A Third of Americans Now Show Signs of Clinical Anxiety or Depression (axios.com) 222
A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression (alternative source), Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Post reports: When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24 percent showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30 percent showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The findings suggest a huge jump from before the pandemic. For example, on one question about depressed mood, the percentage reporting such symptoms was double that found in a 2014 national survey.
How Americans responded to the question "How often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?" Someone who answered "several days" or "more than half the days" would need to show other symptoms to screen positive for clinical depression. The 2013-2014 study reflects symptoms over a two-week period, while the 2020 survey reflects symptoms over a one-week period. [...] Some groups have been hit harder than others. Rates of anxiety and depression were far higher among younger adults, women and the poor. The worse scores in young adults were especially notable, given that the virus has been more likely to kill the elderly or leave them critically ill.
How Americans responded to the question "How often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?" Someone who answered "several days" or "more than half the days" would need to show other symptoms to screen positive for clinical depression. The 2013-2014 study reflects symptoms over a two-week period, while the 2020 survey reflects symptoms over a one-week period. [...] Some groups have been hit harder than others. Rates of anxiety and depression were far higher among younger adults, women and the poor. The worse scores in young adults were especially notable, given that the virus has been more likely to kill the elderly or leave them critically ill.
Just tell them what they told us. (Score:2)
Think some happy thoughts and get over it.
Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:4, Insightful)
I sense some residual anger there...
That said, mental conditions are in no way less serious than physical ones. Most people need to experience them first-hand to believe that though.
Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:4, Insightful)
I expected this would be the first comment.
Depression and other psychological issues don't work like that. A soldier can't cure themselves of PTSD by thinking happy thoughts.
The treatments are working through the issues and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which helps you to recognize unduly negative thoughts and deal with them. Medication can also help.
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Tell those that spent the 10 years I was in depression hell telling me that I just have to stop moping.
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Sorry man, I tend not to read the titles (titles on comments are a bit weird) and didn't realize you meant it that way.
10 years is a long time to be living with it. I know from experience. Took a long time to get diagnosed but fortunately when I did I got the help I needed and recovered. What's scary is that I can feel it coming on again lately, with the lockdown and the bleak future devastated by COVID-19 and brexit.
I was so lucky back then, now mental health services have been slashed and we need to help
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No worries, I'm just finally getting to see that exactly those people who were belitteling and berating me back then now break down under depression.
And I can't even begin to tell you how good that feels.
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Think some happy thoughts and get over it.
We support what you are going through and want to help in any way we can. Don't worry we will find a replacement for your position while you work on you.
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Er.....why don't you go outside?
Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:4, Insightful)
You do realize there is no point wearing a mask if you are outside cycling, right? Jesus Christ. What the fuck is with people on this website?
Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:5, Insightful)
There are always details that may not be covered.
I live in a rural area, so I can go out without a mask on. Because if I do run near a person they can be safely 20 feet away from me.
However when I have to go to a city (or even a large town) There are people on the sidewalks or in the stores that just decide to be stupid, unmasked or improperly masked. Getting in your face, or not following some simple rules to make everyone's lives safer.
The mask isn't to protect me, it is to protect everyone else from me.
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But people just don't get it.
Total exposition (Score:5, Informative)
However when I have to go to a city (or even a large town) There are people on the sidewalks or in the stores that just decide to be stupid, unmasked or improperly masked. Getting in your face, or not following some simple rules to make everyone's lives safer.
Medical advice: the risk of transmission for most diseases is usually proportional to the total exposition to (live) viral particles(*).
For respiratory diseases (such as covid-19, but also influenza and multiple others), that means being in close proximity for prolonged time.
Accidentally bumping while walking on the sidewalk into someone who is carrying SARS-CoV-2 virus and not wearing a mask isn't a very high risk. As opposed as working together in the same office the whole day, or spending the whole evening next to somebody in a bar. (see example of case tracing done in Asia and published in medial journals).
That's why you are asked to stay at home during the pandemic. It's not that the outside air will insta-kill you (it will not. and ~19 out of 20 people will not develop any dangerous form of the disease anyway). It's to make sure that everybody stay outside of the range of each-other's coughs, sneezes and spittle.
In theory, you could go out and do sport, and as long as you stay away from other people you'd be safe. Some countries literally enacted such lockdowns (e.g.: CH), though other countries presumed their population won't be disciplined enough and heavily restricted outdoor exercice not because it could directly be dangerous for the population, but because the countries were fearing that the population will use it as an excuse to meet in large group - which would have spread the disease (e.g.: FR, IT).
That's also why some countries recommend wearing masks: sometime you just cannot find a way to stay at a sufficient distance to avoid breathing whatever other people around you excrete (e.g.: spending time in densely packed public transportation). But if you plan to go out biking on your own, you shouldn't need to wear a mask. And you definitely should be required to wear one if you need to take the subway. (though again, some countries just blanket made masks mandatory for everyone, just because it's simpler, e.g.: CZ).
That's also one of the reasons contributing to the seasonal effect on respiratory disease: in winter, people tend to spend much more time packed together in enclosed spaces.
The mnemotechnique for this is:
Avoiding the 3 C
- Crowded
- Close proximity
- Closed space
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(*): same reason why, an HIV+ patient whose anti-viral treatment keeps the viral load below detection level, has more or less the same reason to transmit the disease when banging than anyone else in the general population.
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If you've been completely asymptomatic since the outbreak began (recent studies have suggested that asymptomatic transmission of the disease is essentially impossible)
Don't hang your hat on one cherry-picked study and stop spreading bad advice.
Re: Just tell them what they told us. (Score:2)
No one in NL wears a mask while cycling.
In the last several weeks the canals in Amsterdam are lined with people sunbathing and chatting. It's busier than Ibiza during the season.
In the shops people try to keep distance but it's so difficult in a place with such high population density that you come closer than 1.5 m with at least half the customers.
The roads are almost as busy as before. In fact many people are using cars now rather than public transport.
What I want to say is that the people followed the ru
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You need more than 6' when you are biking.
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Now, if you stop in a crowded area and are close to people (this can be avoided so why?)...then sure, mask up, you don't want to be still and breathing heavy on or around people.
But seriously, riding a bike outside and passing people is going to be safe enough without a mask on you or them.
Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't want to alarm you but this sounds like it could be chronic fatigue related, I urge you to get it checked out.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) can come on when someone who is active is suddenly inactive and under stress, e.g. bed-ridden due to illness or in this case under lockdown. They used to call it "yuppie flu" because previously high energy yuppies would take a week or two off and it hit them, they had no energy and rest didn't help.
It probably not that, it's rare, but it's such a dramatic change for you that I think it's worth getting checked. I live with CFS and it's not fun, but it is manageable.
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The type A personality people/high end extroverts are probably taking this the hardest.
A key part of their emotional health is them interacting with people. So having to be isolated from people is probably what is pushing the anxiety and depression.
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CFS is an auto-immune condition that is related to mitochondria not working properly to deliver energy to muscles. As a result the symptoms are similar to the feeling of having done a great deal of exercise - aching muscles, the desire to rest, difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly.
To manage it you must learn to recognize the signs that you are getting close to "crashing" and then avoid it, which can be hard for a variety of reasons.
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three miles and change a day??? Almost as much as I walk. And yes, I walked during the lockdown. At sixish AM, when noone else was around and about....
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It is not that much cycling really. I used to commute with my bike, that was 25 km one way and on fridays I usually took the really long way back, 70 km, mostly uphill.
Re: Just tell them what they told us. (Score:2)
Sounds like you're being a baby, tbh. If you live in the States, pretty much every state is open in some capacity. Go outside and take a walk or cycle. I've been going to various state parks to hike, and it's wonderful. Plus, there's few people around (which is relatively normal, many Americans didn't go out much even before the pandemic).
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Re:Just tell them what they told us. (Score:5, Interesting)
You underestimate the stress that a sudden dramatic change of lifestyle and pace can have on people. One of the most obvious examples would be soldiers getting demobilized.
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Not really. SS is now scheduled to soon run into deficits which means by law they will cut benefits by about 25%. Boomers will naturally cry bloody murder. The youngins will cry suck up it. Expect another fissure in the body politic.
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Forgot to mention Medicare will soon be under water too. That will make the gray haired really angry.
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Here's a breakdown of how SS has been on and off budget [ssa.gov] over the years. It was off-budget until near the end of the Johnson Administration in 1968. Then it was on-budget until the middle of Reagan's Administration, in 1985 - where it was off-budget for everything except overall Government budget deficits (you can't spend SS funds for anything, but you can look at it as a budget income/outlay). And then the George H. W. Bush Administration (1990) moved it off-budget permanently.
Social Security is structur
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GDP growth [tradingeconomics.com] continued after the 2017 tax cuts.
US Federal Tax receipts [taxpolicycenter.org] grew after the 2017 tax cuts.
Tax receipts as a percent of GDP [stlouisfed.org] are right at the historical average.
Data says that the tax cuts did not cut the GDP growth, nor did it cut Federal revenues. Both increased. Your claim is proven false. Tax cuts aren't the problem - spending growing faster than tax receipts is the problem.
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I think you missed the point.
In general mental illness is shown as a sign of weakness. We had a lot of homeless WWI, WWII, Vietnam vets because of undiagnosed and untreated PTSD. As well people with depression, (A biological cause) where they were told to just get over it.
Less TV, and less phone, and y'all be just fine. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Less TV, and less phone, and y'all be just fine (Score:5, Insightful)
People with delusions of entitlement are the likeliest to become depressed. Life is not a continuous upward trajectory. See "Buddhism thought" for further details.
You mean all those rich bozos who feel entitled to not be taxed one red cent but also feel entitled to be bailed out to the tune of trillions of dollars worth of taxpayer money just as soon as the economy takes a dip? An annoying bunch of entitled bastards aren't they?
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The bailout issue is a tough one. We can give unemployed people money to bridge the gap, but if the businesses are lost, it takes longer to replace the jobs, making the gap bigger. So, if we decide we are going to into debt to hasten the recovery, it seems like making sure businesses are still in business would be a good thing.
The problem with that is that if we tide over the workers and let bloated living corporate carcasses go down, at least we get healthy and competitive companies at the end of the recession that will hire the workers. If we bail out the companies it usually ends up pumping huge amounts of money into companies that are uncompetitive and produce obsolete goods because they missed the bus on keeping up with technological development. However, because they are politically important due to being the big employer i
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I don't know if that is the reason or it is something in your water or food, but with 30% you are doing something wrong. Other countries have 3-5%
https://deximed.de/home/b/psyc... [deximed.de]
Re:Less TV, and less phone, and y'all be just fine (Score:5, Insightful)
That is quite an assumption that people only feel anxiety and depression because of bad news in the media. It couldn't be because they lost their job, had their salaries / hours cut, are worried about the next round of layoffs, are feeling isolated staying home alone all day, are being overwhelmed caring for young children while trying to work from home, have just dealt with the death of a loved one, or plenty of other problems I haven't mentioned. Oh no it must be irrational fear causing their depression. What a joke.
Possible other factors (Score:5, Interesting)
In recent years other stress factors have also increased, such as political polarisation, loss of trust in institutions, awareness of environmental decay, and digital surveillance.
Epecially that last one can be powerful. We know that feeling watched and judged can cause a lot of pressure to be "on your best behaviour" all the time, especially if you don't know how a judgement comes about exactly. According to Pew Research, 60% of Americans now feel they can't go about their lives without leaving a digital trace.
https://www.pewresearch.org/in... [pewresearch.org]
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
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Without more information, there is no way to say anything about this and COVID19. Comparing it to 6 years ago tells us nothing about how it correlates to what is currently going on. It could have been a slow build from 2014 until now or it could have been the same level in December and has spiked since then. You can't make any kind of trend out of 2 points of data, especially when they are that far apart. DO I think that these things are probably higher now than before COVID19? Sure, it makes sense. But tha
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In recent years other stress factors have also increased, such as political polarisation, loss of trust in institutions, awareness of environmental decay, and digital surveillance.
Epecially that last one can be powerful. We know that feeling watched and judged can cause a lot of pressure
I think you're correct, but most of that stuff isn't very meaningful in day-to-day or even year-to-year life.
Political polarization is just jerks refusing to get along and posturing. But actual day-to-day life stays about the same unless you directly deal with government daily. If politics is causing depression or affecting your life negatively, then stop watching the news.
Loss of trust in institutions is a real issue. But a lot of people make up drama or watch exaggerated media coverage. Skepticism and
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I feel you're incorrectly downplaying the issues, which IMO are for the most part very serious and very real.
That said, from experience of having my country invaded and watching powerlessly from abroad (not that I could've done anything there), you're absolutely right that for your own mental health it's important to focus on your own life and tune out anything you can't influene. I used to follow the news in real time and constantly get extremely mad about the injustices and the inability to do anything ab
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According to Pew Research, 60% of Americans now feel they can't go about their lives without leaving a digital trace.
https://www.pewresearch.org/in... [pewresearch.org]
But that's not the same as feeling like you're being watched and judged all the time. I would also have answered that I feel like I can't go about my life without leaving a digital trace, but I'm not at all worried about that. I don't use social media, so I don't really care what anyone outside my family, friends, and neighbors think of me. And even then, there are limits. I'm well aware that I'm getting targeted advertising, but it's not of particular concern to me. I'm pretty sure I'm being tracked o
Re: Possible other factors (Score:2)
We are doing it to ourselves.
Twitter mobs are composed of common people.
When everything you say online is scrutinised by the mob for wrongthink and failure to meet the ever changing and ever crazier criteria results in ruined life, everyone who is normal begins to develop two face. A mask. You self censor your speech. You often have to lie.
Problem is, over time the mask becomes you. And self censorship of speech results in censorship of thought. It's all downhill from there. People ruining each others lives
Guns and Horses (Score:3)
Just give them more guns and put them on horses. America will be going "Howdy!" and "Yeehaw!" in no time.
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It's the extroverts' turn (Score:2, Insightful)
They're rioting in Minneapolis (Score:2)
It looks like you've found your moment to liberate yourself from the extrovert oppressors.
Now, you just need to burn down an Autozone.
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Re:It's the extroverts' turn (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm an introvert and am having a harder time than my extrovert wife with this because of the kids. Now there is 14 hours of the day where my 4 and 5 year old are looking for attention while we are both trying to get our work done. And then there is still my wife who wants quality time with me while I just want to not see another human for a week. I'm only surprised merely a third of people are suffering from clinical anxiety or depression.
Re:It's the extroverts' turn (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, it must be really, really hard with kids.
My wife now works from an upstairs bedroom, and I work from our basement. I go visit her a few times a day, but for me that is not the same as having coworkers around me all the time - family is different. But having kids interrupting you and demanding attention must be REALLY hard. Perhaps you can find a nanny or au pair who is willing to get tested for COVID?
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I've actually found from many people that introverts are having a harder time and extroverts are saying "this is fine"...
How much was it? 20 or 30 million jobs? (Score:2)
That went away in the last 10 weeks. ... Don't know, have lost track.
Anxiety is the least of USA problems right now IMHO. I'd be worried if people weren't anxious.
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If you have lost your job, exercise is even more important to mental and physical health. Don't minimize it for no reason with whataboutisms.
Re: How much was it? 20 or 30 million jobs? (Score:2)
You don't sound happy here.
Suggestion - try another site, or maybe take some time away to calm down?
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If it's not genetic, it's an external factor. Better not wipe out the whole human species before thinking about whether maybe you could do something to prevent these mental health issues.
Media Manipulation (Score:5, Insightful)
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When people are constantly manipulated by all forms of media and advertising to thinking the world is a terrible place or their lives and freedoms must be reduced in some fashion for their "safety", people tend to feel shitty about that.
It doesn't take much manipulation. The world right now is a terrible place. Unemployment : Terrible, social liberties : Terrible, healthcare for people not working due to COVID-19 in the USA : Terrible. The government : Terrible. The way the leaders are behaving : Terrible. The starting of senseless trade wars : Terrible. The rise in populism and xenophobia : Terrible.
Just turning a blind eye only tricks you into feeling better. In most metrics the world is currently a more terrible place than it was 5 year
Re: Media Manipulation (Score:2)
Here is the cure:
https://www.gapminder.org/ [gapminder.org]
Hans Rosling found out some time ago that 95% of journalists in the EU were ignorant about the actual state of the world and had extremely negative outlook opposite to the facts.
Here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=... [youtube.com]
It's lack of eustress (Score:2)
People need a certain amount of stress to keep them on an even keel. It varies between people. A firefighter, or a cop or an ER doctor need a certain amount else they start becoming anxious. On the other end, there are those who need very little stimulation - eustress [google.com]. Lack of eustress turns into distress.
Not having enough stress is anxiety-provoking. It's like the brainstem is still generating the anxiety, but it cannot latch onto the normal stressors, so it will latch onto previously mundane issues and c
Only 1/3??? Shocking! (Score:2)
Even before COVID-19, looking from the outside (Canadians do enjoy a much closer media relationship with the USA than most), I would have guessed the normal numbers were much higher than 1/3.
How else do you explain the rampant reality escapism found in banal offerings like the Kardashians, Survivor and the FOX network??.
You mean "cabin fever"? (Score:2)
The stress/anxiety and depression inherent to isolation is further compounded by financial stressors to the point that it doesn't really matter if there's also a medical concern. I suspect younger adults need to socialize more than older adults, whi
Re: You mean "cabin fever"? (Score:3)
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Being cooped up inside and forcibly isolated is not good for social animals.
Who says I'll be socially isolated? I could really get used to working from home in my pajamas [usmagazine.com].
This seems skewed (Score:5, Interesting)
In the most recent data release, 1 million households were contacted between May 7 and 12, and more than 42,000 responded.
That's a 4% of response ratio. People without care or concern are less likely to voice their opinion than people who have something to complain about.
Happiness (Score:2)
One of my favorite PHD's in psychology ( Fr. Benedict Groeshel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
was famous for saying:
"psychologist ave very good at helping people feel 'normal.'
they can help those who feel horrible feel better, But if you want to be truly happy you need God"
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But if you want to be truly happy you need God
Certainly. Ignorance is bliss after all.
Speaking for myself... (Score:4, Interesting)
I was battling depression for a couple weeks. I don't know if it'll come back. But I couldn't tell anyone while it was happening. I've always sympathized with people who had it, because I knew it gets a grip on you, and it had a grip on me.
It's not the politics and it's not people's attitudes, it's because I'm alone. I get some people are okay alone. I get everyone suffers in their own way. But I just wanted one person to be quarantined with and instead I'm alone.
I wonder how many people who are doing fine are also living alone.
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It works brilliantly to distract from internal troubles in the US.
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A few billion out of a close to $5 Trillion budget and you are thinking saving that is going to save the budget? The biggest driver of the budget deficits are the social programs.
Re: Keep giving aid to Israel (Score:5, Insightful)
"A few billion out of a close to $5 Trillion budget and you are thinking saving that is going to save the budget? The biggest driver of the budget deficits are the social programs."
A trillion military spending for 17 years to beat some illiterates in Afghanistan with handheld guns without any result whatsoever is bad too.
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A trillion military spending for 17 years to fail to beat some illiterates in Afghanistan with handheld guns without any result whatsoever is bad too.
Also Iraq. I suppose for the moment that could be considered just slightly more succesful but that's really splitting hairs.
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A few billion
Everything is a few billion when broken down. The biggest driver of budget deficits is the inability to balance the books. Lumping things into categories such as "social programs" is just an excuse, usually one driving a narrative that you don't want your own pet program to be defunded.
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Wasn't the last mega debt the result of bailing out the banks and too big to fail companies? I suppose that is corporate welfare, a kind of social program if you believe that corporations are people.
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Here's a list [wikipedia.org] of Arab - Muslim, Druze, and Christian - who are currently in their Knesset (equivalent of our Congress). Here is a list [wikipedia.org] of mosques in Israel. For a "racist as f***" country, they certainly don't seem to have any issues allowing all races, creeds, and cultures to participate in the Government and worship how they want to.
Can you show me a list of Jewish members of the Palestinian ruling authority, or synagogues in Palestine?
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Better question - how did Google misspell naive?
Re: Keep giving aid to Israel (Score:2)
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As a White guy, I found that my wallet was just stolen. I see a white guy and a black guy as the only people who could had taken my wallet.
Racist: I assume it is the Black Guy who did it
Racist: I assume it is the White Guy who did it, because I don't want to seem racist.
Very Racist: I assume the black guy did it, while I see the white guy with my wallet
Not-Racist: I see the black guy with my wallet
Not-Racist: Confront both people
Now in terms of Israel. They are doing some things that we don't like politica
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an oppressive, apartheid state at that. Israel does nothing for America in return.
We just have the USB drive and the 8088 processor from Israel. It's not like the Internet or personal computing benefited from Israel at all.
Consider it's neighbors; Israel's Knesset has Jews, Christians, and Muslims present. Walk in Tel Aviv or other Israeli cities, and you'll find synagogues, mosques, and churches. Homosexuality is legal and fairly open in many areas of Israel.
Now go to Egypt. The Palestinian lands. Jordan. Syria. How many synagogues are there? How many Jews or Christians in Gover
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I have seen your posts before, and I've noticed enough hostility that makes me not trust a rant coming from you. You like a fight.
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Is having Norwegian ancestry a sign of being anri-Semitic or a white supremacist?
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Look I get it: you are a narcissistic pseudo-Socialist from the UK. Probably another IT guy. Literally dozens of you around here. We get it. But don't defend Nazis. I'm going to continue to call you fuckers out.
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The real problem is that humans are social animals. We need to be around other people. Social isolation causes depression and anxiety. This is a well-known consequence of isolation commonly called "cabin fever".
Also, your claim that Americans "were already among
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According to https://www.worldometers.info/... [worldometers.info]
As of 5/28/20, here are the deaths/million for a few countries in Europe and elsewhere:
Belgium 810
Spain 580
UK 552
Italy 547
France 438
USA 309
Switzerland 222
Portugal 134
Germany 102
Denmark 98
Poland 27
Greece 17
Keyna 1
As you can see, Europe has some death rates higher than the US and some are lower. If that means you are "better", then Kenya is a model country for the world.
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Some of us even have separate minds.
You all say that.