Wikileaks says Wednesday is the End for Hillary.

[xorcist at sigaint.org]

>> remember that even part-time workers in the first world
>> making $25k-30k USD are globally in the 1% or so.
>
> There use to be an informational leaflet going around called "If the
> world was 10 people". In that scenario, Americans have ALL the stuff.

Yeah, I've seen break-downs like that. It's truly depressing, especially
when you abstract it out and realize how many millions of people need to
be convinced to help change things.

It's daunting, really.

I'm often reminded of a story of Buddha's enlightenment. In his final
struggle with Mara, she showed him all the people that would live. All the
countless generations of humans, all the individuals that would suffer,
and he could see with full awareness how very few would attain nirvana and
how few would hear his words. It was staggeringly crushing to realize how
little impact he would have on the world. It almost broke him.

But his response was simple; with his beatific smile he responded "But a
few will hear."

Or, Gandhi's advice that "Anything you do will be insignificant, but it is
vitally important that you do it."

I try to feel that, when I'm feeling frustrated. It helps me, at least.

>
> I did my carbon footprint on some website once about 10 years ago. It's
> impossible to keep it as low as anyone in the third world. Even
> subtracting the 3 or 4 airline flights within the US I've taken in my
> lifetime I still blew.

Truly. My travel is such that my footprint is about average for a first
worlder, mitigated by the fact that I've never owned a car and tend to
walk, bike, or take public transportation. But yes, it virtually
impossible to live in the first world and have a carbon footprint like a
third worlder. The possible exception might be people who live in rural
areas, in completely off-the-grid type situations where they supply their
necessities themselves (like third worlders).

But still, to live like that will tend to require living in some other way
first to acquire the wealth to do so.. so, in the end, its still going to
be far larger. Communal living can help amortize that.

But then factor in children? And boom. Forget about it. It's nuts.

> I'm the one who continually reminds people I know who think they have it
> rough that they COULD be living in a country that 'needs to be bombed in
> the national interest'. But I'm a hard-case renegade redneck 'hippie'
> with a baaaad atititude and a history dating back to living on lower
> east side rooftops running with yippies and motherfuckers, and used to
> simple living. Times have changed. Most of the street people today NEVER
> expected to be in that situation. They're highly dependent-codependent
> don't share well, and in general mirror the affluent middle class
> lifestyle lost to them. I spent a lot of my time doing, umn,
> 'psychotherapy', with desperate people who have more hope than the
> potential for achieving what they hope for.

Wow. Well stated. Yeah, I imagine the trailing edge of the economic
meltdown is starting to catch up. The whole beatnick thing is gone. Now
the dropouts were more forced out than willingly bailed. That's gotta make
for a few fucked up scene.

My experience is kind of opposite, in a way. I grew up in a shit hole
rural town, but got lucky. My father and his brothers had done time, were
into a lot of heavy shit, but my dad always made sure I kept my act
together. Came down hard on me for the slightest bit of trouble. Told me
growing up.. when you're 18, I'm kicking you the fuck out. "My job is to
make sure you get out of here and do something with your life, what you do
with it will be up to you," sort of thing. That's about the only thing he
ever told me I listened to.

Fortunately, I managed to get handy at fixing up electronics stuff --
mostly because nothing we had ever worked right when we got it
second-hand. 18 came, moved in with my girl, scraped by for a few years
and had the good luck to have her get accepted to an art school (amazing
with acrylics) leaving me with fuck-all but a shitty job, a broken heart,
and in the right place at the right time to take the right bit of advice
and go take a volunteer position abroad. And since then, life's just been
a matter of floating down a river. Mostly easy, as long as you can dodge
the logs and rocks and shit.