It's Happening.

[C-Mag]

I'm ready!

Let's get this Mutter Fucker Rollin

[SuburbanFarmer]

I'm ready!

Let's get this Mutter Fucker Rollin

I'm not, but I'm trying.

[Heraclius]

Why would school shootings signify a collapse in society? You have less than a 1 in 10 million chance of dying in a mass shooting in the US. You honestly have a greater statistical chance of dying in a mass shooting in Switzerland.

The US "opioid epidemic" doesn't really seem to be as big of a deal as this guy is making it out to be. The US has around .6% of their population suffering from opioid addiction, which is right between the .75% of the UK and the .4% of France. I really doubt the French number is that low now considering their data is 2 decades out of date and opioid use has seen a general increase throughout the Western world lately.

His criticism of the family structure of the US is fair, but that's still more of a cultural trend that can be changed. The entire reason it really exists is due to the boom of the 1950s which provided the average low skilled worker the capability to live independently. Prior to that we had the same family-based household that is often seen in Asian immigrant households today. I imagine soon enough we will re-enter the human norm of living with our parents rather than seeing it as some sort of embarrassment. I already have friends and classmates talking about how they hope to be able to live with their parents for a few years in order to pay off student debt before interest really starts accruing.

This guy is projecting so hard he thinks that the rest of American society is perfectly willing to look as their neighbors and friends are slowly dying. Perhaps he should look at the more reasonable conclusion, like perhaps the idea that the people actually suffering from the problems he is mentioning are such a statistical anomaly it nearly isn't worth considering the issue.

Yet those once poor countries are making great strides. Costa Ricans now have higher life expectancy than Americans — because they have public healthcare.

Who knew it was so simple?

TL;DR of the article:

This is another pathology of collapse that is unique to America — utter powerlessness to live with dignity. Numbers don’t capture it — but comparisons paint a bleak picture.

As long as you don't look at the numbers, society is really in a bad situation guys.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I agree that American's aren't 'indifferent'. We're definitely more resigned, or numbed to the chaos.

Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, and others have made it crystal-clear that we have no power, and resistance will be met with extreme force. We are a powerless people, just getting through our day, and ignoring the rest - for the sake of our sanity.

The "opioid crisis" is breathtaking in the Midwest. It really has nothing to do with national statistics - it's very concentrated in the Midwest. Kids are dying constantly - we nearly lost a family member 2 years ago.

[Heraclius]

I agree that American's aren't 'indifferent'. We're definitely more resigned, or numbed to the chaos.

Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, and others have made it crystal-clear that we have no power, and resistance will be met with extreme force. We are a powerless people, just getting through our day, and ignoring the rest - for the sake of our sanity.

The "opioid crisis" is breathtaking in the Midwest. It really has nothing to do with national statistics - it's very concentrated in the Midwest. Kids are dying constantly - we nearly lost a family member 2 years ago.

Well most of society's issues are concentrated. Your risk of getting involved in a mass shooting go up astronomically if you're black and in a poverty-stricken area of a city purely due to how "mass shootings" are identified. I'm sure that if you looked at the UK you'd find that most of the opioid problems are located in the industrial revolution towns that have refused to modernize and so have a greater proportion of impoverished residents. I do agree that it isn't really a national issue, but that was my main issue with this point. How can you write an article that begins with an apocalyptic proclamation on the future of the US and then utilize something that is really only a concern in a subset of the nation as a sign of that?

I guess this comes down to what does one view as the "collapse of America". The writer's diction makes it seem as though he is speaking of an actual Fall of Rome scenario where the US will collapse under its' own weight and fracture. Maybe there would also be the possibility of a civil war in that scenario. However that sort of situation is really just not going to happen unless we're seeing economic conditions that would be even worse than the Great Depression. A more realistic collapse would involve the corruption of the ideals that mean "America" but that doesn't really revolve around the factors the writer was talking about.

The idea of a powerless people can be one of the pivot points that shows the collapse of the ideals, but I imagine for most it would be just another notch in the belt that has been progressing since Wilson's presidency or possibly even Lincoln's. It won't be the thing that leads to the destruction of the nation, but it is yet another gatehouse broken as the watchmen slept.

I guess to continue with the Roman comparison, we've been in our Imperial period and we're currently experiencing the collapse of the moral character that defined the generations during the Republic. I imagine some would blame the decline of religious zeal while others would blame immigrants. But in the end it's going to be the combination of factors that dilute the character of the nation into something else. Will it really be a collapse or is it another step on the march to progress? I guess you need to wait another century to make that call.

[C-Mag]

I agree that American's aren't 'indifferent'. We're definitely more resigned, or numbed to the chaos.

Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, and others have made it crystal-clear that we have no power, and resistance will be met with extreme force. We are a powerless people, just getting through our day, and ignoring the rest - for the sake of our sanity.

The "opioid crisis" is breathtaking in the Midwest. It really has nothing to do with national statistics - it's very concentrated in the Midwest. Kids are dying constantly - we nearly lost a family member 2 years ago.

The Bundy Ranch was different............. a bunch of American stood the Feds down, and eventually won in court too.
The Mueller standoff was a separate issue, but at the Bundy Ranch Feds turned tail, probably a good thing because that was going to end in a bunch of deaths.

[Montegriffo]

I'm sure that if you looked at the UK you'd find that most of the opioid problems are located in the industrial revolution towns that have refused to modernize and so have a greater proportion of impoverished residents.

The Northern industrial towns and cities have not refused to modernize. Manchester is a modern city but like the rest of the North it has suffered from a lack of investment. All the money comes from and goes to the South east in and around London. They are impoverished because we no longer have a manufacturing industry and the service industry jobs are in London.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I agree that American's aren't 'indifferent'. We're definitely more resigned, or numbed to the chaos.

Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, and others have made it crystal-clear that we have no power, and resistance will be met with extreme force. We are a powerless people, just getting through our day, and ignoring the rest - for the sake of our sanity.

The "opioid crisis" is breathtaking in the Midwest. It really has nothing to do with national statistics - it's very concentrated in the Midwest. Kids are dying constantly - we nearly lost a family member 2 years ago.

The Bundy Ranch was different............. a bunch of American stood the Feds down, and eventually won in court too.
The Mueller standoff was a separate issue, but at the Bundy Ranch Feds turned tail, probably a good thing because that was going to end in a bunch of deaths.

The fact that the Bundys won in the end doesn’t change the ridiculousness of the federal response. They were lined up for war over grazing fees.

[Okeefenokee]

I agree that American's aren't 'indifferent'. We're definitely more resigned, or numbed to the chaos.

Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, and others have made it crystal-clear that we have no power, and resistance will be met with extreme force. We are a powerless people, just getting through our day, and ignoring the rest - for the sake of our sanity.

The "opioid crisis" is breathtaking in the Midwest. It really has nothing to do with national statistics - it's very concentrated in the Midwest. Kids are dying constantly - we nearly lost a family member 2 years ago.

The Bundy Ranch was different............. a bunch of American stood the Feds down, and eventually won in court too.
The Mueller standoff was a separate issue, but at the Bundy Ranch Feds turned tail, probably a good thing because that was going to end in a bunch of deaths.

The fact that the Bundys won in the end doesn’t change the ridiculousness of the federal response. They were lined up for war over grazing fees.

They weren't lined up for war. They were posturing in hopes it would work, and when it didn't, they went home.

Another failed red line.

[SuburbanFarmer]

The Bundy Ranch was different............. a bunch of American stood the Feds down, and eventually won in court too.
The Mueller standoff was a separate issue, but at the Bundy Ranch Feds turned tail, probably a good thing because that was going to end in a bunch of deaths.

The fact that the Bundys won in the end doesn’t change the ridiculousness of the federal response. They were lined up for war over grazing fees.

They weren't lined up for war. They were posturing in hopes it would work, and when it didn't, they went home.

Another failed red line.

Sniper teams don't generally imply "posturing" - exactly the opposite, in fact. Especially when you try to deny their existence later.