Why are some people here so defeatist?

[Lant_War]

Whenever there's any negative topic, there's a 100% chance a significant part of the comments will be something like "Lol, we're doomed. You're all delusional", but like literally any single topic:

- Trump does anything
"Well, that's 2020 on his bag. Why even go to vote"

- Any negative new about climate change
"We're doomed, why are you all still deluding yourself. Nothing can change"

Even in the gaming side you can see it with certain topics like timed exclusive content, paid online and digital games.

Seriously people, you're not a "realist" for being constantly negative about every single topic. You're a pessimist cynic, just as deluded as the people you attack

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Why are you so down on ResetEra?

 

[Sephzilla]

some people enjoy wallowing in their own misery

 

[skillzilla81]

Because I'm black in America.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

some people enjoy wallowing in their own misery

Click to shrink...

Very true.

 

[Deleted member 54320]

Because Twitter went down for like ten minutes and I didn't know what to do without it.

 

[Deleted member 2109]

It's the internet. Nobody in real life wants to hear you whine.

 

[subpar spatula]

because the odds are against the common person. it's a stacked deck. almost all politicians care about money. the rich are getting richer. housing is more expensive. your tax dollars aren't really helping you. to reverse or course correct will take decades. decades that almost everyone doesn't have. you can be as optimistic as you want but optimism doesn't fix very serious issues short term.

 

[pillowtalk]

Not just here, but others at work etc as well. I agree op.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I think the world is a very unpleasant, depressing, and pessimistic place for a lot of our users. Whether they realize it or not, they carry that anxiety with them everywhere and it vents through any avenue it can find. Because this forum is a refuge for a lot of us, it means we carry all that outside stress in to the same place. When we are sad, tired, angry, and afraid, we take it out on one another. I wish we didn't, and we don't always, but when you come together with other people it's easy to bring your grief with you.

This is why I say we must love each other. We are all we have.

 

[CopperPuppy]

Because 2016 was a massive shock even if you were a Trump supporter, let alone the majority of people who believed he could never win.

When something like that happens it really instills pessimism.

I do agree that people need to chill with 2020 defeatism, but that's why you see it.

 

[Lant_War]

because the odds are against the common person. it's a stacked deck. almost all politicians care about money. the rich are getting richer. housing is more expensive. your tax dollars aren't really helping you. to reverse or course correct will take decades. decades that almost everyone doesn't have. you can be as optimistic as you want but optimism doesn't fix very serious issues short term.

Click to shrink...

So the way to fix stuff is to go "oh, why even bother it can't be fixed". Good to know.

Because Twitter went down for like ten minutes and I didn't know what to do without it.

Click to shrink...

I'm desperate at this point.

 

[Garlador]

Giving up is much easier than pushing through it. Simple as that.

 

[Ketkat]

It's not about being a realist or being cynical necessarily but more of a way for people to release frustrations they have about how powerless they feel to make meaningful change. A lot of the issues that we're facing that are causing climate change are societal, and while we can push back on it constantly on a personal level, things don't change that quickly and it can be frustrating to watch as people don't care or things stay relatively the same.

This is something I often think about when it comes to trans related issues. I'm a transwoman and I push back against transphobia everywhere I can, I try my best to stay calm and educate people, and ultimately I try to focus on maintaining a positive attitude on the progress that we've made and not wallowing in the despair of how terrible things really still are. However, there are times that I do sit down and think "What's the point?" because I can push back every single day for the rest of my life and there's no guarantee that anything that I do will make a change on a societal level to improve our standing, or reduce discrimination, or really just make us feel more welcome. There will still be countless jerks out there who treat me like crap for just existing, and that's in a place like the US which doesn't carry nearly as many problems as some countries.

It's always more helpful and productive to focus on how we can make things better when it comes to bigotry, politics, or climate change, but there's only so much that we can do as an individual and it's perfectly normal to have those moments of exasperation and just wanting to vent about how tough it will be to actually get where we want to be. And that's really what I think those statements are saying.

 

[subpar spatula]

op, you can detail how climate change is going to course correct if you want. you can also detail how when trump eventually leaves the white house how democrats are going to be able to sway republican politicians into do the right thing. you can also say that for large swathes of conservatives world wide.

 

[Spinluck]

I don't like sitting around feeling bad about everything and I do what I can to fix that. A lot of it is habitual so I start there.

However, there are some things in life that don't get better by simply being Mr and Mrs Positive and acting like things are good when they're not.

Like anything, I think there's a time and place to accept things the way they are and if it's something you can fix then taking action to fix it.

 

[Deleted member 55568]

Basic pattern recognition.

You use the examples of Trump and climate change.

Trump keeps doing more and more awful things without being held accountable for any of it.

The climate situation keeps getting more dire without anyone doing anything meaningful to address it.

If you're optimistic about those situations improving, what is that based on? Because there's a whole hell of a lot to base the pessimistic view on.

 

[subpar spatula]

So the way to fix stuff is to go "oh, why even bother it can't be fixed". Good to know.

Click to shrink...

what's the plan short term to halt the release of emissions to drastically slow down climate change? remember we are decades away. there isn't one in place drastic enough.

what about the rise of conservatism that favors inequality?

 

[Laser Man]

I've run the numbers, it's not looking good... it's pure math!!!

 

[collige]

The Trump stuff if dumb.

As for climate change, I think you would be hard pressed to argue that defeatism is not a rational reaction at this point in time.

 

[jb1234]

It's pretty contagious, unfortunately.

 

[SugarNoodles]

Taking bets on OP's ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

 

[Hydrus]

I think it's the COMPLETE opposite actually. People here are WAY too optimistic.

Trump does something:
"YES!!! HE'S GETTING IMPEACHED!!!"
Nothing happens to him.

Before Nintendo Direct:
"YES!!! MOTHER 3 REMAKE!!! METRIOD PRIME 4 GAMEPLAY!!! BADASS HIGH BUDGET POKEMON GAME!!!! SUPER MEGA SWITCH PRO!!! THE INSIDERS SAID SO!!!!"
None of it happens.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

- Any negative new about climate change
"We're doomed, why are you all still deluding yourself. Nothing can change"

Click to shrink...

I would be actually surprised if we did anything about this in my lifetime.
Fossil fuels are not going away

 

[Strangelove_77]

Being/acting positive doesn't fix shit either. That's delusional and sad in its own way.

 

[samoyed]

They don't want to get their hopes up and be disappointed. They (rightly) fear disappointment.

 

[DavidDesu]

It's probably underlying depression in people, a lot of which is as a result of the world we live in, or our impression of the world we live in. This is highly manipulated by bad news left righ centre, a seemingly deliberate or perhaps just endemic feature of our news and media in general.

Also a fucking man baby dodgy as fuck guy called Trump is literally President, which is Biff Tannen levels of nonsense but that is our reality. No wonder.

 

[Clefargle]

Why are you so down on ResetEra?

Click to shrink...

Goddamn it first reply

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

So the way to fix stuff is to go "oh, why even bother it can't be fixed". Good to know.

Click to shrink...

The President of the United States calls climate change a hoax and is actively trying to (and succeeding) in rolling back what protective measures we have (had).

Sorry if people get a bit tired of fighting the good fight.

 

[captmcblack]

I actually think it's neither extreme; instead, people have taken to speaking of the forum as a uniform hive mind - Era as a whole, never individuals or even groups of users.

There are people who are defeatist, but the forum as a whole isn't. There are people who are extreme/hot take artists, but the forum as a whole isn't.

 

[Kilic95]

Life is pain.

 

[mbpm]

I think it's the COMPLETE opposite actually. People here are WAY too optimistic.

Trump does something:
"YES!!! HE'S GETTING IMPEACHED!!!"
Nothing happens to him.

Before Nintendo Direct:
"YES!!! MOTHER 3 REMAKE!!! METRIOD PRIME 4 GAMEPLAY!!! BADASS HIGH BUDGET POKEMON GAME!!!! SUPER MEGA SWITCH PRO!!! THE INSIDERS SAID SO!!!!"
None of it happens.

Click to shrink...

Exactly.

 

[TheCthultist]

I'd imagine it just feels good to anonymously vent online somewhere. I'm a super optimistic person in person, but I love being a pessimist online since it's the complete opposite of how I outwardly present myself most of the time. My real feelings on things typically fall somewhere in between those two extremes, but its easier to just stick to one side or the other when actually talking with others in person or online.

 

[Plywood]

It's the side effect of being aware of all the bad shit going on in the world. Still, it's always better to be aware than to bury your head in the sand, just don't wallow in it.

 

[jelly]

I'm not defeatist, I'll still vote, recycle, stand up, push for change etc. but I'm totally aware it's very much a shit set up that will just repeat itself while we grim and bare it taking the good moments as they come and try not to wallow in the awfulness and idiocy we see ever increasing amounts of. I totally vent more here than I do in person but just the politics and earth sucks topics.

Look out for my numerous Brexit defeatist posts though :p yeah.

 

[Lant_War]

Taking bets on OP's ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Click to shrink...

What do you think?

 

[subpar spatula]

*Soldiers retreating from war*
General: Soldiers, get back in line! There's hope! Fight to the end!
*soldiers die due to 10,000,000 to 50,000*
*General retreats*

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

It's probably underlying depression in people, a lot of which is as a result of the world we live in, or our impression of the world we live in. This is highly manipulated by bad news left righ centre, a seemingly deliberate or perhaps just endemic feature of our news and media in general.

Also a fucking man baby dodgy as fuck guy called Trump is literally President, which is Biff Tannen levels of nonsense but that is our reality. No wonder.

Click to shrink...

Stop talking shit about Biff Tannen!

 

[Lant_War]

*Soldiers retreating from war*
General: Soldiers, get back in line! There's hope! Fight to the end!
*soldiers die due to 10,000,000 to 50,000*
*General retreats*

Click to shrink...

*Soldiers go to war*
Soldiers: don't shoot, let them take all of our bases. What's the point

 

[subpar spatula]

*Soldiers go to war*
Soldiers: don't shoot, let them take all of our bases. What's the point

Click to shrink...

*the point*

*the earth*

*the clouds*

*the mountains*

*your head*

either you are not well read into these "defeatists" topics or you are and are just arbitrarily against the idea of facing reality. You think pure optimism will lead anywhere when there isn't a whole lot of time to make the necessary changes. Again, what is the global plan to curb or course correct climate change? Remember, this have to turn around yesterday for there to be some hope.

 

[mbpm]

*Soldiers go to war*
Soldiers: don't shoot, let them take all of our bases. What's the point

Click to shrink...

The difference is we didn't sign up for this war.

 

[zero_suit]

Basic pattern recognition.

You use the examples of Trump and climate change.

Trump keeps doing more and more awful things without being held accountable for any of it.

The climate situation keeps getting more dire without anyone doing anything meaningful to address it.

If you're optimistic about those situations improving, what is that based on? Because there's a whole hell of a lot to base the pessimistic view on.

Click to shrink...

They don't want to get their hopes up and be disappointed. They (rightly) fear disappointment.

Click to shrink...

Accurate summation of my feelings.

 

[NESpowerhouse]

Because negative emotions are so addictive

 

[Deleted member 5127]

Taking bets on OP's ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Click to shrink...

You don't have to be depressed and defeatist if you're a minority.

Signed,

Homosexual.

Seriously this is one of the problems of Era, making it sound like only hetero cisguys can be happy and positive.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

I'm not a defeatist, but miserable is my default state.

 

[Einchy]

Is there any reason not to be?

 

[saenima]

It's very hard to find optimism when you have no perspectives whatsoever of anything getting better. In fact, things are actually getting worse for most people and the future is not looking very bright.

 

[Ramala]

Realist dude. Realist. Not defeatist. Just looking at past statistics and using data to predict the future.

 

[Deleted member 984]

Some need a bit of Mephistopheles to give them a kick up the arse.

"Quick now, give up this idle pondering!
And let's be off into the great wide world!
I tell you: the fool who speculates on things
is like some animal on a dry heath,
led by an evil fiend in endless circles,
while fine green pastures lie on every side."

 

[Buttzerker]

The difference is we didn't sign up for this war.

Click to shrink...

And also our guns fire spitballs while they have automatic assault rifles and mounted machine guns and assault helicopters and nuclear missiles and