What blindsided you today?

[glatt]

I'm not sure how I would bring up the subject. Maybe mentioning it to her mom would be best. Let the mom talk with her.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by glatt

I'm not sure how I would bring up the subject. Maybe mentioning it to her mom would be best. Let the mom talk with her.

Definitely avoid the "Your dog is dead." approach. Best to ease into it with a "You know how Rover loves to chase cars? Well the other day..."

I honestly think a lot of folks are decompensating. After years of living in denial in a completely insane world where duplicity seems to be the norm from the news media to politicians to advertising to wacky economic policies that allowed things like the housing bubble and CDOs, and the encouragement of creating massive personal debt by using the buying of crap we don't need to impress people we don't like to anesthetize ourselves from just how divorced from reality we've become, I think people are just flailing in a sea of despond and desperately clinging to whatever they think will keep them afloat.

Either that, or she might have some sort of hormone gland thing going on.
(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor though I did play doctor as a child)

[SamIam]

I think Foot is right. A few years back there was book published called when "Society becomes an Addict." It's thesis was pretty much what Foot posted. We've got tons of shiny objects, but nothing of real substance. People fill that hollow space inside with alcohol, designer drugs, the biggest HD TV, the latest gadgets, or an extra marital affair. When our drug of choice suddenly vanishes, we have a tendency to go into serious withdrawals, and we'll do anything to get just one more "hit."

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

I honestly think a lot of folks are decompensating. After years of living in denial in a completely insane world where duplicity seems to be the norm from the news media to politicians to advertising to wacky economic policies that allowed things like the housing bubble and CDOs, and the encouragement of creating massive personal debt by using the buying of crap we don't need to impress people we don't like to anesthetize ourselves from just how divorced from reality we've become, I think people are just flailing in a sea of despond and desperately clinging to whatever they think will keep them afloat.

I agree wholeheartedly. The question is why? Why have we become this way? Was it the Industrial revolution-that thing that took a man or a woman's pride of work away? Made people into cogs and forced people to fit the machine rather than the other way 'round? Ergonomics? Gimme a break! Is it mass production or something more, something else? There are waaaaay too many people on this planet and most of them suck.

eta: when I told someone I worked 7pm to 7am two days in a row, one off and then one on again he said, "That's inhumane," and when he said it, I knew it was true. It was the first time that ever occurred to me-that we could have humane jobs, humane economies! What a revelation! Kinda changed my life b/c I was like, "Yeah...you know, you're right. that IS fucking crazy." and I quit.