this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2023
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Welcome to being poor .... I mean poor poor ... not the kind of poor where you can't afford a Lamborghini ... the kind of poor where you no longer have any luxuries like being able to go to the movies.
Where life is a constant hassle and struggle to survive. And where you constantly have to fight to stay above water. A kind of life where someone is constantly either trying to screw you, is screwing you or has screwed you. A kind of life where you no longer trust the people you see, the people you meet, or the people you live with. A kind of life where you know from the time you are born that everything and everyone will be hard.
I grew up like that and it became a normal part of life.
I learned to make a bit of money and survive and I've done good but not great ... good enough to travel the world. It gave me the insight that the majority of the world is poor ... I thought that before but after traveling, I realized just how true that really is.
The world we're complaining about now is the world that most of the world already knows.
Welcome to being poor and hopeless.
I think this is less about being poor or struggling to survive, more about the struggle to find meaning in modern life.
I'm doing well in life. Could certainly be doing better (who couldn't), but my bills are paid, and there's food on my table. I don't worry about these things, and I don't struggle. But there have certainly been times when I've felt the sentiment of the OP. When your needs are met and you feel a sort of emptiness, trying to fill the boredom with the next best dopamine hit. I almost feel like I'm just floating through life, not yearning for, yet waiting for the day it all ends.
10.2% of US households aren't food secure in the richest country on the planet with limitless food accessibility. I'm pretty sure it is about being poor and struggling to survive.
I don't disagree with food insecurity being a major issue in the US, I just don't get the vibe that that's the topic of the OP.
I once described this to someone as:
You know you're poor when you realize how bad powdered milk is compared to real milk. You know you're really, really hungry when powdered milk tastes good.