Stories That Make You Shake Your Head At The World

[Lostin76]

Not calling out anyone on here for posting about mental health. It desperately needs attention. BUT, we have a political class that doesn’t care what happens to the weak, poor, or the mentally ill. This is Merica! We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and if you can’t hack it, you can f*#k off and get out of our way. We’ve got some shopping and eating to do!

After the usual thoughts and prayers there will be comments about funding mental health. And then they will go right back to not funding mental health. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad nauseam. 

There is nowhere for these people to go except on the street or in jail. Neither place helps them and both make a bad problem worse. But let’s keep pushing those tax breaks through for the rich. If you are poor or insane, it’s probably your own fault, right???

I grew up a poor kid. We waited in line for govt cheese. I had to join the military to be able to afford college. So much went right for me to be this successful today. Yes, I prepared, worked hard, and hustled, but I was also a white male, which really helped.

The young people I know today are smarter than I was, they hustle just as hard as I did, but they also know how hard it’s going to be to be successful in this world. We talk about it a lot and I don’t know what to tell them. I’ve totally lost faith in our political class and don’t expect anything to change. These kids have never had faith in our political or economic system. They know the rich protect the rich, and spend their dollars and time turning the poor against each other on BS social justice issues. 

[mrflynn03]

31 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

Not calling out anyone on here for posting about mental health. It desperately needs attention. BUT, we have a political class that doesn’t care what happens to the weak, poor, or the mentally ill. This is Merica! We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and if you can’t hack it, you can f*#k off and get out of our way. We’ve got some shopping and eating to do!

After the usual thoughts and prayers there will be comments about funding mental health. And then they will go right back to not funding mental health. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad nauseam. 

There is nowhere for these people to go except on the street or in jail. Neither place helps them and both make a bad problem worse. But let’s keep pushing those tax breaks through for the rich. If you are poor or insane, it’s probably your own fault, right???

I grew up a poor kid. We waited in line for govt cheese. I had to join the military to be able to afford college. So much went right for me to be this successful today. Yes, I prepared, worked hard, and hustled, but I was also a white male, which really helped.

The young people I know today are smarter than I was, they hustle just as hard as I did, but they also know how hard it’s going to be to be successful in this world. We talk about it a lot and I don’t know what to tell them. I’ve totally lost faith in our political class and don’t expect anything to change. These kids have never had faith in our political or economic system. They know the rich protect the rich, and spend their dollars and time turning the poor against each other on BS social justice issues. 

And this is exactly why people need to tell the Feds to go F@#k themselves.  The only reason why they are relevant is because people make them relevant.  People need to quit news and let them go broke and ignore these fools. 

Make the changes at the local and state level.  Bloomington has an addiction and homeless problem but an improving mental health and housing programs because they decided to take action at the community level. 

I'm ideologically opposed to a lot of ideas in Bloomington but not everything.  I work there and benefit from those ideas too. My job is there because the town and university are heavily invested in Healthcare.  I have a healthier diet because the residents demand certain products that I couldn't get anywhere else. They benefit from fresh organic food at their farmers markets because people from surrounding communities(a lot of Amish), sell their goods in town. 

You can be tolerant and not have to accept things you don't agree with. The trick is to not be a jerk and ignore what doesn't affect you.  People can work together to fix things if they just ignore the damn government and not run to big daddy anytime they get a wrinkle in their drawers. 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by mrflynn03

[Lostin76]

26 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

And this is exactly why people need to tell the Feds to go F@#k themselves.  The only reason why they are relevant is because people make them relevant.  People need to quit news and let them go broke and ignore these fools. 

Make the changes at the local and state level.  Bloomington has an addiction and homeless problem but an improving mental health and housing programs because they decided to take action at the community level. 

I'm ideologically opposed to a lot of ideas in Bloomington but not everything.  I work there and benefit from those ideas too. My job is there because the town and university are heavily invested in Healthcare.  I have a healthier diet because the residents demand certain products that I couldn't get anywhere else. They benefit from fresh organic food at their farmers markets because people from surrounding communities(a lot of Amish), sell their goods in town. 

You can be tolerant and not have to accept things you don't agree with. The trick is to not be a jerk and ignore what doesn't affect you.  People can work together to fix things if they just ignore the damn government and not run to big daddy anytime they get a wrinkle in their drawers. 

 

Great example of little things at the local level that can impact people. Fresh, healthy food and exercise would be a great start for people. That’s the exact type of work I’ve been supporting in Population Health for decades. It can and does work locally. We have one of our faculty who has partnered with barbershops in Harlem to talk about blood pressure and colorectal cancer with their patrons. Hugely successful, b/c these dudes might not trust doctors, but they do trust their barber. 

[Drroogh]

57 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

Not calling out anyone on here for posting about mental health. It desperately needs attention. BUT, we have a political class that doesn’t care what happens to the weak, poor, or the mentally ill. This is Merica! We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and if you can’t hack it, you can f*#k off and get out of our way. We’ve got some shopping and eating to do!

After the usual thoughts and prayers there will be comments about funding mental health. And then they will go right back to not funding mental health. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad nauseam. 

There is nowhere for these people to go except on the street or in jail. Neither place helps them and both make a bad problem worse. But let’s keep pushing those tax breaks through for the rich. If you are poor or insane, it’s probably your own fault, right???

I grew up a poor kid. We waited in line for govt cheese. I had to join the military to be able to afford college. So much went right for me to be this successful today. Yes, I prepared, worked hard, and hustled, but I was also a white male, which really helped.

The young people I know today are smarter than I was, they hustle just as hard as I did, but they also know how hard it’s going to be to be successful in this world. We talk about it a lot and I don’t know what to tell them. I’ve totally lost faith in our political class and don’t expect anything to change. These kids have never had faith in our political or economic system. They know the rich protect the rich, and spend their dollars and time turning the poor against each other on BS social justice issues. 

Agree with you, but the solutions run much deeper than just throwing money at it or opening more centers and resources. Just like people with addiction the suffering have to learn they need help before they’ll seek help. I don’t have the answers but someone smarter than me needs to figure it out instead of wasting more resources that aren’t working.

[mrflynn03]

1 minute ago, Lostin76 said:

Great example of little things at the local level that can impact people. Fresh, healthy food and exercise would be a great start for people. That’s the exact type of work I’ve been supporting in Population Health for decades. It can and does work locally. We have one of our faculty who has partnered with barbershops in Harlem to talk about blood pressure and colorectal cancer with their patrons. Hugely successful, b/c these dudes might not trust doctors, but they do trust their barber. 

Food is medicine.  It helps with physical and mental healthiness.  I've noticed a lot of improvement in adding vitamins and minerals like magnesium and vitamin B, and D that most people are deficient in. 

[Lostin76]

57 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

Agree with you, but the solutions run much deeper than just throwing money at it or opening more centers and resources. Just like people with addiction the suffering have to learn they need help before they’ll seek help. I don’t have the answers but someone smarter than me needs to figure it out instead of wasting more resources that aren’t working.

I agree with some of that. But we know that redistributing wealth to the rich doesn’t really trickle down to anyone. It’s one of the greatest lies we’ve been fed. We throw money at rich people, Wall Street, airlines, etc and it just enriches their bottom lines. More dividends, more bonuses. But no one wants to spend money on a mental health center. And god forbid it’s in their back yard. 

[Lostin76]

57 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

Food is medicine.  It helps with physical and mental healthiness.  I've noticed a lot of improvement in adding vitamins and minerals like magnesium and vitamin B, and D that most people are deficient in. 

It really is. I’m not saying fast food and packaged foods are evil (I enjoy both in moderation), but if it’s all people eat then I don’t see how their mental and physical health is exactly humming along on all cylinders.

And I’ll toss in my “get off my lawn whippersnappers” line of “why don’t kids play outside anymore?”

It’s a double whammy of low activity and bad food. Whisk that together with constant social media and media media blaring from our screens day and night and it’s not a good combo. 

[mrflynn03]

I found a YouTube channel I listen to at work sometimes called soft white underbelly. This guy started by going around skid row in LA interviewing people. Some pretty heavy subjects but pretty eye opening. 

https://youtube.com/@SoftWhiteUnderbelly

[Drroogh]

29 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

I agree with some of that. But we know that redistributing wealth to the rich doesn’t really trickle down to anyone. It’s one of the greatest lies we’ve been fed. We throw money at rich people, Wall Street, airlines, etc and it just enriches their bottom lines. More dividends, more bonuses. But no one wants to spend money on a mental health center. And god forbid it’s in their back yard. 

Oh God, don’t get me started on the NIMBY’s, or the atrocious disparity of income for executives! You can’t tell me an IO is 1000 times more valuable than a manager that also has an MBA!

[MoyeCowbell]

1 hour ago, mrflynn03 said:

Food is medicine.  It helps with physical and mental healthiness.  I've noticed a lot of improvement in adding vitamins and minerals like magnesium and vitamin B, and D that most people are deficient in. 

Because this is a sports forum, I'll try and tie this back into it a little bit...

Good nutrition is absolutely essential when dealing with mental health, which in turn impacts physical health and performance. There's a reason LeBron, Tom Brady, Novak Djokavic, et al are able to do elite things at the level and longevity that they do. They have access to the best foods and can tailor their diets for optimal performance.

Of course they can afford to do so. They're able to get the best produce, meats, etc. It would be great if those high level foods can be more attainable to the masses at an affordable level. Here in LA -- and I'm sure elsewhere in the country as well -- the same grocery stores carry different products based on the region/neighborhood and the socio-economic makeup of its residents. While this is somewhat obvious, it still underscores the discrepancy between getting "fresh" foods that are proven to improve physical and mental health, and processed foods that do not.

I've tried to cut down my fast food intake, maybe having something once every few months or so, and I definitely feel a difference when doing so.

[Lostin76]

36 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

I found a YouTube channel I listen to at work sometimes called soft white underbelly. This guy started by going around skid row in LA interviewing people. Some pretty heavy subjects but pretty eye opening. 

https://youtube.com/@SoftWhiteUnderbelly

Some really interesting interviews - bookmarked for future listens. 

8 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

Oh God, don’t get me started on the NIMBY’s, or the atrocious disparity of income for executives! You can’t tell me an IO is 1000 times more valuable than a manager that also has an MBA!

They are the worst. We have a particularly thick crop of NIMBYs here. I don’t necessarily enjoy having sleeping homeless people with their shoes off next to me on my subway commute, but I’m also not going to hassle them or ask the cops to move them. If you are homeless, that warm sleep session on a subway train might be the safest, quietest place you get to sleep that day. Watching some of these liberal Brooklynites get totally bent out of shape b/c a homeless person dares to sleep on “their train” really irks me. 

5 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

Because this is a sports forum, I'll try and tie this back into it a little bit...

Good nutrition is absolutely essential when dealing with mental health, which in turn impacts physical health and performance. There's a reason LeBron, Tom Brady, Novak Djokavic, et al are able to do elite things at the level and longevity that they do. They have access to the best foods and can tailor their diets for optimal performance.

Of course they can afford to do so. They're able to get the best produce, meats, etc. It would be great if those high level foods can be more attainable to the masses at an affordable level. Here in LA -- and I'm sure elsewhere in the country as well -- the same grocery stores carry different products based on the region/neighborhood and the socio-economic makeup of its residents. While this is somewhat obvious, it still underscores the discrepancy between getting "fresh" foods that are proven to improve physical and mental health, and processed foods that do not.

I've tried to cut down my fast food intake, maybe having something once every few months or so, and I definitely feel a difference when doing so.

Really great point. “Food deserts” are real in many big cities and small towns. What we have available to us within easy walking distance is VASTLY different than what someone in East New York or the Bronx has. They will get tons of cheap clothing boutiques and cell phone repair shops instead of decent grocery stores. 

 

[mrflynn03]

20 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

Because this is a sports forum, I'll try and tie this back into it a little bit...

Good nutrition is absolutely essential when dealing with mental health, which in turn impacts physical health and performance. There's a reason LeBron, Tom Brady, Novak Djokavic, et al are able to do elite things at the level and longevity that they do. They have access to the best foods and can tailor their diets for optimal performance.

Of course they can afford to do so. They're able to get the best produce, meats, etc. It would be great if those high level foods can be more attainable to the masses at an affordable level. Here in LA -- and I'm sure elsewhere in the country as well -- the same grocery stores carry different products based on the region/neighborhood and the socio-economic makeup of its residents. While this is somewhat obvious, it still underscores the discrepancy between getting "fresh" foods that are proven to improve physical and mental health, and processed foods that do not.

I've tried to cut down my fast food intake, maybe having something once every few months or so, and I definitely feel a difference when doing so.

I'll eat fast food on occasion too but I'm always sluggish the next day. 

But I've cut out processed sugars and most carbs in my normal diet. So pasta does the same thing when I have it. 

[Drroogh]

2 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

Really great point. “Food deserts” are real in many big cities and small towns. What we have available to us within easy walking distance is VASTLY different than what someone in East New York or the Bronx has. They will get tons of cheap clothing boutiques and cell phone repair shops instead of decent grocery stores. 

It’s not just cities, the county I lived in Georgia. Was one of the most economically depressed and illiterate counties in the country. I had it from several friends in the education system that literally half the county was illiterate!! The local Grocery was definitely not high quality food and once again probably half the people checking out were using EBT cards. And yet the next county North where I worked was part of the Hollywood of the south scene!

[mrflynn03]

I don't really think healthy food is that cost prohibitive either.  Availability is definitely a problem depending on where you live. Just have to shop right and figure out when they have their best deals. I've been shopping at Fresh Thyme on Sundays after work. 

I spent $85 this past week and got 1lb salmon, 4 6oz pork sirloin steaks, 8 chicken sausages BOGO, free range eggs, 3lbs potatoes and onions and all my vegetables.  All colors of bell peppers were 99c each. Avocado's 2 for 1. 

I also filled my freezer a little at a time Sept thru November knowing meat prices would be going up.  Bird flu always occurs in cooler months almost every year.  I also have local farmers selling pasture raised products cheaper than grocery stores. 

Edited February 14, 2023 by mrflynn03

[Lostin76]

7 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

It’s not just cities, the county I lived in Georgia. Was one of the most economically depressed and illiterate counties in the country. I had it from several friends in the education system that literally half the county was illiterate!! The local Grocery was definitely not high quality food and once again probably half the people checking out were using EBT cards. And yet the next county North where I worked was part of the Hollywood of the south scene!

You are 100% correct. Not just cities. Basically anywhere that they can get away with this stuff they will do so. They probably figured the “ignorant hillbillies” wouldn’t complain, while they know the suburban Karens will. 

[Drroogh]

16 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

You are 100% correct. Not just cities. Basically anywhere that they can get away with this stuff they will do so. They probably figured the “ignorant hillbillies” wouldn’t complain, while they know the suburban Karens will. 

I’ll agree with that wholeheartedly. However there is also the economics of affordable food. From friends in the education system I would hear stories that the meal the kids ate at school was the only meal that had each day. Kids would beg to get an extra meal to take home to their mother because she didn’t have any! Yes a lot of it had to do with bad choices, but how can you/we understand what it’s like to be illiterate? I pondered for years how can this be with the public schools available. And before someone starts blaming the teachers and administrators, the ones I know are of high character or they wouldn’t be working there. The problem comes from the old adage “education starts in the home” but if everyone in the household is illiterate?????? 
 

Now I have to apologize for getting us into education! What is this thread about again?

[IUFLA]

4 hours ago, Lostin76 said:

Not calling out anyone on here for posting about mental health. It desperately needs attention. BUT, we have a political class that doesn’t care what happens to the weak, poor, or the mentally ill.

My post about mental illness wasn't an indictment of the mentally ill... It was simply how it pertains to mass shootings... I think all of us realize that you have to have a mental defect to consider something so heinous...

And I agree with your second sentence... 

[mrflynn03]

2 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

My post about mental illness wasn't an indictment of the mentally ill... It was simply how it pertains to mass shootings... I think all of us realize that you have to have a mental defect to consider something so heinous...

And I agree with your second sentence... 

Part of the mental aspect of these shootings is powerlessness. People who feel powerless and weak find something in holding life and death in their hands. 

[IUFLA]

21 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

Part of the mental aspect of these shootings is powerlessness. People who feel powerless and weak find something in holding life and death in their hands. 

A lot of people feel powerless though... There was a point right after high school I kinda felt that way...

Until the day I realized the only person I could really depend on 100% was me... 

 

[Drroogh]

1 hour ago, Drroogh said:

I’ll agree with that wholeheartedly. However there is also the economics of affordable food. From friends in the education system I would hear stories that the meal the kids ate at school was the only meal that had each day. Kids would beg to get an extra meal to take home to their mother because she didn’t have any! Yes a lot of it had to do with bad choices, but how can you/we understand what it’s like to be illiterate? I pondered for years how can this be with the public schools available. And before someone starts blaming the teachers and administrators, the ones I know are of high character or they wouldn’t be working there. The problem comes from the old adage “education starts in the home” but if everyone in the household is illiterate?????? 
 

Now I have to apologize for getting us into education! What is this thread about again?

Going to have to build on this for those that have never been exposed to it in the extreme that I have! My friend is a 2nd grade teacher. She told me the story of a boy she felt she was finally getting through to. Suddenly, the switch turned off!! 

Worse than having no one in the family to help him learn his family and friends turned on him!! You think you’re better than us?

Peer pressure!

 I don’t know the solution but most of our so called experts and worse politicians don’t even know what the problem is!

[mrflynn03]

41 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

A lot of people feel powerless though... There was a point right after high school I kinda felt that way...

Until the day I realized the only person I could really depend on 100% was me... 

 

You know, I mentioned it because I felt the same way. 

Your realization is the one I had verbatim. Changed my whole outlook. 

[mrflynn03]

At 13:25 Andy Stumpf and Joe Rogan describe it. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by mrflynn03

[Lostin76]

13 hours ago, IUFLA said:

My post about mental illness wasn't an indictment of the mentally ill... It was simply how it pertains to mass shootings... I think all of us realize that you have to have a mental defect to consider something so heinous...

And I agree with your second sentence... 

Yeah, wasn’t calling you out, hence my first sentence. I agree that mental health is super important. I just don’t like that it’s usually only talked about after mass shootings. It’s important then to take the heat off guns, but then once the news fades, the mental health talk fades. 

[IUFLA]

51 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

Yeah, wasn’t calling you out, hence my first sentence. I agree that mental health is super important. I just don’t like that it’s usually only talked about after mass shootings. It’s important then to take the heat off guns, but then once the news fades, the mental health talk fades. 

I know...

Addressing mental health is important. My wife and I take our granddaughter to the Aquarium in Downtown Houston occasionally, and the tent city under the I-45 underpass grows exponentially every time...

Very sad... 

[5fouls]

Part of me feels totally inadequate to weigh in on the major issues that seem to always be the focus of these shootings, predominantly access to guns and mental health. 

But, what I feel is important is that we, as a society, don't twist the underlying issues and present them as 'excuses', which will assuredly lead to inaction.  It's common knowledge that 'excuses' don't lead to solutions.  they lead to inaction.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by 5fouls