The awesome excitement of total collapse

Cloud9 · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 1176

Skinny women are no fun. They have to jump around in the shower just to get wet.

mos6507

FreakOil

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the jock gets more action. Where I live, it's more about money. I don't think the weightlifting crowd does any better than a technophile with a good salary. I'm not sure. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on women, though I wish I were.

WildRose · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 21, 2006 Posts: 1086

I haven't read this entire thread, so some others may have posted ideas very similar to mine.

Why excitement about total collapse? A few things come to my mind. Boredom. Disenchantment. A yearning for a different, even more dangerous way of life. The thought of a bit of danger is exciting, but I think actually living it may force its appeal to wane somewhat. People who lived through the Depression likely would not want to live through another one. Some of the things we've considered on this board may seem a bit exciting, but once they became part of our daily grind we'd be saying "enough already" before long.

I admit to liking a bit of danger: being outside in a bad storm, riding a scary amusement park ride, watching a big fire or seeing an accident. But the moment any details of human suffering become known to me (young man thrown from the car died, a family lost everything), pain replaces excitement.

The thought of the changes we could be facing are only exciting in a kind of horrifying way to me now. I keep thinking that we will soon refer to these days as "the good old days".

Pops

I just read a novel about an educated, telepathic gorilla.

The premise of the story was how the narrator thought there was a lie he had always heard, even though he couldn’t figure out what the lie was - or from where it came.

A little OT for the thread I suppose but the author’s idea that things aren’t right and a hope for something more than the consumption to fuel growth model could be wrong, might be the point of both.
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FreakOil

There's probably a few reasons why a person would get excited about TS Hitting TF. Here are a few that I can think of:

1) Being right: It would certainly justify all the preps you've done and prove to others that you were right all along.

2) Instinctual: I'm not sure that's the right word, but it's that same feeling of anticipation when you're watching a news broadcast about a category 5 hurricane headed for Florida.

3) Longing for a new life: We know this consumption driven lifestyle and economy are destroying the planet, so it's high time we started doing things differently.

I think the third reason is the most noble, so perhaps we claim that's the reason why we're getting excited. But if you look deep inside, it may be a combination of the first two reasons, which seems a bit crass. It may be a combination of all three, or perhaps everyone has a unique reason for feeling excited.

But a person is most likely to say that they long for a new life, and that's the reason why they're getting excited, even if it isn't true. I don't think anyone would openly admit that they want TS to hit TF just to prove their theory correct.

I also agree with WildRose. Things are going to get ugly. I think the slide is going to start with massive unemployment, and my job is very vulnerable. Luckily, I'm young, single, healthy and willing to move wherever someone needs me to do some heavy lifting, or whatever other work's available. That doesn't mean I'm looking forward to digging into my pockets and pulling out a handful of lint for supper.

Heineken

That's a good summary, Freak.

"Excitement" does not necessarily mean enjoyment; it can be a very complex emotion. I felt excited when I almost cut my thumb off, once.

I'll admit I get excited, in this broad sense, when I hear very bad news. Also, I'm excited (in a more positive way) by the prospect of seeing TPTB take it on the chin.

I think our response to impending disasters may be shaped, to a degree, by our experience with past ones. If we've been mostly untouched by serious misfortune so far, we may tend to assume we're invulnerable.
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"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

PrairieMule

PrairieMule

I'm neither excited nor dreading a crash. I just use humor to diffuse it all and to deal with it.
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Ludi

Sys1 · Intermediate Crude Joined: Feb 25, 2005 Posts: 682

I think that peak oil will really hit when nobody will be able to say "That's fun! Wow!".

I understand that this sick society i've always critisize since i'm able to think creates anger. Therefore, as soon as you have the "chance" to become peak oil aware, you are at first happy, at least for two reasons :
1) You are a clever monkey, you know something really important, and that's a privilege your neighbourhood probably won't get. "I'm smart, look how dumb they are!"
2) The consummerist lobotomized machine is going to crash, and that'll be more fun than the first time you watched Starwars original trilogy on big screen or Bin Laden Show on TV.

Well, but after the fun, you got to pay...

More than runaway globalwarming, total economic collapse, nuclear war, starving in the dark, violence, i'm absolutely terrified about seeing the beloved one dying next to me.

My wife is epileptic, she needs medicaments to survive. This is the point where collapse of our civilization looks ugly. And that's just the beginning of a neverending nightmare. Impossible to escape. I'm stuck on Earth at the worst time of human history.

Heineken

I agree quite strongly with that post, Sys1; it mirrors my feelings stated much earlier in this thread.

This is one disaster movie that's going to reach right out of the screen and GRAB you. No need for 3-D glasses.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

Revi · Fusion Joined: Apr 25, 2005 Posts: 3515 Location: Maine

I thought it would be a cool change, but now it's looking a lot like the depression is coming. That wasn't any fun at all. Peak oil was a lot more fun as a theoretical exercise.

Here it comes, so we may as well treat it as a thrill ride.
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Deep in the mud and slime of things, even there, something sings.