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What do people care about?

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
What do people care about? People spend time and money on what they care about.

From the looks of things, at least where I live in the United States, it seems as if people do not care much about God or their religion; they care more about material things, entertainment, and social activities.

I understand that people need to work in order to eat and pay the rent but that is not what I am referring to. I am referring to what people do not really need, but rather what they want. Other than groceries, they do not need to go shopping, eat out or go to bars, and they do not need to go to the gym or to the movies or sporting events, and they do not need to engage in social activities or go traveling. Is this what people live for?

I understand that most people want all these things but they do not need them. Why is it so difficult for people to give these things up, at least during this pandemic?

Why Aren't You Praying to End COVID-19?

SalixIncendium said: ...So why aren't you praying?

1213 said: I pray that media stops lying about it.

So who here thinks Covid-19 is all a hoax?
 

Nimos

Well-Known Member
I understand that people need to work in order to eat and pay the rent but that is not what I am referring to. I am referring to what people do not really need, but rather what they want. Other than groceries, they do not need to go shopping, eat out or go to bars, and they do not need to go to the gym or to the movies or sporting events, and they do not need to engage in social activities or go traveling. Is this what people live for?

I understand that most people want all these things but they do not need them. Why is it so difficult for people to give these things up, at least during this pandemic?
Marketing serves two purposes:

1. Inform people about a new product, brand or service.
2. Make sure that people think they need it :D

It's a funny question, because I thought about it not long ago.... "What if I were a billionaire, what stuff would I use all those money for?"

The first thing that comes to mind is, well I would buy a huge and really nice house. But then I think, what would I do with all those rooms? having to put clutter in them, having to clean them. I know I could hire someone to do that, but then again, I don't like the idea of having people running around in my house, its sort of like my "private" place and I think it would make me feel a bit like I was living in a hotel. But also I look at places like this:
upload_2020-11-21_3-3-53.jpeg


It looks nice and all, but I don't really see how I could call it home compared to something like this:

images


It's sort of to clean and perfect with no personality.

I might buy a nice car and motorcycle, because it gives me freedom. Maybe some nice furnitures, art.. but then I would really run out of ideas. I hate shopping, if I have to buy something, I know exactly what it is and where to get it, and I make a quick hit and run. :)

I don't like traveling and Im not a fan of going out to fancy places, I mean even going to the cinema annoys me most of the time, unless its a movie I really want to see on the big screen and that you can't pause the movie etc. Maybe I could rent the whole cinema and pay them to pause it whenever I stood up :D

In the end, I would probably end up given a lot to charity and family and friends.

The only thing I can think of that I ever wanted were to not owe money to anyone, especially the bank etc. Because that to me, feels like one is not a 100% free and because I for the most part think they are some scummy businesses. But as it is now, I don't owe them anything, so I really don't know what I would spend all the money on.

If everyone bought clutter like me, the world economy would collapse :D

So who here thinks Covid-19 is all a hoax?
Not sure where this question came from?

But surely its not a hoax, if that were the case it would be pretty difficult to explain the large number of death. Think about the amount of nurses and doctors etc. that would have to be involved... it would be the size of the flat earth conspiracy :D
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
What do people care about? People spend time and money on what they care about.

From the looks of things, at least where I live in the United States, it seems as if people do not care much about God or their religion; they care more about material things, entertainment, and social activities.

I understand that people need to work in order to eat and pay the rent but that is not what I am referring to. I am referring to what people do not really need, but rather what they want. Other than groceries, they do not need to go shopping, eat out or go to bars, and they do not need to go to the gym or to the movies or sporting events, and they do not need to engage in social activities or go traveling. Is this what people live for?

I understand that most people want all these things but they do not need them. Why is it so difficult for people to give these things up, at least during this pandemic?

Why Aren't You Praying to End COVID-19?

SalixIncendium said: ...So why aren't you praying?

1213 said: I pray that media stops lying about it.

So who here thinks Covid-19 is all a hoax?
I dont think its a hoax. Covid is real.

What I do think is Covid-19 has been weaponized politically and has been used as such.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I am not sure most people distinguish well between needs and wants.

Really, we need very little. However, most people are of a belief that that which makes them feel good and keeps them happy is a need. Its not their fault, really. Its the way you're brought up in the US. From the time you enter school, its ingrained in your head to do well, so you can have a nice job someday, and can buy nice stuff, because nice stuff makes people happy(or so its said). Its not encouraged to get a good job to benefit society, or to be a pillar of support to your family, its so you can get money and stuff. And it goes farther than just stuff, we want to be entertained, too. Because after awhile, our shiny toys get boring. But we don't want to sit in the yard with a cup of tea and a book, we want to go here, there, and the other place. We've become used to being bombarded with stimulus, so anything less seems boring.

So yes, during this pandemic, it may seem to many people that socializing less, or in a more private manner is indeed cutting into their needs. They need to feel important, as part of a tribe, relevant, and most of all, not bored. You ask them to stay in, and they feel sad. When they feel sad, they're told their needs aren't being met(because in this culture, the emotion of sad isn't allowed, and often gets confused for mental illness). So therefor, their 'want' to go to dinner with friends becomes a 'need', because heaven forbid they have to experience an unpleasant emotion.

I don't think Covid is a hoax. Its very real, and I have two family members suffering with it currently. One is hospitalized. If we could all just adjust ourselves a bit, there's no reason we couldn't cut back on some of the suffering.

But, this is just the way I see it.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
The divorce between needs for physical health and needs for mental health is part of the biggest problem the US faces. People *need* social interaction no differently than they *need* food and water. Even the most determined introverts still seek out human contact, even at arm's length. And people deprived of these non-physical needs for long periods, whether in an isolation cell or in self-isolation, experience emotional and mental degradation that can have serious, even fatal consequences.

I am adamant about Covid health, but I acknowledge that lots of people are seriously suffering due to the necessary isolation, and I wish that we would do things like, I don't know, promote better mental health accessibility and normalize counseling as no less important than physical checkups, especially for right now.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I wouldn't say a hoax. I might say 'overly feared'.
Look at how many people it has killed. Look at how many people it has made chronically ill. Remember its victims also does include the young and previously healthy. It's not really overly feared as it's a facts the stakes are very high for what the odds actually are. When it comes to death, not too high. But severe and long lasting illness, those odds are not at all good with what's at stake.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I am adamant about Covid health, but I acknowledge that lots of people are seriously suffering due to the necessary isolation, and I wish that we would do things like, I don't know, promote better mental health accessibility and normalize counseling as no less important than physical checkups, especially for right now.
And it's important to keep fighting for it. Before this pandemic politicians only used it as a scapegoat, and it's funding always first to the chopping block. It is crucial this trend reverses, and we see those with mental illnesses as regular people instead of deranged lunatics, violent shooters, creepy perverts and weirdos. It's unthinkably and incomprehensibly rude to mock someone with a cold or the flu. It needs to be the same with clinical depression and anxiety. No one would dare suggest the limitations of a broken bone are all in someone's head. It needs to be the same with ADHD.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
To be fully human we need more than just subsistence. To exist is not enough. We also need to 'fulfill ourselves': to be engaged with the world is ways that allow us to be our most unique selves.

Our mistake, I think, in this capitalist/consumer driven culture, is that we think this fulfillment must be purchased. We think it comes from the hands and minds of others, and that we have to then acquire it from them. (We are told this, constantly, from the day we're born until the day we die.) When really, it has to come from within ourselves, and all we really need from others is an opportunity to share it, and someone to appreciate it.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I would say the thousands of people who have died from Covid probably did not fear it enough.
I do not know why there would be a correlation. That is like saying that those people all died because they were not careful enough, but I do not think that is necessarily the case. It might be true for some but not for all people...

Owing to people's different life situations not all people can remain completely isolated from others so some people are at risk.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The divorce between needs for physical health and needs for mental health is part of the biggest problem the US faces. People *need* social interaction no differently than they *need* food and water. Even the most determined introverts still seek out human contact, even at arm's length.
I do not agree that social interaction is a need the same way food and water are needed. A person can survive alone on a desert island if they have food and water. But even if people do need social interaction, Covid restrictions do not debar them for any social interactions. People just want it all because they are spoiled and selfish. They want to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with their family members as if nothing is going on... The selfish wants of so many people to not have what they perceive to be their rights taken away is the primary problem with so many Americans.

Aside from that, people can also interact online, they do not have to hug and talk in person. In my state since the governor mandate allowed churches to resume services I have not see any cars in the parking lots because people have adjusted and hold services online. The Baha'is have been meeting on Zoom since March, before the governor order not to meet in person.
And people deprived of these non-physical needs for long periods, whether in an isolation cell or in self-isolation, experience emotional and mental degradation that can have serious, even fatal consequences.
But people have not been completely restricted from social contact with other people, just because they cannot meet in bars and restaurants or have parties and weddings, etc. What is fatal is when they get Covid.
I am adamant about Covid health, but I acknowledge that lots of people are seriously suffering due to the necessary isolation, and I wish that we would do things like, I don't know, promote better mental health accessibility and normalize counseling as no less important than physical checkups, especially for right now.
Well, since I am a licensed counselor (although not presently practicing) I fully agree that people should have access to counseling. During this pandemic I have needed counseling, not because of Covid fatigue but because I have other issues, and I have only been able to get phone counseling through Kaiser. I appreciate being able to get any appointments because I have good medical insurance, and I realize not all people are that fortunate.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
To be fully human we need more than just subsistence. To exist is not enough. We also need to 'fulfill ourselves': to be engaged with the world is ways that allow us to be our most unique selves.
I agree, but people can sacrifice their fulfillment for a few months to a year and go back to pursuing their most unique selves when the emergency is over.

Also, not all people become their unique selves by engaging with others in groups. Some people are introverts.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Our mistake, I think, in this capitalist/consumer driven culture, is that we think this fulfillment must be purchased. We think it comes from the hands and minds of others, and that we have to then acquire it from them. (We are told this, constantly, from the day we're born until the day we die.) When really, it has to come from within ourselves, and all we really need from others is an opportunity to share it, and someone to appreciate it.
I never bought off on the American dream because my parents did not raise me that way, and thank God for that.

So when I became an adult I always wondered what all the fuss was about with having new clothes and new cars. Now that I am older, I have a lot of money but have no desire for anything I do not need. Thus the 1986 and 1999 Hondas we drive.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I do not agree that social interaction is a need the same way food and water are needed. A person can survive alone on a desert island if they have food and water. But even if people do need social interaction, Covid restrictions do not debar them for any social interactions. People just want it all because they are spoiled and selfish. They want to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with their family members as if nothing is going on... The selfish wants of so many people to not have what they perceive to be their rights taken away is the primary problem with so many Americans.

Aside from that, people can also interact online, they do not have to hug and talk in person. In my state since the governor mandate allowed churches to resume services I have not see any cars in the parking lots because people have adjusted and hold services online. The Baha'is have been meeting on Zoom since March, before the governor order not to meet in person.

But people have not been completely restricted from social contact with other people, just because they cannot meet in bars and restaurants or have parties and weddings, etc. What is fatal is when they get Covid.

Well, since I am a licensed counselor (although not presently practicing) I fully agree that people should have access to counseling. During this pandemic I have needed counseling, not because of Covid fatigue but because I have other issues, and I have only been able to get phone counseling through Kaiser. I appreciate being able to get any appointments because I have good medical insurance, and I realize not all people are that fortunate.
I think you're underestimating how much limited access to people's social circles is having an impact on on people's health. I don't think that excuses being reckless or selfish. But ignoring their pain doesn't help either.
 
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