We've lost our faith in humanity.

[Robert632]

Well for my part, I haven't lost total faith in humanity, but I don't feel very connected to the world anymore on a lot of levels.

Like the fact that Stephen Harper is the worst prime minister of Canada in a very long time, it's not an opinion. He makes us look bad by doing things like withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol or stopping sending aid to third world countries, he shares almost none of his agendas with the public, he abuses and exploits the system for his own benefit, he's bringing religion into our government, and harms people by lowering safety standards in food production facilities.

All this crap, just the tip of the iceberg, and in the federal election earlier this year, he not only retained his position, he went from having a minority government to a majority government. Somehow people came to the conclusion that despite all his misdoings being public knowledge, the logical thing to do is to try and keep him in power, it seems people were even convinced by his incompetence to switch their vote over to him instead.

When the election ended I started talking to a lot of people about how voting for Harper is one of the worst things this country has ever done for itself and how people who voted for him are morons. Then I realized that since he has a majority government, that means most people voted for him, most of my friends I talked to probably voted for him, I called my friends morons to their faces. This is a reality of life, I'm surrounded by goddamn idiots, and there's little I can do about it.

That's just one example.

I'm sorry, but did you at least ask your friends if they voted for Harper? I mean, it seems like you just went " Well, Harper got a majority government, therefore, most of my friends voted for him. Because of that, they are all dumb." Correct me if I'm wrong.

O.T: My faith is still strong, in spite of all the stupidity I see. For a reason why so many people's faith is gone... I'm just going to guess that it's the "hip" thing to be a pessimistic bastard right now.

 

[HardkorSB]

Although it appears to have been largely supplanted by 'I don't want to live on this planet any more', the 'I've lost my faith in humanity' brand of sentiment still seems to run through our thoughtful and intellectual little community.
You see it cropping up beside eugenicist tirades in almost every thread concerning the exploits of unintelligent/nasty folk, or reports about proposed anti-videogame legislation. It has, by this point, become something of an Escapist staple.
So, does anybody have an idea why the socially inept cat-ears crowd seem to be drawn towards unthinking misanthropy? Is it an extension of some victim complex, or maybe an RTS state of mind where the world seems like an easy place to run? Or could it be attributed to a general lack of life-experience?

Discuss.

Most of the people here seem to be detached from popular culture and the "big world" for the most part and the news that they do hear and look into usually involve dumb fucks being dumb fucks, often in positions of power and/or influence.
Plus, most of the people bitching and whining probably forget about whatever they were bitching and whining over the next 48 hours.

That's my theory.

Also, the majority of the site members seem to be skeptics and atheists, cynical and sarcastic in nature. Maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[DiMono]

This sentiment is everywhere. I think it comes down to realizing that things are so messed up, especially in GOP politics right now, that it's better to just quit the game entirely for now than it is to push through it to the other side. However, since the only real way to do that is to die, the alternative is to live elsewhere.

I think the trend says more about the state of the world than it does about the state of mind of the person posting.

 

[DesertMummy]

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't insult people who are going to reply to your post by calling them socially inept, bro, as I happen to have these things called friends. Anyway, most people here have because of how fucked up the world is, and how moronic the people who run it seem to be.

 

[irishda]

Many gamers do have a notorious victim complex, a leftover from the days of tabletop RP games and games general association with social rejects (krelboyne is a favorite term of mine). There's the pervasive belief that the world is out to get them (just look at the comments of another article reporting on a new study of why gaming might be bad for you). So the feeling of being a social outcast is already there, which makes it easier for them to completely detach themselves and say "I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

Although, more than likely, they're just trying to sound funny by quoting futurama.

On another note: be careful about putting the community here up on a pedestal. This is still a community. It's no more intelligent or thoughtful than any other communities, and has more than it's share of flaws. There's a lot of bigotry against religion in general (as "intellectuals" are wont to have), just a hint of misogyny, and everyone knows about this site's rather odd hatred of children.

 

[Benni88]

Its an extrapolation thing. Stuff seems whack... soooooo in the future we can expect more whackness i guess.

 

[TheSnarkKnight]

OT: I think a lot of people who claim to be misanthropic actually aren't and they're just saying it for attention or hyperbole. I sometimes say shit like that but I don't mean it; I try and see the good in humanity. Although sometimes you read something in the news and you can't help but weep for your species just a little.

I think there is some level of hyperbole to it, but at times it seems rather justified, does it not? If you're reading about the horrendous treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany, I think you're kinda justified in saying that you that your species and going on about the bottomless well of evil that mankind seems capable of tapping into.

Also, I'd like to point out, that just because someone may hate humanity at the moment, it doesn't mean they don't have hope that they'll improve one day.

Because all of humanity can be represented by the Nazis? What does losing "faith" in humanity even mean?

Do we believe humanity no longer exists? Do we mean we don't have faith in humanity's ability to resist hate propaganda or to think rationally? What is humanity anyway? The worst among us or the best among us? The average person?

It's really just a meaningless blanket statement.

Firstly: I'm not saying that Nazis should represent all of humanity, but it's a cruelty that humaity has been shown to be capable of. I'm not just talking about the ones actively involved in the persecution, by the way, this includes all people who knew what was going on and who either did nothing or who added to it in little ways. It's just one example of how easy it is for humanity to fall into a state that is far less than ideal.

And would you rather I mentioned ALL the little gripes and problems I have with humanity at the present? It'd be rather difficult to list them all and would come across as over-the-top if I did it, so I felt that it'd be easier to just point to something that we all agree to be attrotious and say "well, the fact that that was done makes me think less of humanity". Are you saying it's wrong to feel that way?

As for "losing one's faith in humaniy" being a meaningless blanket statement, I disagree. Sure, it's a blanket statement, can mean many different things, but so are a lot of things in our language, but that doesn't render them meaningless, and it doesn't mean you can act like a condescending tool when people say it (not talking about you specifically, fyi, just some of the other posters seem to look down upon misantropes whilst, hypocritically, accussing misanthropes of doing the same to others). Maybe you should just ask people to clarify what people mean when they say it; that's what I do when people are vague.

For me it's an emotional thing, I'm willing to concede the hyperbole but, as I've stated, I think it's justified. I think humanity CAN get better, just that it will take a ridiculous amount of work to do, that people seem hardwired to resist progress. When I look at humanity in its present state, the numerous tiny flaws (and not so tiny ones) are extremely clear to me and, whilst you can question the sincerity of my hatred, I assure you I feel rage that it has to be this way, that we aren't all peaceful, open-minded, accepting, and all that other hippytastic shit. I dunno, I just sometimes wonder why people aren't as upset with me over the state of the world. Are they resigned to accept these things, do they not see it, or do they simply not care?

 

[similar.squirrel]

On another note: be careful about putting the community here up on a pedestal. This is still a community. It's no more intelligent or thoughtful than any other communities, and has more than it's share of flaws. There's a lot of bigotry against religion in general (as "intellectuals" are wont to have), just a hint of misogyny, and everyone knows about this site's rather odd hatred of children.

That was sarcasm. Somebody really ought to code a font to represent it.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Eh...I haven't exactly lost faith in humanity (at least I don't voice it regularly), but I get upset when I hear people doing stupid and terrible things...and then others following suit because they think it's right. Case in point, that bill the US is passing that essentially allows the military to kidnap and interrogate their own citizens...and there are people out there taking their side (not to mention the politicians pushing for it).

Honestly, if that passes, I'm probably never setting foot in the US again.

-Canada talk Snip-

Well for the record, myself and my friends...Hell, most of Quebec voted NDP.

I don't like harper that much either. He held up parliament twice (and one time it appears to have been to cover up turning over P.O.Ws to the US for torture, or so I've read), and other distasteful things. Oh, and why the hell do we need 35 new fighter jets? WITH NO ENGINES? I mean, at LEAST get them with engines if you're gonna blow money on planes!

I am at a loss to understand how the hell he managed to land a majority.

 

[Hazy992]

OT: I think a lot of people who claim to be misanthropic actually aren't and they're just saying it for attention or hyperbole. I sometimes say shit like that but I don't mean it; I try and see the good in humanity. Although sometimes you read something in the news and you can't help but weep for your species just a little.

I think there is some level of hyperbole to it, but at times it seems rather justified, does it not? If you're reading about the horrendous treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany, I think you're kinda justified in saying that you that your species and going on about the bottomless well of evil that mankind seems capable of tapping into.

Also, I'd like to point out, that just because someone may hate humanity at the moment, it doesn't mean they don't have hope that they'll improve one day.

Yes it is justified. At times. But its not justified to hate humanity for everything it's done or hate them all the time. 'I can communicate with anyone almost anywhere in the world instantaneously. FUCK THIS WORLD!!!!'

And horiffic events also show the good in humanity. Just look at the rescue efforts during 9/11; people threw aside their own safety and ran into the towers to help. How can you hate those people?

 

[TheSnarkKnight]

OT: I think a lot of people who claim to be misanthropic actually aren't and they're just saying it for attention or hyperbole. I sometimes say shit like that but I don't mean it; I try and see the good in humanity. Although sometimes you read something in the news and you can't help but weep for your species just a little.

I think there is some level of hyperbole to it, but at times it seems rather justified, does it not? If you're reading about the horrendous treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany, I think you're kinda justified in saying that you that your species and going on about the bottomless well of evil that mankind seems capable of tapping into.

Also, I'd like to point out, that just because someone may hate humanity at the moment, it doesn't mean they don't have hope that they'll improve one day.

Yes it is justified. At times. But its not justified to hate humanity for everything it's done or hate them all the time. 'I can communicate with anyone almost anywhere in the world instantaneously. FUCK THIS WORLD!!!!'

And horiffic events also show the good in humanity. Just look at the rescue efforts during 9/11; people threw aside their own safety and ran into the towers to help. How can you hate those people?

The thing is, I don't deny the good stuff that's happening, when you think about all that humanity has achieved, it's difficult not to feel proud or awed. However, that doesn't negate our bloodied and horrible past (or present) and, whilst I don't hate on humanity all the time, I'm not sure I could say that no one is justified in hating on humanity all that much.

As for examples of goodness, sadly these go against the norm. Bystander apathy is a real thing; most people wouldn't step up and selflessly go off to help strangers in need. I see these people as exceptions to a rule, perhaps I do that in general, see good people as individuals and bad people as symptomatic of a bigger problem, but I also think that this is sometimes justified. After all, when I hear of someone being absurdly homophobic, it's not that I immediately hate everyone because I think they're all homophobic, but I'm annoyed at society as a whole for allowing someone with such hatred and ignorance to come into being in the first place.

 

[CulixCupric]

Although it appears to have been largely supplanted by 'I don't want to live on this planet any more', the 'I've lost my faith in humanity' brand of sentiment still seems to run through our thoughtful and intellectual little community.
You see it cropping up beside eugenicist tirades in almost every thread concerning the exploits of unintelligent/nasty folk, or reports about proposed anti-videogame legislation. It has, by this point, become something of an Escapist staple.
So, does anybody have an idea why the socially inept cat-ears crowd seem to be drawn towards unthinking misanthropy? Is it an extension of some victim complex, or maybe an RTS state of mind where the world seems like an easy place to run? Or could it be attributed to a general lack of life-experience?

Discuss.

you've finally lost faith? just now? i lost it on day one.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I think its mostly because the Escapist is full of anti-social whiners. They like to complain and make exaggerations and they like to say how bad people are and how much everything sucks. I choose to be more optimistic.

 

[surg3n]

I think people have to earn the right to say that.

I'm sick of the mentality of some people.
I'm sick of paying so many damn taxes so that the non-contributing members of society can have a free ride.
I'm sick of seeing public cruelty, like that video of the Chinese kid.
I sick of hearing or reading biggoted rants from people who have nothing positive to offer the world themselves.
I'm sick of injections (Diabetes).
I'm sick of talent shows on TV.
I'm sick of taking an arrow to the knee.
I'm sick of egg mayonaise.
I'm sick of me left eyeball because I have a floater, I want to dig it out with a cold teaspoon. (SCHLOOOOP! - much better)
I'm sick of recycling.
I'm sick of having to download American TV shows while paying for cable TV with fuck all on it.
I'm sick of telling people to switch it off, and then switch it back on again.
I'm sick of threads about ''Lets pretend your last/next herp is herp a derp''.

Fuck the world indeed, what an all-encompasing sentiment and I couldn't agree more.

I'm sick of this post.

 

[Palademon]

I like how everyone assumes that if someone's standards of a good humanity is higher they're being snobbish and think their better, and their life automatically sucks. Or they never do anything.

Oh shit I felt sad about something. I am suddenly the worst person on the planet and obviously do nothing other than complain, because it drives my being.

 

[similar.squirrel]

Although it appears to have been largely supplanted by 'I don't want to live on this planet any more', the 'I've lost my faith in humanity' brand of sentiment still seems to run through our thoughtful and intellectual little community.
You see it cropping up beside eugenicist tirades in almost every thread concerning the exploits of unintelligent/nasty folk, or reports about proposed anti-videogame legislation. It has, by this point, become something of an Escapist staple.
So, does anybody have an idea why the socially inept cat-ears crowd seem to be drawn towards unthinking misanthropy? Is it an extension of some victim complex, or maybe an RTS state of mind where the world seems like an easy place to run? Or could it be attributed to a general lack of life-experience?

Discuss.

you've finally lost faith? just now? i lost it on day one.

Outstanding. Did you happen to read the original post?

 

[Frybird]

Well, who cares because

Anti-social boredom is all the rage but the time comes when you gotta turn the page
And then finally there's someone to believe
And now you walk with confidence and ease
And there's no call to sell your soul or confess or drop down to your knees

Who, what, or where made you change your mind?
Doesn't matter anymore 'cuz you've seen a sign
And now finally there's someone to believe

 

[Malty Milk Whistle]

The whole "I have lost my faith in humanity" is a poorly disguised ego-boost to whomever is stating that phrase. Just look at the sentence itself: I have lost my faith in humanity. This implies that this person had some higher understanding and respect for other human beings before those hopes were dashed by some irrelevant event. But, if humanity itself is so bad, would that not mean that the speaker, being human, is also a terrible creature just waiting to show its true colors? Anyone who says "I have no faith in humanity" has already subconsciously decided that they are somehow better than their peers and is now relaying their lofty dissapointment in the "others".

I've never lost my faith in humanity because we all live up to our different potentials of depravity and morality. I can admit that I'm mostly a terrible human being whose sarcastic comments and generally mean spirit seldom make up for the genuine moments of sensitivity other people say I display. I expect that anyone who wishes to judge their peers as a whole be prepared to judge themselves!

Basically, what I'm saying is that anyone who says "I've lost my faith in humanity" is an egotistical jerkoff.

This. i don't think i could of put it better myself( mainly because my keyboard and thought process hate me)

OT i swing between philanthropic and misanthropic depending on my mood, and i have NEVER used that phrase, its just.....Silly.

 

[TheSnarkKnight]

I like how everyone assumes that if someone's standards of a good humanity is higher they're being snobbish and think their better, and their life automatically sucks. Or they never do anything.

Oh shit I felt sad about something. I am suddenly the worst person on the planet and obviously do nothing other than complain, because it drives my being.

Heh! You are a funny man. More people should listen to your wisdom.

 

[Quazimofo]

Shut up! Make it go away! People on these forums have only recently begun to get over their fascination with that phrase! BEGONE DEMON OF THE BLACK REALMS! BEGONE!

but... the black realms are so MAJESTIC (yes, i used this as an excuse to post some metal music, its just a minor diversion whilst i get to the point)

[spoiler:] <youtube=uaOMriMoVmc> [/spoiler]

really, this whole thing is just people finding a way to vent their frustration in a *fairly* anonymous fashion. really, i doubt alot of people who say it really mean it, its just kind of a default response for messed up things, besides the classic ....... what the fuck? how could he/she/they/it/custard do/say that?

i wouldn't pay too much mind to it really.

also, how do you add things in the spoiler tag besides the basic "spoiler- click to view"? i cannot for the life of me remember