h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well I think it is a good idea to have this sXe movement over here. Consider, we are just talking good sense - why the hell indeed do so few people understand that it is bad to totally mess up their own lives as well as those of others? Where does the impulse come from that drives people to these self-destructive acts? Who gets to decide what everybody in the world considers to be 'fun'? Is there some sinister plot at work to enslave the world's masses? I dunno. What happened to people's brains, their minds? Is it a massive social death-wish? Do people believe the future is so bleak that the only thing left is to escape from it whichever way?

As far as I understand sXe does not force people into a mold. The most important requirement is that people should realise and consider that they are responsible for their actions, that they themselves will have to deal with the consequences. That is the frigging truth, it applies to everybody on this planet, and whoever cannot understand it is either an incorrigible idiot or still
totally immature. Life is worth living, your body is a miraculous gift, and your fellow human beings deserve your respect. Stick to that and you can't go wrong. People who stick to those principles will not mess themselves and each other up.

I think there are a variety of factors contributing to the mentality of many people today.

It seems to me that a lot of it stems from, largely, the media and our 'consumer culture'. We are told to want want want, and that what we want we should get. We DESERVE to get. We're increasingly told that a person's worth is valued by how 'successful' they are, how popular they appear to be and how many possessions they have. We're told that we've got to look after Number 1 - otherwise, who else will?

And if people don't have any more expectations than getting a nice car or their own house, what DO they have to live for? If there's no hope of them getting these things, or if they don't want to have to slug through the long process through levels education just to get a job which earns them a lot of money making business decisions - then they're likely to have even less of a sense of self-worth. What does society call a jobless person? A failure.

People need to stop thinking about what they can do for them, how they can obtain brief and superficial happiness (not the same thing as satisfaction or long-term fulfillment) and how they can work together so that we can all live for the long-term in comfort and security.

So, Pillowcase, yeah I think people are trying to escape the inevitable. They're trying to escape it - not prevent it.

I don't know. Recently, I've become more and more resentful of this whole rut we seem to be stuck in. It begins to feel as though people's minds are focused about two feet in front of them - or within a timespan of about 50 years. And within that two feet, we're just being fed a load of stuff to distract us, which makes us feel happy for a short time and then we're left wanting, again. Consumerism again - telling us to want, then when we've got whatever it is we want, it's immediately replaced with something 'better', as though it's suddenly more satisfying! It does feel like a conspiracy, but I'm not sure who it's actually benefiting.

I agree Mr. T. People have become obsessed with doing very little for a short term gain: 'The Quick Fix', as its known. Unfortunately quick fixes rarely help, often hindering you and others in the long term.

However Straight Edge is not the way. Straight Hedge(http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/U171794) is where its at. Only when all hedges are straight can we be happy as a populace.

Boolsheet! I hate straight hedges! I will never be happy under the totalitarian regime you propose!

Hey, I don't make the rules up, bub.

Oh, well, that's okay then!!

*raises eyebrow*