I love beans, but corn is corn. You cannot make bean’s tortillas, or… not that I am aware of. Bread, sweet beverages, etc. Corn is so versatile. If I have to pick (luckily I don’t in real life), I’d pick corn.

I just wrote my experience, but you gave a lot of details. Exactly!

2008 was terrible because we had the age to understand what was happening but not the tools to live through it healthily. My anxiety was through the roof. My health got so much worse.

I also didn’t vote the first time I could here in my country due to moving issues, attentional issues, etc. Life was hectic and I had no time (no brain) to get my ID, honestly, lol.

COVID’s lockdowns were a relief to me, I have to admit. I was so fed up of going outside, of ‘masking’ my obvious problems and differences (e.g., ADHD), etc. I was failing miserably. Zoom calls were a lot easier, still are.

I hope you get better from the long COVID. I’m guessing you’re neurodivergent too. Take good care of yourself, psychologically, physically… We need it.

I’m not from the U.S.A., but yes, still terrible conditions in my region and obviously internationally. My older siblings and my cousins (all older) had great childhoods in the 80s and early 90s. I was a late child. Everyone was old and everyone was busy. My parents struggled more and more economically, and my aunts kept telling me how I shouldn’t normalize what I was living, but… how? I didn’t have the maturity not to do so. I internalized a lot of sh*t. I needed healthcare, but there was not enough money or attention for that; today I live with the consequences. I guess I was sort of neglected. It’s hard for me to accept because my mom tried her best, even my dad did. I feel like I’m unthankful if I say it, but it’s a sad thing that happened even though they tried to prevent it (they just minimized it, I guess, which is nice).

I definitely don’t want a long life. Add all this fascism and dark world that’s always existed but now it’s blatant and crushing. Now I am tired. I believe the world can be better, but that much better…? It seems that we always have peaceful or abundant times that, nonetheless, brew and cement darker times. Human vices never rest, they just get in check from time to time. It’s a constant struggle against the greedy ones, the sadistic ones, etc. Of course I’m not having kids. You don’t throw more wood into a fire, as some say. And I just hope that we can collectively achieve some better times, a better period in our history. I have little faith on that (and little interest to fully participate in it once achieved because I would still be tired), but it would be nice (and fighting for it is still a duty, so here I am trying to help as much as I can).

Sorry for the oversharing. Just the perspective from a person born in the mid 90s.

While I agree, there’s also a risk in letting the hypothetical family cause alarm about something false around electricity or whatever (misinformation).

Basically, some people started incorporating gloomy aspects to punk aesthetics and music. Gloomy aspects from literature, film, tropes. Some were looking to express similar political sentiments but in a more metaphorical way, I suppose; that’s my impression, that there was an added element of artistry/artsy there. Some were looking to add also subjective themes (madness, unlove, etc.). Example (Bauhaus - In the Flat Field).

This gave us post-punk and similar sounds in the very late 70s and mostly early 80s. You probably know some bands that were influential. Example. (The Cure - The Hanging Garden).

Anyway, the mohawk grew longer, blacker. Still teased, often shaved, but creepier. The leyering in clothing also became blacker or creepier (transparent layers, protagonism of the net layers). Theatrical and extravagant outfits emerged, inspired by the decade’s fashion too. Example in music video A. (_Alien Sex Fiend - R.I.P.).
Example in music video B. (Specimen - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)

Famously, the night club called “The Batcave” started reuniting bands and listeners, and in the 80s many countries had similar venues. A little more aggressive or punkier sound persisted with a genre called deathrock. There was now post-punk, deathrock, goth rock, darkwave (inspired by the synth-driven genres of the 80s), etc. Example A. (The Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia my Reflection)
Example B. (The Frozen Autumn - Is Everything Real?).

The subculture was consolidated around these genres, and then the name “Goth” stayed, and then more communication and inspiration… And nowadays social media keeps many things alive through teachings in video and, I guess, text, like this one. Why? In part, because [context] a person that is new to all this world is called a “baby bat” and [/context] most Goths are protective and integrating of baby bats.

And that’s it. There was a good deathrock revival in the late 00s and early 10s. Example. (Cinema Strange - I Remember Tendon Water). And today there’s an obsession to bring back the original elements but it’s all still very different (and often cliched, which I don’t like, personally).

Here’s some Goth music from ‘recent’ years. (Lebanon Hanover - Gallowdance).
Another one. (Boy Harsher - Fate).
And another one. (The Cemetery Girlz - Broken Teeth)

More knowledgeable Goths, correct or add as needed…

Undressies.

Maybe I’m a gloomy person in a very unfortunate part of the world, but it’s wild to me that someone thinks like that and not think immediately in sexual violence, kidnapping, human trafficking, etc. The standard of beauty near me is whiteness, of course, and beautiful white girls disappear a lot more than they should given the percentage they are among the population. Yes, I’m close to a sexual trafficking hot spot.

And for men there’s less danger but it’s also not perfect. Nobody’s safe in the times being…

And it doesn’t have to be crime, regular people often get a grudge over those things! Envy and resentment are powerful emotions. Also, there will always be the assumption that life was indeed easier for you and that you don’t deserve the fruits of your efforts. These ones may seem like trivial social conflicts but, in a psychologically vulnerable person, they can be crushing. (Let’s say, a guy loses his friends because they’re all musicians and they think he got an offer unfairly because of his looks and they think he’s some kind of “sell-out” or poser, but maybe our guy has been dealing with depression already and now he’s mega depressed).

It’s probably easier in average, but… yeah, the world is big and there are a lot of contexts.

I don’t like money nor I’m overly interested in it, but it’s probably the cheat-code this person is thinking about. People with money can fake their looks (surgeries are crazy these days), can buy popularity, can buy careers, can buy many many things. If you don’t care about authenticity and only care about the results or the appearance, money is the answer. Just be an aware narcissist and know your limits. For example, if you buy a position of power in the tech industry, but are not very smart, do not give a complicated conference or you’ll show the truth (e.g., Elon Musk and the dozen of times he’s been exposed as a pretender, even in games).

Yeah…

Healthcare for Argentina? Milei is destroying public welfare. That’s for other oligarchs. $40B in exchange of… Well, Milei is acting unhinged and won’t explain, but probably lands, water, lithium. Trump bought something, we just don’t know what yet.

He had shitty opinions, we know. I won’t follow them. I will have empathy and I will not celebrate his death. Still, I think the world’s population improved with one less hateful person around.