Unrealistic Optimism=Overpopulation, but Shhhh!!!!

possible partial explaination for why breeders just...won't...listen .

I had to rant about this, because it really, really made me angry to see this topic written about,yet the example of rampant breeding was not brought up among lesser examples.It made me so angry because it always pisses me off when I see what is happening, and no one talks about it, and if you do, people think you are a monster.Meanwhile, people just keep ...making...more...people.

I left a comment to express my disapointment that the issue of continued rampant and irresponsible breeding even when the evidence that the consequences will be dire was not used along with the less extreme examples illustrating foolish or careless choices people make because of unrealistic optimism, when the overpopulation problem ,and ridiculous choices so many make in the face of it's undeniable reality and frightening consequences, are the most prevalent ,obvious,and foolish example of all....bet it won't get printed.

I hope this made sense . Anyway,ARRRRGGGGHHHH!"£$%^&*()!!!!!!!!!!!!

Placenta Brains that's what it is.....

There was the suggestion that people might not have children if they weren't optimistic, but it was just one little sentence in a sea of pages.

"People with mild depression are relatively accurate when predicting future events. They see the world as it is. In other words, in the absence of a neural mechanism that generates unrealistic optimism, it is possible all humans would be mildly depressed."

I guess I'd rather be mildly depressed than "normal," then. Who wants to be around a bunch of bouncy, happy people who aren't being rational?

It seemed there was a lot of emphasis on the benefits of optimism and not so much on the detrimental effects of optimism.

Yurble, I guess we must be part of the most depressed community on the net, then, huh?

I admit, I am quite happy, generally speaking, but it is because, at this point, my life is nearly all I hoped for, and much more than I ever expected.

I think many people confuse, or maybe even fuse, the concepts of "hope" and "expect".

I "hope" to never get cancer.I do not "expect" to never get it. My mother died of it in her 50's, so I know the possibility is there. I get regularly checked for it,accept it could happen, and hope it won't , knowing I am doing what I can to be prepared.No point worrying, but no point being carelessly optimistic either.

Someone can "hope" they will be able to still go out/afford the things they enjoy in terms of time and money/not morph into a moobody/have well behaved brats, but unless they are prepared to "expect" what,based on evidence all arround them, is more likely, they will be in for a rude awakening.(Repeated awakenings,actually.Most nights.For a very looong time. larious )

Anyway, don't you find the somewhat subtle manipulation of words sometimes seems like just more of the worlds ridiculous bias toward breed breed breed? I mean, is "depressed" the new "observant"? now,so people will try not to be?:eh??

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amy
I think many people confuse, or maybe even fuse, the concepts of "hope" and "expect".

I "hope" to never get cancer.I do not "expect" to never get it. My mother died of it in her 50's, so I know the possibility is there. I get regularly checked for it,accept it could happen, and hope it won't , knowing I am doing what I can to be prepared.No point worrying, but no point being carelessly optimistic either.

I agree. I didn't understand the bit where they said that people who are not optimistic are less likely to care for their health--surely they must be comparing severe pessimists, not realists? I have taken preventative measures for my future health since I was a teen. When my peers were tanning, going to concerts, and driving fast, I was a real stick-in-the-mud: wearing sunscreen, using earplugs at concerts, and driving carefully. I don't spend my days worrying about everything that could happen, but try to minimize the risks of the most probable diseases which could affect me.

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amy
Anyway, don't you find the somewhat subtle manipulation of words sometimes seems like just more of the worlds ridiculous bias toward breed breed breed? I mean, is "depressed" the new "observant"? now,so people will try not to be?:eh??

I noticed how they spent a very short bit of time comparing 'realist' to 'optimist,' and shortly thereafter went on to touting the advantages of optimism over pessimism. I guess the author was overly optimistic that optimism is the best possible option.

amy: Anyway, don't you find the somewhat subtle manipulation of words sometimes seems like just more of the worlds ridiculous bias toward breed breed breed? I mean, is "depressed" the new "observant"? now,so people will try not to be?
Perhaps instead of saying that people are "mildly depressed" they can just call it what it is "being realistic."
Of course, it does sound like all the happy people are just following their dreams, and doing whatever the hell they want, despite the red flags and warning signs that are popping up everywhere.
Breeders and wannabees want to view the world through rose-colored glasses, while CFers see things for what they truly are. The world is overpopulated, overused, its resources are dwindling. Breeders refuse to close their legs despite the fact that they are bringing their baybeez into a world that won't be the same in 30 years.
They don't want to go online and click into "I hate being a mom" to read all the sad stories of unfulfilled moos and duhs. They don't want to see the stats of how many marriages crumble after baybeez are brought into the picture. They choose to ignore all these things, so that they feel happy with their decision to add to the problem.
I've always thought that a person can either be a part of the problem, or the solution. When it comes to brats, I know which side of the fence I'm on.
Edited to add: Also, I imagine the number of breeder wannabees become seriously depressed after they've birfed the loaf and their lives are no longer the way they used to be. That explains the cases of PPD, Post Partum Psychosis, retroactive abortions, etc. etc.
I'll take my "mildly depressed" view of the world, and continue living my contented life of freedom. At least I know that my life belongs to me, and nobody else.

Why must optimism always be equated with shitting brats?

I'm quite happy and optimistic about my life and my marriage and guess what---I don't want to fuck it up by having kids and I'm happy this option exists for us. I'm on the way to early retirement and doing what I want to do.

What's pessimistic about that?

I'm quite content with me life, too. How, exactly (I agree with you, bell_flower) does that make me pessimistic? I'm more or less a realist, too.

---

lab mom

I prefer to refer to myself as a realist or pragmatist.
This runs into conflict with some people in our society who believe that as a woman, I should be positive and optimistic at all times.

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yurble
Who wants to be around a bunch of bouncy, happy people who aren't being rational?

Any non-Mormon living in Utah (you know their tithing paid for the '60 and '02 Olys, right?). Agreed, pragmatist. Living with delusional parents and a codependent grandparent teaches you this very early. I'm 31 and have a RATIONAL fear level that if I don't find a good position by 35 (ageism in the workplace) I will never get out of poverty in Pork Slop. I don't have any working experience (YOU try taking care of a paranoid schizophrenic Mr./Ms. HR), but I am a big smarty-pants (will get my degrees and overachieve like gangbusters), but from what I've heard being too smart means "overqualified" (even for academic librarians?). Oh yes, I want to add that I found tons of my schizo duh's logs and letters to politicians, judges and his old job in order to defraud taxpayers for millions (the docs found out he was lying straight away and fired him rightly- I saw the paperwork) and put it up on my blog. I'm also going to invest in a digital camera that takes video to get some footage of my grandmother's hoarding and put the pics on my blog and the vid on YT. I'll let everyone know when I'm putting up the nuttiness that made yours truly if they're interested.

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lupabiyotch

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yurble
Who wants to be around a bunch of bouncy, happy people who aren't being rational?

Any non-Mormon living in Utah (you know their tithing paid for the '60 and '02 Olys, right?). Agreed, pragmatist. Living with delusional parents and a codependent grandparent teaches you this very early. I'm 31 and have a RATIONAL fear level that if I don't find a good position by 35 (ageism in the workplace) I will never get out of poverty in Pork Slop. I don't have any working experience (YOU try taking care of a paranoid schizophrenic Mr./Ms. HR), but I am a big smarty-pants (will get my degrees and overachieve like gangbusters), but from what I've heard being too smart means "overqualified" (even for academic librarians?). Oh yes, I want to add that I found tons of my schizo duh's logs and letters to politicians, judges and his old job in order to defraud taxpayers for millions (the docs found out he was lying straight away and fired him rightly- I saw the paperwork) and put it up on my blog. I'm also going to invest in a digital camera that takes video to get some footage of my grandmother's hoarding and put the pics on my blog and the vid on YT. I'll let everyone know when I'm putting up the nuttiness that made yours truly if they're interested.

I don't know if that's a good idea. To me, that sounds like an invasion of privacy and attention whoring, kind of like what some of the crack parents do when they post embarrassing pictures of their children. I don't want to sound judgmental but what would you gain by doing this? If you are trying to get a job and these pics/videos are traced back to you, it won't make you look good to perspective employers.

Have you seen a social worker yet? I can't even imagine all of the stress you have to deal with and it sounds like it's taking a toll on you. I really hope you are able to get a good job and leave your situation.

I'm not an attention whore, but I am trying to shame them. The dumb bitch BLEW the bulk of her life savings to but her dead mother's house- $1.2 million (she gave $500k to her sicko brother who lives in a virtual pigsty). And we needed help since my duh put us into massive credit debt. Since then we've paid it off since mom got $50k inheritance from her aunt- $40k all gone and we're still figuring out how much tax we have to pay. We have no insurance, and are buying new furniture to replace the broken shit we've been sitting on for 20 years. Every time I mention we have to go to school and mom needs to go from temp to permanent- her codependency fires up. She just moved our old broken furniture into her mother's house (we had it out for trash collection)- with a ton of other junk. If anything I'm doing this to show people how dangerous mental illness is. My fathers logs about people spying on him (including mom's imaginary infidelities) are a real hoot. We threw him out in '05 so no harm done- but his debt collectors are still calling us. It's all about blowing off 21 years worth of steam and getting revenge. I don't bother with the welfare agencies, they do nothing. And I'll pay for my own therapy once I'm out of Pork Slop Brooklyn.

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lupabiyotch
I'm not an attention whore, but I am trying to shame them. The dumb bitch BLEW the bulk of her life savings to but her dead mother's house- $1.2 million (she gave $500k to her sicko brother who lives in a virtual pigsty). And we needed help since my duh put us into massive credit debt. Since then we've paid it off since mom got $50k inheritance from her aunt- $40k all gone and we're still figuring out how much tax we have to pay. We have no insurance, and are buying new furniture to replace the broken shit we've been sitting on for 20 years. Every time I mention we have to go to school and mom needs to go from temp to permanent- her codependency fires up. She just moved our old broken furniture into her mother's house (we had it out for trash collection)- with a ton of other junk. If anything I'm doing this to show people how dangerous mental illness is. My fathers logs about people spying on him (including mom's imaginary infidelities) are a real hoot. We threw him out in '05 so no harm done- but his debt collectors are still calling us. It's all about blowing off 21 years worth of steam and getting revenge. I don't bother with the welfare agencies, they do nothing. And I'll pay for my own therapy once I'm out of Pork Slop Brooklyn.

I see. Well, good luck with everything. I am just concerned about you.