Why is everyone on QQ so cynical?

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that people are a lot more jaded and cynical?

 

It is less of this site, but more of mankind in general being more cynical due to conditions beyond our control, both natural and artificial.

 

normies use the internet to post selfies, cat pics, and relationship drama

people like us use forums

it's good to have some skepticism

i admit i've gotten less positive over the years, but my imagination still works fine and i have some drive to learn about things i find interesting

although sometimes it does feel strange to be not depressed, cis, and doing well generally

 

Over the past few years, I’ve learned that a massive portion of my countrymen literally have no better nature to appeal to. They have no conscience. They have no compassion. They will fight tooth and nail for the most minor conveniences imaginable, not caring how many die in the process.

Wildbow is an optimist: Earth fucking Bet managed to keep the Endbringer Truce.

 

I think a lot of the internet is cynical about various things but some parts just tend to cover it up better or avoid the topics that expose it better

... I wish I could argue with this, I really do

 

your basis of expectations is in fiction?

just look at the prohibition in the us and you get the same thing: religious folk wanted people to sober up for the good of society, went as far as have laws implemented, and people kept getting drunk anyway

 

No, it’s just a basis of comparison. Wildbow is renowned for being a massive cynic who writes grimderp fiction, and yet in his world people managed to actually come together to try and fight a greater threat. We can’t even manage putting on masks and standing six feet apart. Our world somehow manages to be more depressingly grimderp than his.

I have no idea what you’re doing with the prohibition comparison, and honestly, I don’t know if I want to.

 

A lot more jaded THAN what or whom or when?
On what topics exactly?
In what ways has it been reflected that made you reach the conclusion?
You gave no frame of reference, timeline or topic.
I know I am kinda late to the thread but without clarifying at least some of these points one can't even begin the discussion in my opinion.

 

It's funny to see SIs crying over being in Earth Bet for it being a shithole when our Earth is worse

That's why I believe normies are the ones who are sick. They should be the ones under under heavy medications

 

lol I know who Wildbow is.

The reason why I brought up a historic comparison is because comparing our world to a fictional world won’t bring much value. A cynic’s opinion about how a model of the world might work has no greater value than anyone else’s opinion. We could compare endlessly how things should go and will only dig ourselves a deeper hole of despair and nihilism.

I pointed out the Prohibition as a comparison instead to show a perspective that is slightly less biased. People will still defy rules they won’t accept regardless of consequence. This can be a good thing and a bad thing, and we will appreciate it when it can be of good use again.

In time we’ll treat the pandemic on an individual basis and the politicians will move on to the next Big Issue.

More importantly…

Why does it feel like I’m the optimist here?

 

I mean, is QQ actually that much more cynical than the internet in general? Most people have gotten more cynical than usual over the past couple of years, and I'd imagine that most of the internet is a reflection of that. Honestly, the only places I've been that are more consistently positive are the Pornhub comment sections and Instagram art posts.

That said, there is a certain social cachet to being perceived as cynical, since it implies worldly experience. It's also a great defense mechanism for a lot people who have been hurt.

 

When looking back at times of misery you can do one of 2 things: either wallow in the bitterness and let it consume you or laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Just because I frequently point out the world is doomed and always so doesn't necessarily mean I'm necessarily a cynic.

 

Because things are getting harder. Unemployment, inflation, climate change, people losing loved ones etc. Despite technology being better than ever, the young generation doesn't see the next 50 years getting any easier.

As for Qq, I'm not sure it's any worse than SB. The NSFW threads are far more relaxed actually. It has its edge lords and drama queens but there are just as many funny and creative people too. The lack of anal moderators and looser norms helps.

 

I'd like to add Vtuber content to that list. The only recent incident that left people upset in that category to my knowledge was Coco's departure. Nothing but simping Okay, maybe the occasional self-loathing/self-defeating comments.

 

I figured, but it’s to explain why I’m using his work to build a comparison.

I don’t think you understand why I’m referring to him. It’s not because I think his work has any bearing on our world. It’s because, despite him being known - iconic even - for his cynicism, he still accidentally presented a rosier view of humanity than we’re actually seeing.

Okay, but you understand the difference between ‘completely stop this activity which is harmless in moderation,’ and ‘practice basic safety to try and end a global pandemic,’ right? Prohibition ended, the laws against drunk driving didn’t. And I don’t see an epidemic of people demanding they should be able to drive while plastered because that’s their right.

 

Sorry I asked.

 

Of course. He has a reputation (of being a cynic) and his opinion (of how humanity works) is far more positive than reality. But, again, I think this is overvaluing Wildbow and his opinions. Unless there's something extra special about him that I'm not aware of, I'll take his overestimation on human unity alongside other over- and underestimations.

The difference between "completely stop (drinking) which is harmless in moderation" and "practice basic safety to try and end a global pandemic" is time.

The arguments against drinking was not simply drunk driving; addiction, violence, and corruption were also on the list. You are correct to say people did not protest for their right to drive intoxicated, or to be addicted, or to abuse their families in fits of drunken rage; they continued drinking because they wanted to drink. These days we treat the matter as basically a personal preference no matter how badly alcohol could damage the individual and society overall.

I drew parallels to today because the situation is very similar. The arguments for prevention promises good things for society. People are not protesting because they want others dead; they simply don't want to wear masks. And in the future we will treat the matter as personal preference regardless of possible benefits for society and the individual overall.

Things are very similar to the past, and we should not be surprised. It is what it is and our interest in being contrarian at times can do good.

lol, don't be. on akun i'd also grumbled in a comment section about a similar issue. the guy who responded basically said to mind my own business, work on myself, and enjoy my life. i think it's good advice

 

Yeah, fair. I don't really follow VTubers, so I don't have a reference point there.

Nah fam. I think the core point is on the money. It's really the only question worth asking. People are getting a lot more cynical, even paranoid, over all. QQ is just a reflection of that. There's a lot of stuff that went down in the last five years to get frustrated with and/or anxious about. Cynicism is a reasonable response to a reality very few people actually enjoy living in. Lots of people's dreams got ruined, and the future looks like it's gonna suck for generations to come. Unfortunately, not everyone's response to the increasing suckage is reasonable or in good faith, and we get stuck holding their baggage.

 

Fuck off.

 

Uhh, sorry if I offended you? I think I’ll stop replying to the topic.

 

Ehh, for me it is just seeing the dots and connecting them. So far I have got downward spiral. Trusted people multiple times in my life earlier and almost always got Caesar's treatment for it. Exception being family. Then there is the self interest, need vs greed issue. So far I met so, so few truly altruistic people. Everyone else just uses emotions as tools to manipulate others. In the end the world is set up right now to produce people as expendable cogs for various industries. So once you figure out how little impact you really have and just how easily you can be removed from just about any facet of society, all you have left is cynism and numbness. I'll just stop my rant.

 

If you are living on this planet and dealing with people, how are you not cynically and jaded? Are you an alien?

More seriously, I am a chronic unipolar severe depressive, who has trouble feeling anything in general...except anger. Even when I cannot get myself to eat or do anything besides staring at the ceiling I can still get pissed. I try to keep my posts more upbeat here though, because I know how it feels to deal with bullshit.

 

Eh, in our Earth you can't get some eldritch abomination destroying the city you live in two seconds or be murdered by some weird superpowered fella.

At least locally. I don't know how it is small cities in Worm.

Now my take, honestly when you compare to the past, we actually improved.

Wanting or not, tech levels improved so that child mortality is slowly becoming a thing of the past, and we can't compare the life standards from someone who worked the fields in 1500 to someone in 2020. The fact that today Chicken can be widely eaten by poor people in my country and it isn't an article for the rich is a proof of that.

 

The way some people act during this pandemic only made my cynicism grow.

Folks are really willing to die for their misguided beliefs!

smh

 

The world makes a lot more sense when you realize we’re the first unleaded generations since the 1920s. Like, they didn’t begin a phaseout until the 1970s - gas companies kicking and screaming - and it was only made illegal in 1996. If you ever ask why Boomers (and Gen X) are like that? If they’re literally brain damaged? The answer is yes.

Doesn’t make dealing with it any easier, though

 

What exactly makes you feel we are more jaded and cynical?

 

Because you seem to be.

Definitely. Dealing with too much bullshit leads to you expecting it and resignation is about as positive as you can get about it.

This minus the sarcasm.

Chicken has always been one of the easiest animals to raise for food. They're dumb, don't require that much and they reproduce fast-ish. My great-grandmother and grandmother both grew some without any issue, and I'm definitely not from a rich background, generationally or otherwise.

It was pretty common for rural folks in general, here.

 

In the middle ages, killing a chicken, which implies excluding part of your income (eggs) was considered highly extravagant. Now compare to today.

 

probably because on the internet you get fed alot of horrible shit.

having a family or people to care about and are close to makes you feel good.
also coming to believe in a religion. you have no idea how conforting the idea of an afterlife is.