Venting thread that still excludes eddy (2)

[cunningham]

Message deleted.

[KathTheDragon]

I reported this. I'm pretty sure you crossed a line here.

It's a joke.

It's always a joke whenever people disagree with you, isn't it?

[Pole, the]

Regaining the sovereignty of European nation states, so they won't be ruled by Belgium (who can hardly control their own non-country).

Europeans are ruled by… Belgium?

[Viktor77]

Regaining the sovereignty of European nation states, so they won't be ruled by Belgium (who can hardly control their own non-country).

Europeans are ruled by… Belgium?

Yea, that's why Europeans are perpetually drunk and can never understand each other.

But seriously, Cunningham, do you know anything about the EU? As I said earlier, I spoke with the Ambassador of the EU to the US today and his message was very positive on the EU's future and the good the EU does. Of course it's his job to say that, but I'm sure he doesn't say that lightly, especially given the environment of the Western World right now.

This is always the biggest problem with the EU. It does incredible amounts of good for Europeans. It's extremely democratic. But Europeans never see it that way. They only see the bad. They see the Union as somehow democratically deficient, ruled by elites, out of touch, demanding and loading its coffers at the expense of Europeans for pet projects...and they forget the benefits. The fact Europe hasn't been at war in over 70 years. The fact the Single Market is one of the largest markets on the planet, able to compete evenly with China, the US, Russia. The fact Europeans can move freely in Europe, can go to most member states and not need to exchange currency. The fact that money is given to support less developed members and encourage countries to make internal reforms to join the EU. After the fall of the USSR, the Eastern Bloc rushed to join the EU. It took them 14 years to get there, but it was one of their first priorities. The ERASMUS program has brought together European youth and encouraged European integration. The EU strongly supports educational initiatives. The EU does so much good, yet no one affords it its recognition. The ambassador made a good point today. Member state politicians go to Brussels and if they get their way they come back and say, look what I made the EU do! If they don't they come back and say, well it's not my fault, the EU blocked me! As a result people support their member state governments over the EU institutions. They believe their national governments are looking out for their best interests but the EU is just there to steal everyone's sovereignty and force them to do whatever Eurocrats (almost entirely democratically elected ones) say....

Give me a break...the EU is not perfect but it's worked well and it's been responsible for the longest period of sustained peace in Europe's history. It needs work. It's a massive undertaking to bring together 28 countries. But it has provided a plethora of benefits, whether Europeans recognize them or not. The EU does not need to go away. The alternative would be much worse. The UK will learn that lesson soon when they are forced to abide by all of the directives of the EU but are afforded no say in them...and when they try to establish a trade agreement with China and China laughs their small economy off the table.

[Pole, the]

Europeans are ruled by… Belgium?

Yea, that's why Europeans are perpetually drunk and can never understand each other.

I don't get it. I thought Belgian people drink beer, not alcohol.

[Viktor77]

Europeans are ruled by… Belgium?

Yea, that's why Europeans are perpetually drunk and can never understand each other.

I don't get it. I thought Belgian people drink beer, not alcohol.

You're right, I was heated and made a typo, I should've said perpetually *buzzed.*

[cunningham]

It's not really the EU though. It's just Germany using Belgium as a proxy and everyone else just leeching.

[hwhatting]

It's not really the EU though. It's just Germany using Belgium as a proxy and everyone else just leeching.

You really shouldn't post when you don't know what you're talking about.

[Imralu]

They don't need hoardes of horny warrior-built barbaric men flooding into every orifice. That should only happen in my bedroom.

I thought you didn't even want to be gay.

Also, as someone with Syrian friends, I can tell you your description is ridiculous and I think I know who I'd describe as barbaric sooner than them.

[jal]

This is always the biggest problem with the EU. It does incredible amounts of good for Europeans. (...) But Europeans never see it that way.

Indeed. Most hit by the Brexit will be the British farmers, who overwhelmingly voted leave. They were fed up with all the regulation, even though 50% of their income comes from EU subsidies.

As for nation states, something cunningham brought up earlier, to think it is possible to have them in Europe is pretty rediculous, when you look at the demographics in current EU countries. I think the concept itself is a deeply flawed utopia. Even in a small country like the Netherlands, there's huge differences between the population of various parts, let alone in large countries like Germany (remember the situation pre-WW I?) or Italy. The idea that countries have a population with a single identity, that's significantly different from those in bordering countries, is a gross oversimplification.


JAL

[Ars Lande]

In any case, it looks like Wilders didn't do that well in the poll.

The iron grip of our Belgian overlords remains as tight as ever!

All hail Lord Gambrinus, our Lord and Savior, Master of Yeast and Hops! May we rejoice in His Lightly Buzzed Embrace and be warmed by His Occasional Belch for ten thousand years!

[alice]

Sorry, I'm with cunningham on this one.

[jal]

In any case, it looks like Wilders didn't do that well in the poll.

Unfortunately, he did quite well, gaining four seats. He didn't do as well as predicted, but it's still not that good.


JAL

[gach]

Unfortunately, he did quite well, gaining four seats. He didn't do as well as predicted, but it's still not that good.

Being left securely in the opposition is probably also to his liking. Actually getting into coalition governments and receiving the responsibilities that come with it is seldom good for the support of populist parties.

[jal]

Being left securely in the opposition is probably also to his liking. Actually getting into coalition governments and receiving the responsibilities that come with it is seldom good for the support of populist parties.

Indeed. The ideal sitution for him would be being the largest party but not being able to govern. This is 2nd best. The right moves more to the right to do his bidding, the left divided and relatively small.


JAL

[alynnidalar]

tbh when I think of "horny warrior-built barbaric men" I think of... Vikings

So... beware of the impending Norwegian invasion???

[Imralu]

tbh when I think of "horny warrior-built barbaric men" I think of... Vikings

So... beware of the impending Norwegian invasion???

By coincidence, I took a selfie this morning because I woke up looking like this:

More: show

[jmcd]

Unfortunately, he did quite well, gaining four seats. He didn't do as well as predicted, but it's still not that good.

Being left securely in the opposition is probably also to his liking. Actually getting into coalition governments and receiving the responsibilities that come with it is seldom good for the support of populist parties.

They already were part of a coalition and it collapsed after about a year so it doesn't seem they create stable government either.

[jmcd]

It's extremely democratic.

It's true that there are regular fair and free elections in the EU, which can not be said for other supranational organisations. On the other hand, the current constitution was decided without referendum (except in Ireland, where it was originally opposed and then revoted without any intervening event) because the writers of the constitution knew it wouldn't survive one. Despite the fact that most people throughout the EU wanted one.

The fact Europe hasn't been at war in over 70 years.

That is mostly true, particularly within Western and Central Europe, but even the EEC didn't exist for the first few decades and the EU is differently organised from the preceding organisation which transformed in the early nineties.

On the other hand, May's alternative is no better. And there are arguments against the EU that are unfounded.

[Travis B.]

I feel that someone is hiding in my car, even though I have not been able to find them. And as no one else has access to my keys, that means they must have teleported there.[/crazy]

In other words, yesterday was a bad day by these days' standards as psychosis goes (but not nearly as bad as, say, early February), and I am still feeling some residual effects from it today.

[Imralu]

Travis, I wish I could grant you at least a two-week holiday from your brain so you could stop dealing with this stuff for a little while and recoup some energy.

[Travis B.]

Travis, I wish I could grant you at least a two-week holiday from your brain so you could stop dealing with this stuff for a little while and recoup some energy.

Things really have gotten a lot better. In early-mid February if I didn't have insight I probably would have been carted off to involuntary. That's how psychotic I was. Now I have some scattered delusional thoughts each day, usually fewer rather than more, and some constant low-level hallucinations. Yesterday was just an off day really.

[jal]

By coincidence, I took a selfie this morning because I woke up looking like this:

Haha, brilliant! Vikings a-go-go!

Travis, I wish I could grant you at least a two-week holiday from your brain so you could stop dealing with this stuff for a little while and recoup some energy.

Seconded!


JAL

[Imralu]

So, this is a vent, not about my mental health but about someone else's. It's not really my right to vent about but I'm not identifying the person to anyone who knows him.

A guy who was staying in my flatmate's room while he's away, who we've known for a while, sent me a message this morning asking if I was home. I said I was. I thought "Oh no, he's lost the keys!" I had a shower and then got another message from him. He said that he'd been threatened on his way home from the bar 100m up the road, had called the police and had then "hidden" in a hospital for the night and was too scared to come to the apartment so he asked me to pack his things and meet him somewhere in public. I didn't know what were his things and what are my flatmate's, and I really didn't feel like lugging his enormous suitcase around... I was supposed to be going to the zoo with a friend of mine but figured this was a bit serious so I told him I'd meet him somewhere and escort him home. He agreed and I met him at a train station.

On the way home, he asked if we could pretend to be a gay couple because he felt safer that way (statistically, this is false!) and he said he'd explain why when we got home (he didn't), so we walked arm in arm and he told me what had happened last night and the gist of it is, he had a bad feeling and then a taxi seemed to be following him so he thought he was being targeted by an organised crime ring. He saw a building's front door was open a cracking so he ran in and up the stairs, crying and shaking - police came and didn't believe his story and wouldn't take him away so he purposefully acted wild so they'd take him away and that's how he ended up in the hospital. He asked to be locked in a room overnight for his own safety.

And this is the bit that I guess the vent is really about. I didn't know what to say to him. Aside from when he briefly mentioned that he might have overreacted a little bit because of the weed he had just smoked, he didn't seem at all aware that this is clearly a mental health issue rather than crime and safety. He had told me how no one had believed his story. I didn't want to tell him I believed it or didn't. I just let him talk. When we got home, he started packing. I offered to walk him to the train station but he didn't need that, he said, and told me to go and hang out with my friend because he felt bad about making me late so I left, but just as I was leaving I sent my friend a text and she said "there's no point now, let's do it another day"... The weather was terrible anyway, so I didn't really see the point in the zoo, but I didn't want to make this guy feel bad for messing up my day, so I went for a walk anyway just to get out of the house. A nice walk in the daylight, even in the rain, does me good anyway.

Anyway, so, I feel really bad for the guy. I just had to tell both of my flatmates what happened. And just now, he sent me a message saying he's home safely in his town on the other side if the country, which I'm relieved about - not because of external danger but in case his brain wanted to send him on any more adventures.

Anyway, it just made me feel glad that I "only" have neuroses and no psychoses. I do get paranoid thoughts but only that people don't like me, not about elaborate scenarios or factual things. Things have been turning up for me lately, which I'll update on when I've got more to tell. I'm glad, that things are, on the whole, slowly improving for Travis too. Mental health... it's so scary when it goes wrong. Hugs to everyone!

[jal]

I went skiing this weekend (three days). I can't really ski, so I had lessons, and yesterday it went pretty well. Could even parallel ski a bit and had fun. Unfortunately, today it didn't go as well, because anxiety* kicked in and I couldn't ski half as good as yesterday. Blergh. Today going home again, and I won't ski for at least a year. Not sure whether I'd want to anywway.

*The pretty realistic kind that I can't keep myself from getting faster and faster without being able to break. Pretty realistic in that that's exactly what happened a few times. I had to let myself crash in the side snow.


JAL