Comments

1

You didn’t even mention the coming environment catastrophe which in 30-40 years is going to make the world a hellscape of displacement and death on a level not seen since the last Ice Age. And that’s the best case scenario.

2

Charles Mudede has more in common with Ebanezer Scrooge than I thought.

4

Your mother is spot on. There is something quintessentially American about feigning happiness. Most anywhere else in the world, Resting Bitch Face is just the face normal people make when they do normal people things.

But nothing can ever be wrong with anyone here. It's viewed as a weakness caused by intrinsic flaws of the individual, not the circumstances of the world around us. What could possibly cause consternation in the land of the free, home of the brave, a place that was specifically willed into existence by God Himself?

5

Never mind Gene Balk - Charles you have summoned the spirit of beloved Emmett Watson, in all his Lesser Seattle glory!
But it's too late! The six-figure incomes and above get no WA state income tax, and everyone else gets legal weed. Seattle is not going away, in all its depressive grayness!
Until the 4 minute 9.0 earthquake, that is!

6

Thank you Charles, I love it when this phenomenon gets the attention it properly deserves. I can't remember which episode it was, but one time on The Simpsons, Lisa Simpson, during a scene of disillusionment she cries "Why are all the smart people miserable"? The whole Garden of Eden and the snake offering the fruit of knowledge (and the consequences of original sin) is another riff.

4 Perfectly articulated.

This phenomenon of feigning happiness is floridly abundant in the states of California, the Carolinas and most of what lies between them. There's a few different manifestations of the presentation, but Hollywood's pervasive superficiality--the overemphasis of appearance and performance--is the same behavioral coping mechanism as Dixie's 'gracious hospitality and genteel kindness'. It's fake. Phony. Deception Incarnate. Lying to everyone by giving the impression you're successful and happy, and there's nothing going on in your personal sphere of awareness that could possibly be cause for your concern or attention.

To not be smiling and perfect is admitting that there are depressing things in the world. Reality. People who acknowledge reality often appear glum or moody, so what incentive is there to admit reality?

7

"New Data Reveal Seattle to be Most Honest of all US Cities"

9

"There is no god, no heaven, no afterlife."

You don't know that for certain. I don't either, and I am not the least bit religious, but the vastness and multidimensionality of the universe (multiverse?) combined with the implied possibilities offered by eons of evolution and infinite future time lead me to believe that after this life there is most likely something rather than nothing. Life is precious because we know of nothing else - not because there necessarily IS nothing else.

11

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.

12

Don’t wear depression as a badge of honor. All humans struggle, and while sadness is good and necessary, you can choose gratitude. You can always find something to be happy about. Life is good and worth living.

13

Come to terms with mortality... it will make you smile.

14

'you can choose gratitude'
Bingo.

and NW winters are why Gawd
created fireplaces to sit around

15

Jesus fuck. Cheer up, Charles.

16

Gosh, if only we could get people to stop smiling and be genuinely unhappy this holiday season. Thanks for sharing Charles, glad you've found your purpose.

17

Turn that frown upside-down, Charles Dear, and let a smile be your umbrella!

18

"There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan."


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