Losing my faith

Skunk, I'm sorry to hear that you're down. Like several people have said, maybe it's a good time to unplug for a few days and connect with some of the positive things in life.

It is easy to be a bully on the internet, there are virtually no consequences.
Social media, and really the internet in general are greatly to blame in my opinion. I suppose you can lump reality TV in there as well, in a sense.
The human race was/is not designed to be as connected as we currently are.
I don't believe that Facebook or Instagram initially intend to cause any harm, but it has long been suspected that there has been a shift there, and recently it seems as if it has actually been confirmed.
It is so (too) easy to hop on a computer and find other groups of like minded people who share your views/opinions...right or wrong.
At this point, people start to turn on one another. And that has been what is happening.
I have an opinion/belief, I can easily go find other people who share those views. Before, this was much harder to do. You had the people you live with, your neighbors, those who you work with, and that was basically it. Right?
Now, you are connected to all of these other people, all over the world who you agree with, and they agree with you, again...right or wrong.
This leads to an "I'm right and you are wrong" mindset, because now you have all of these people who are on your side...so I must be right!
Then, you go out and start telling people who do not share your views how they are wrong, I have all these people who agree with me, and all of this "evidence" to prove it.
It becomes a never ending cycle. Your news feed becomes catered to you thanks to algorithms...constantly reminding you that "you're right", the others are wrong all while further driving the division.

"In the current, digitized world, trivial information is accumulating every second, preserved in all its triteness. Never fading, always accessible. Rumors about petty issues, misinterpretations, slander. All this junk data preserved in an unfiltered state, growing at an alarming rate. It will only slow down social progress, reduce the rate of evolution. The digital society furthers human flaws, and selectively rewards development of convenient half-truths."
"Everyone withdraws into their own small gated community, afraid of a larger forum. They stay inside their little ponds, leaking whatever "truth" suits them into the growing cesspool of society at large. The different cardinal truths neither clash nor mesh. No one is invalidated, but nobody is right. Not even natural selection can take place here. The world is being engulfed in "truth." And this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper"

-MGS, 2001

+1 what's a redbar?

Sounds fun. Can't commit yet but am interested in seeing if we can make it work.

He will be OK I just hope he blows off jury duty and avoids any other such duties that may require a bit of compassion for the next 50 years or so.

I’m in South Central Pennsylvania, but within pretty easy striking distance of DC. I’d be interested as well.

My ex was similar- I referred to it as a “super-feeler”. The plight of other, the horrors and tragedies in the world, the pain and suffering- she would internalize it. She had days she would lay in bed crying and couldn’t function. She would get angry at me when I would say goodbye in the morning to go to work “how can you just go about your day like nothing is wrong??”.
I would tell her, you have to keep moving forward. You have to learn to filter, otherwise it’s all consuming.
I understand Tom, it sucks.

I was just being sarcastic skunkman I try to avoid judgement, I’ll get around to judging you when I perfect myself, until then I’m just along for the ride.

We didn't have a gtg but i had an awesome day in DC.

Saw Armstrong's and Scott's spacesuits. Had two lengthy conversations with docents in the air and Space Museum. One was 87 years old and told stories about the Sr71 and where they placed 12 buckets under the plane because the fuel leaked out (he was there because he worked in communications that supported the SR71 and saw it take off.) He also explained at length about the Apollo-soyuz mission, which intrigued me because i have the meterorite speedmaster and multiple autographs from the mission. (This is the short version.) Also saw Lindberg's watch and the Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 mission optical devices.

Freaking amazing day. Never turned on the TV or read the news.

This is what he told me. They pumped enough fuel in to get the plane to 25k feet. At 25k feet there were two tankers to add fuel, which then allowed the plane to get to 80 to 100k feet. It flew for about 1 1/2 hours and then went back down to 25k feet to get refueled.

The ground crew knew where the leaks came from. The buckets were placed right where it typically leaked. After fueling, it took off leaking fuel all down the runway. He saw the guys get into their spacesuits. The backup crew would clear the runway for takeoff.

The really cool part was that he saw all this. Since he worked in communications, whenever the comms were upgraded they had to be recertified, which is what he did. I asked if he knew about the Bulova Astronaut watches but he wasn't a watch guy.

87 years old and really sharp. Much respect.

Best antidepressant currently available. Extremely effective and forces you to get exercise as well.