Throwback Tuesday time:
I’d say life more or less returned to normal in late 2022 to early 2023, so the winners are these people (who actually had the smallest slice of the vote).
Congratulations! Your prize is a brand new case of COVID-24!!!
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You shipping that pinball over or said sad goodbyes to it?
Fascinating to read some of these old perspectives here - and I’m quite chuffed to note that I spotted way back in April 2020 that, to the extent that there was anything that could be called a “pandemic”, Social Media and the MSM were right there at the very core of it, whipping everyone into a frenzy with overinflated fear porn and made-up “science”.
Honestly, though, if you think things have already “returned to normal”, then I think you may have forgotten what “normal” looked like. It looks like I didn’t vote, but I reckon the people who voted “never” were close to the mark. Four years on and half the population are walking around in their face nappies without any idea why they’re doing it, apart from the fact that the newspapers have told them to. All-cause mortality worldwide is higher than it was in 2020, with very noticeable increases in cardiovascular deaths in under-40s, and everyone’s pretending it’s completely normal for young people to keel over and die. This is a long way from the normal I remember. Perhaps I’m just imagining things and need to be re-educated.
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Yes. For example, after being away for 5 years, I returned to the U.S.briefly which looked like it experienced an Apocalypse, I turn to my friend and point out the many businesses shut down, paint peeling off buildings and blowing around in the wind, and severely understaffed service industry with papers stuck to the front door of surviving businesses explaining the extended wait times - and my friend looks at me like I’m crazy and says, “what are you talking about? Things are fine”.
For me it’s easy to point out the obvious right away because it’s immediately noticeably different from my last datum point , but for others who have been living through it, it’s a “boiling frog” situation.
Same thing happened in NYC - after living there, I visited recently and was surprised to see the continued rotting to even more extreme. Told my friend, he said “huh I was just there last week, seemed fine to me”. Yikes.
By the time people realize how bad things have gotten it will be too late to fix anything.
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Nothing’s the way it was. People living with anxiety, be it from the virus itself, or being socially panned for not going with the government and media-sponsored “Design For Life”.
Friends lost due to distrust, alcoholism and drugs on the rise, careers ruined from office politics due to vaccination status…
I heard the other day that in the UK most 30 year olds live at home with parents. Probably have their lives controlled by mobile apps as well.
I absolutely cannot stand it, I refuse to be that much of an ignorant sad-sack. You bring it up with people and then they gaslight you into thinking that the reason you think this is due to poor mental health. And then you get distanced.
Anyway, this looks fucking awesome.
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That’s another big departure from “normal” I noticed — everyone has anxiety issues and is taking medication. For example entire families including the pet dogs are on Prozac. To me it’s alarming, but to the locals it’s just “normal” and a way to “make space”. I understand individuals dealing with anxiety, but it’s too widespread at this point - a major health crisis in my opinion from outside looking in.
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This thread shows that economic forecasts is not a strength of this forum. 
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I don’t know anyone on Prozac or taking medication for anxiety.
cuz life is so peaceful and tranquil high up in the mountains
Got a friend who has severe anxiety issues, last time I saw him he had a panic attack mid-conversation. Said it was because of whatever it was I was talking about, “too intense”. Not that he was on a comedown from an MDMA binge the night before and just necked 300ml of strong espresso. Don’t see him anymore.
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Most of my friends are city dwellers. None are taking medication for anxiety.
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This is true. I love living this way. Less stress.
Is that the “i haven’t noticed the problem so clearly there isn’t one” mentality? There’s people outside of your tiny stratfied sample, you know.
Sure and none of my friends have mentioned they know people on meds for anxiety either. I’m not aware of it being a large issue in Taiwan.
This. I’ve become semi-blind to the mask wearing after all this time now, but whenever I leave the country then come back, I’m reminded of just how many mask wearing NPCs there still are.
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Yep. Also loud noises can be too much for the kids of most of these parents - meaning no loud movies or intense scenes because of the anxiety/panic they can cause. You should hear them talk about how Harry Potter movies or even the books cause the kids anxiety. This is bizarre to me because I remember when the books came out and everyone was going wild for the story, hugely popular before.
Sold it and made somebody very happy.
Compared to my childhood (pre social media thank goodness) these kids have already received lifetimes of overstimulation, visual and otherwise, through their devices. It makes it look like these kids can be “connected” or “informed” but actually it often turns out to be completely overloaded.
Guy
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This is quite true. When they closed the schools down, I was home alone. My kid was in college right before they sent all the sick kids home to infect their families, my wife was in Taiwan caring for her very ill mom and her brother just got his cancer diagnosis. I made a three year plan.
Three years later, here I am, about to make a 20-year plan. Most of the unnecessary stuff has been dealt with and the important stuff remains.
No pinball machine though, and most of my records are still in NY. So, there is room from improvement.
20 year plan? Jesus. I struggle with a 20 hour plan.
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