Think your job sucks?

[dteowner]

No riverboats in Michigan, we actually have real casinos here.

Well…. real shitty ones at least.

Really? Actual brick-n-mortar-on-dirt buildings not connected to a river or lake? I thought y'all had "permanently docked" boats, since that's usually the way states get started with legalized gambling.

We've got "boats" all over the place- on the Ohio River up towards Cincinnati, and all over Lake Erie. It's not like any of them could sail away, but they're officially on the water in some manner or another. Other than the 2 horse tracks, that's the only place the state government would let them set up shop.

 

[JDR13]

Really? Actual brick-n-mortar-on-dirt buildings not connected to a river or lake? I thought y'all had "permanently docked" boats, since that's usually the way states get started with legalized gambling.

You were probably thinking of Illinois. Michigan has had casinos for a long time, although prior to 1999 only Native American organizations were allowed to own and operate them. There's only 3 non-Indian casinos in Michigan, all in Detroit.

Ohio recently approved 4 casinos that will begin construction next year. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo are all getting full land-based properties.

 

[Thrasher]

Great photos, DTE. Thanks! So cool, and yet uncool at the same time...

 

[dteowner]

@JDR - nothing on my Wolverine jab? I was pretty proud of that one...

 

[JDR13]

I got the "funny cigs", but the "Half Euchre" thing was lost on me.

 

[dteowner]

You're in Michigan, right? If you're in OH, IN, or MI, you must know, play, and obsess about euchre. Quarter for a loner, quarter for a euchre, fifty cents for the game? High stakes gambling, doncha know.

 

[JDR13]

Ah....that. I actually grew up in South Florida, so missed out on the euchre thing. Seen it played a few times since I moved here, but didn't find it very interesting.

 

[dteowner]

but didn't find it very interesting.

Shame it had to go down this way. Enjoyed being your friend.

 

[Anderson]

What an awful job and hard life.

I came home from a stressful day and work, feeling a little sorry for myself. Thanks for the perspective. I really ought to whine less about my little inconveniences and stresses...

 

[DArtagnan]

What an awful job and hard life.

I came home from a stressful day and work, feeling a little sorry for myself. Thanks for the perspective. I really ought to whine less about my little inconveniences and stresses…

I'm not sure I follow.

Some people have a dreadful job and life, which is a travesty.

But, it doesn't mean that people with less dreadful jobs don't have problems or issues.

What matters is whether you're happy with what you have, and then I see no reason to complain. If you're not happy, and you're locked down - then I don't see any reason not to whine about it.

Well, except that whining in itself does nothing - but if there's no way out, at least it can alleviate the stress slightly

 

[GothicGothicness]

I think the point is that this kind of thing makes you realize that your "job" is not all that bad and suddenly you are more happy.

Of course I think that even some people working in that mine under these horrible conditions are happier than many of the people in the western world. After all tough physical labour is better for the human psyche when sitting home unemployed and feeling completely depressed and useless.

 

[DArtagnan]

I think the point is that this kind of thing makes you realize that your "job" is not all that bad and suddenly you are more happy.

Of course I think that even some people working in that mine under these horrible conditions are happier than many of the people in the western world. After all tough physical labour is better for the human psyche when sitting home unemployed and feeling completely depressed and useless.

Your first point is irrational, as far as I'm concerned.

What you want from your job and what you're getting from it, shouldn't be related to what happens to other people in other countries. Millions of people around the globe are suffering each and every day - because they don't have what they need. But that doesn't make your situation any better.

I think a job should be about what you want, not what you think you should have compared to others. Then again, that's not what our world society is about - as it has little or nothing to do with the needs of the individual or the good of the many. People don't really think for themselves, they just accept what they have when they sense it's ok compared to what others have - and compared to the perceived social standard.

As for your second point, I agree. They might not even know what they could have or what they could do to have a longer life. They're just surviving when others likely are not.

That's kinda my point about the obsession with wealth as a status symbol. Apparently, it's fair that Johnny Depp gets paid 55$ million - because the movie profits a lot from his being there. But why are we using our resources on this earth on things like that? Why are we making blockbuster movies when we could be using the resources for something that actually matters?

I'm not pretending that I'm not part of it, because I am. It's a matter of being conditioned - and though I fight it as much as I can, I'm actively contributing to it by paying for entertainment - making the rich richer, so they can waste our resources some more. People think that by paying for entertainment - they're somehow contributing to something worthwhile - but all they're doing is contributing to a world where a few laughs are more important than the survival of human beings.

But it's just a tiny factor in a very large structure that's entirely broken. We don't do anything by changing just this one thing - because people in power in the countries in question will just take control of whatever resources would be distributed in their respective areas.

I just think it's profoundly sad that people don't understand the insanity of paying individuals so much money. Not that I give a shit how much they make, if only there was enough to keep everyone alive and healthy - but there isn't when so few have so much.

 

[Anderson]

I'm not sure I follow.

Some people have a dreadful job and life, which is a travesty.

But, it doesn't mean that people with less dreadful jobs don't have problems or issues.

What matters is whether you're happy with what you have, and then I see no reason to complain. If you're not happy, and you're locked down - then I don't see any reason not to whine about it.

Well, except that whining in itself does nothing - but if there's no way out, at least it can alleviate the stress slightly

GG got it. It's the old principle of remembering that other people have it worse. In psychological circles it's called downward comparison. Compare yourself to people who have it better, and you feel worse. Compare yourself to people who have it worse, and you feel better. It's what the thread title is referencing.

 

[DArtagnan]

It's the old principle of remembering that other people have it worse. In psychological circles it's called downward comparison. Compare yourself to people who have it better, and you feel worse. Compare yourself to people who have it worse, and you feel better. It's what the thread title is referencing.

Yeah, I know the line of thinking - I just don't get it, personally

I don't feel better when others have it worse, quite the opposite - really. But that's an emotional reaction - not a rational one.

 

[GothicGothicness]

In that case perhaps you can feel good that others have it better?

 

[dteowner]

Indeed, you should become a homeless bum to maximize the number of people better off than you. Imagine how happy you'll be.

 

[DArtagnan]

In that case perhaps you can feel good that others have it better?

Naturally

It's a nice feeling knowing that other people are happy. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that people get happier the more wealth they have. It's my experience that it's largely irrelevant once you have your needs met.

It certainly is for me.

I don't meet many people who seem happier than myself, but when I do - I think it's nice. My father, for instance, is perhaps the happiest man I know - and nothing gives me greater joy than witnessing him expressing his fortunate disposition.

Indeed, you should become a homeless bum to maximize the number of people better off than you. Imagine how happy you'll be.

If only it was that simple

I don't feel personally responsible for the mess that is our world, but I feel competent enough to have an opinion about it.

If enough people were willing to take a stand to improve things, as in doing it the smart way - I'd do my part without question. But I'm way too lazy to take the initiative alone - and I certainly wouldn't go homeless - as the idea is that no one should have to do that.

What I won't do, however, is knowingly support greed when I feel I can avoid it. Oh, and I'll gladly bitch endlessly about the ignorance of the human race - as often as possible.

 

[Anderson]

Yeah, I know the line of thinking - I just don't get it, personally

You mean you just don't feel that way yourself, or you can't understand how others might feel that way?

If the latter, then broaden the context and ask yourself, has there ever been an instance in which you recognized that your situation was "better" than someone else's — for instance, that you were more educated, more intelligent, or better looking than someone else … or that you had a more fortunate upbringing, or were born into better circumstances, or had better athletic abilities … or had more knowledge of a particular area, or had better-developed sensitivities toward something, or had a particular personality trait that others didn't have so much of — and, even just for a moment, you felt somewhat better about yourself or your situation?

If so, that's the same thing, just different context.

 

[DArtagnan]

You mean you just don't feel that way yourself, or you can't understand how others might feel that way?

If the latter, then broaden the context and ask yourself, has there ever been an instance in which you recognized that your situation was "better" than someone else's — for instance, that you were more educated, more intelligent, or better looking than someone else … or that you had a more fortunate upbringing, or were born into better circumstances, or had better athletic abilities … or had more knowledge of a particular area, or had better-developed sensitivities toward something, or had a particular personality trait that others didn't have so much of — and, even just for a moment, you felt somewhat better about yourself or your situation?

If so, that's the same thing, just different context.

I feel that way (though I typically feel bad that others are worse off), and I understand that other people feel better about their jobs when they hear this sort of thing.

What I don't understand, is that you're letting a feeling guide you towards the statement "I should feel better about my job."

When I feel bad for others, I don't really think of it as a guide about what's right for myself - or that it should somehow restrict what I'm doing - if I'm convinced I'm doing the right thing.

So, if I think something is genuinely wrong with my job - I don't think it's a good idea to accept it just because there are more things wrong with jobs held by people in other places.

It is entirely possible that a job can be crap, even if another job is ten times worse.

However, if your job REALLY is good and you're happy with it - then of course you should feel "good" about it. But I don't see why you should need to compare it to that of another. But that's how we differ.

That's actually the crux of my point. Almost everything that's wrong with the world is based on the fact that we compare what we have to what others have. I think we should compare what we have to what we need, and only care what others have when it prevents everyone from having what they need.

See my point?

 

[dteowner]

When I feel bad for others, I don't really think of it as a guide about what's right for myself - or that it should somehow restrict what I'm doing - if I'm convinced I'm doing the right thing.

If we take this as truth rather than yet another empty ivory tower platitude, then how do you justify your ongoing campaign for equality (bring up the bottom by stealing from the top)? Your entire structure is based on comparisons and you both recommend and take actions based on those very comparisons.

Sounds to me like you're talking out your ass, although it's very pretty and uses lots of syllables.