to bring order. That's what you're seeing with bombings.

Just focus on yourself and try to educate outwards, knowledge is the ultimate defense.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Yep.

There's also goodness OP, when you feel overwhelmed remember darkness cannot exist without the light

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Nah

It's a part of humanity. Always has been, always will be. Why have a fear of yourself, essentially?

 

[Protein]

After viewing the Chapter Black tape, yes, it changed me.

 

[Jeremy]

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend about how government screwed us with a lot of stuff, like taxes, bad management of resources and national income, authority abuse and whatnots, and how could we be living in developed countries and how several things that are currently issues for our country (like quality education, good public healthcare, benefits, good care for the elderly and/or parental benefits) were non issues for countries like Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway.

Then he told me we could be a lot worse, for example, being born in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan and experiment war first hand, or being forced to leave your country just to get to another country where authorities force you and your family to leave. Or being born in Nigeria, near or inside the areas where Boko Haram is and having your children killed or kidnapped.

I felt pretty shallow after his commentary because it made me feel like a whiny little shit who knows no better.

I've always felt curious of how humans can be so evil to each other for whatever reasons they might have (Money, religion, power, or even for no reason), but after having two kids myself I've transitioned to a frightening stance towards evil, some things that years ago i'd brush off and move on have been lately affecting me to the point of crying.

For example, the last bombing in Pakistan, where little children celebrating easter died... I read it first on GAF and when I went to tell my wife I started crying, because I looked at my little girls playing with their toys and suddenly a deep sadness invaded me, realizing that it could have been us playing in that park.

All the bombings, shootings and kidnappings that from time to time invade the media now make me feel empty and appalled.

As we live in South America, we are very far from the main sources of my fears, it also helps that I live in a country where those things don't usually happen.

I realize this could be normal since having kids and growing up (I'm 32) usually sensitize people (At least to a lot of people I know) but I hate to lose control of myself as I've never let emotions get me, even in emergencies I normally think and analyze things first to act well informed.

Should I seek professional help?

You're having the anxieties of most everyone going into April 2016 at the moment. Everything you're describing is a completely normal way to feel given the current circumstances globally and your own personal circumstances. I wouldn't discourage going and talking to someone regardless because they can give you more insight into yourself and how to deal with the current state of things that can help you throughout life. Things will always be unstable so building the best foundation you can mentally is important, especially if things continue to play out as they are.

take a break from GAF OT / the internet for a while. too much negative shit.

I can also agree with this. There was a point where I was just consuming all the horrors that were happening in the world via GAF, Facebook, news apps, etc. and after cutting back tremendously (AVOID COMMENT SECTIONS) I felt a lot better. The only problem is I question if this is the best method because I feel like I'm just putting my head in the sand and avoiding any kind of proactivity that I could be contributing.

 

[Amory]

take a break from GAF OT / the internet for a while. too much negative shit.

 

[Mandelbo]

Nope. Horrible atrocities will occur regardless of what anyone does - in my eyes, I'm powerless to make a significant difference no matter what I do, so I see no reason in worrying about them.

Spoiler

Also totally thought this would be a MikeDip thread

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I think what scares me more is when you realize the "darkness" and the "light" aren't as divided as you'd like to think...

Think about all the funny, light-hearted television shows and games that you enjoy---like for example, Seinfeld. You watch Seinfeld, you laugh, and despite the show being somewhat cynical you usually feel good about life after watching it because it never really touches upon the darkest depths of human indecency.

Now consider the fact that such a popular show is watched my millions of individuals, and there's a good chance a large proportion of those people watching and enjoying the show just like you also have, or will eventually, do something extremely heinous and depraved. Here on GAF we've been faced with that discomfort quite a few times when it's been found out a mass shooter was into video-games, while there may not be a solid link I think the majority of people here have a strong reaction to try and distance themselves away from the shooter because a violent criminal taking part in the same "good world" you're part of is a disturbing fact to realize.

 

[kirby_fox]

As a friend said to me awhile ago: "Are you more afraid of something like zombies that are unlikely to exist, or the guy walking around at 3 AM with nothing to lose? For me I'm more fearful of the evil that lies in humanity when they are broken down. Nothing may stop that guy from doing whatever he feels like doing to you."

It was only a few nights later I was driving home late, around 3 AM, that I drove through a small area with shops and stores. A young girl in her 20s walked out of a building and down the sidewalk, constantly keeping an eye on my car. I thought about how late it was and how dangerous it would be for this girl to be out alone in a bad part of town, but then it hit me: she probably sees me as a threat just as much. Offering this random stranger a ride would not only result in her potentially freaking out, but a lack of trust that she may try to pull something on me just as well.

The true fear of evil is thus not the evil act itself, but the fear of what could happen.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Im far more surprised when people are capable of doing something good vs something evil.

But then again, i expect the worst from everyone.

 

[Amalthea]

Not overwhelmed anymore but fearful all the time. It's really crippling.

 

[Klyka]

Look for the people who help.
Look for the helpers in any tragedy. There are always people who help.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Have you ever tried giving back to your community? Adding good to the world diminishes the amount of evil.

 

[FuuRe]

Look for the people who help.
Look for the helpers in any tragedy. There are always people who help.

You are right, I usually help people but it's nothing major, thanks

Have you ever tried giving back to your community? Adding good to the world diminishes the amount of evil.

It will, for sure

The true fear of evil is thus not the evil act itself, but the fear of what could happen.

This sums up how I feel

take a break from GAF OT / the internet for a while. too much negative shit.

I think it could be a solution since I've come to learn about bad shit primarily from the OT, I love reading GAF but maybe i could visit gaming side more

Humans are chaotic, it's in our nature. We also tend to seek order in spite of this. Sometimes, you get organizations who seek to create chaos in order to bring order. That's what you're seeing with bombings.

Just focus on yourself and try to educate outwards, knowledge is the ultimate defense.

I think my education is the main thing keeping me sane about all of this

Nah

It's a part of humanity. Always has been, always will be. Why have a fear of yourself, essentially?

If it was that simple I wouldn't feel so affected by it, my kids multiply the anxiety about it in an uncontrollable way, I cannot even remember a time when I cried for things not directly related to me before being a father, now its completely the opposite.

You're having the anxieties of most everyone going into April 2016 at the moment. Everything you're describing is a completely normal way to feel given the current circumstances globally and your own personal circumstances. I wouldn't discourage going and talking to someone regardless because they can give you more insight into yourself and how to deal with the current state of things that can help you throughout life. Things will always be unstable so building the best foundation you can mentally is important, especially if things continue to play out as they are.

Thanks man

 

[Ganhyun]

I have to echo the statements of many of the others. People are capable of being completely cruel for almost any reason or for no reason whatsoever.

Take this example: I got added to a Facebook group by a friend a while back. I didn't think much of it. The group seemed pretty relaxed. Then, the admins changed, and the tone of the group changed as well (though I did not see that as the change had just happened). A woman posted a picture. Someone called her ugly. People dog piled on the guy. But, then people went and posted pictures of the guy's ex wife and kids. I suggested that the guy was obviously wrong, but maybe leaving the ex wife and kid out of it was a good idea.

Well, this was around the time Facebook changed some of the privacy settings, so things I figured were private suddenly were not and I didn't realize it. Within 5 minutes those same people were now attacking me (this I could ignore) and threatening to call my work, call the police to my work, put reviews up about me at my work saying nasty things like I was a serial pedophile, etc, and that they were going to post said info on various groups such as 4chan, reddit, etc to make sure I was ruined for life for daring to say they were wrong (this would be a major problem). I'm much more paranoid now about my facebook privacy settings (to the point I check them weekly to make sure nothing is showing I don't want to show and I triple check after Facebook makes changes) thanks to that.

In the end, they demanded I put up a piece of paper saying "random person" was Batman and left me alone.

but even though that crap happened, I still believe that people can also be good as well. Like others said, always look for the helpers.

 

[RedSparrows]

I work on history that is intensely distressing, at points.

One of the reasons I do it is to remind myself how insane and hideous people can be, which elevates also how wonderful and beautiful they can be too.