Will we learn from this?

posted May 4th, 2020 at 2:42 PM

I want so much to say we will! We will stop using credit to pay for meaningless material possessions. We will choose alternative fuels, sustainable goods and to support businesses that do good in the world. We will cook for ourselves, using less meat and more local produce, and save going out for real celebrations. We will cherish our friends, families and lovers for bettering our lives for the time we have them. We will stop letting our irrational fears prevent us from saying “yes” to new opportunities. Wouldn’t it be remarkable if we all took this moment in time, breathed in and out, and committed to doing better for ourselves, for our communities and for our planet?

9 Comments

Mmmm, I don't know.

May 4, 2020 at 6:34pm

We can dream, but the sheeple are desperate to get back to their shallow consumerist lives. It plays a major role in their identities.

Brand goods are often used as symbolic resources for the construction and maintenance of identity. How do signal people without that nonsense? These people feel invisible without it. Cloths, cars, even their neighbourhoods are big part of who they are.

It's going to take more than this pandemic to deprogram a lifetime of programming.

Dream On

May 4, 2020 at 6:48pm

I was in the car biz during the crash. New car sales crashed, then 18 months later they were right back to normal.
Same with credit card debt, consumer debt etc.

And Student Loans?

May 4, 2020 at 7:52pm

Will we learning anything about that?

Anonymous

May 4, 2020 at 8:09pm

I wish it was easier to change.
Old habbits are hard to break.
Like a band aid.
You just need to rip it off quickly.
Hurts less.
Over and done.
You can plan forever but never take the trip.
Take the trip.

It seems

May 4, 2020 at 8:54pm

a lot of people love their old ways and are rushing too soon to get back to them. Today getting groceries, people seem to have completely forgotten about distancing or wearing masks. And not having much patience to stick with being careful even for a short time.

A clue

May 4, 2020 at 9:11pm

Sooo, the car companies offered stupid crazy incentives. Just to sell units at all. Like 5 and 6 years with no interest, cash back, etc...
They only sold half the usual number. But the average loan was over a thousand dollars higher. And the average term is now 84 months. And they sold proportionally more large pickups than ever.
The only things learned from this - FOMO and YOLO.
If any publicly traded weed stocks are left standing in a year or so, I'll be a buyer. Ditto anything else frivolous, ostentatious or addictive. Much like booze and tobacco companies, right now. Bad judgement, stupidity and impulsiveness are highly profitable. The people who trade Trump and Musk's tweets would back me up.
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." - apocryphal, often attributed to Mencken
If you look around at all the trucks here... Canadians are not that different.

Wow

May 5, 2020 at 1:33am

Not even a hint towards the biggest thing we should learn: see China and the CCP for what it is.

Seriously people need to wake up.

Thank you!

May 5, 2020 at 7:18am

Great post OP, especially the first part.
Unfortunately, I highly doubt there will be much change amongst the masses. We have become mindless convenience junkies who happily spend their money at Amazon and never set foot in a local business. Free delivery and I got a sweet deal!!! Yes this is all that matters to many.
We truly deserve whatever the aholes have in store for us.