How Feel Good Stories Let A Broken System Off The Hook

[@SecondThought]

Howdy, friends! I hope you all enjoy this week's video. If you like my content, consider checking out my new podcast, The Deprogram! You can find it on all your favorite podcast platforms. Links to a few below: Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7tk1sTZDeE8p9lnxYLy4Ky?si=vxzYj6G8S0eJQlXk6PVY1Q Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deprogram/id1596666465 Patreon: patreon.com/thedeprogram

[@DecadeAgoGaming]

Imagine what the like to dislike ratio would be on this video if dislikes were still visible... MrBeast has an army

[@Bhatakti_Hawas]

I truly enjoy ur podcast. Plz try to do at least 1 podcast every week. Or may be 2 ;-) The in depth discussion & banter between you 3 puts a big smile on my face

[@bootstraphan6204]

The podcast is SO GOOD! 👍😊

[@Junket-20]

Youre a good content creator. Keep up the good work and Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas

[@Niko257x]

You do realise that you've created an echo chamber on yt with your content that doesn't get premoted by the algorithm. I'm not saying that your views are wrong but I'm saying your premoting more radical ideas with these videos just like anti vaxxers on facebook and flat earthers. Not criticism just something for you to be mindful of. :)

[@metalmechanic6664]

Every single story is like, "6 day old Michael raised 50,000 dollars selling his placenta to save 6 fellow orphans from the orphan crusher. Isn't this wonderful?" And nobody stops to ask, "Wait why the fuck do we have an orphan crusher?"

[@vividesiles3763]

Oh my god, I laughed so hard to battle the tears😆

[@2FadeMusic]

literally dude lmao

[@grmpEqweer]

Because orphan crushers are THE AMERICAN WAY! Don't you dare question the American way, you commie!

[@magicfish8213]

You know why dont we ?

[@Gwestytears]

So we can employ people as orphan crusher repairmen

[@bzm1467]

The fact that "lunch debt" is something an 8 year old has to worry about is insane

[@hezuikn]

@@mrbevelaqua8649 school AND debt; literal hitler

[@man4437]

Well, you know, gotta start them off young. They'll be in debt their adult lives too I genuinely didn't mean to make this sound so grim but... it's not really on me, is it

[@KouNagai]

Americans 😔

[@KouNagai]

@@mrbevelaqua8649 its a democracy tho just stop it by voiting someone diffrent also you have free press? Like wtf man thats just painfull to hear

[@brainsteroids8043]

@@man4437 never apologize for it. Tell it as it is.

[@sambilson1559]

speaking as a disabled person, society uses these things with us all the time, we're somehow "inspirational" even when we are dying because of the system

[@aesthetichoarder8248]

So fucking true One time I had to switch physical therapists for a couple of months because my regular one was pregnant, and the one I switched to went on and on about how her brother's new girlfriend could never get out of bed, never did anything, frequently had panic attacks, and didn't have the strength to walk sometimes. I was like "Is she okay?" And she was like "Of course she is, she's just being lazy". And it was a shock because I was literally there because of my disability, and it sounded like her brother's gf has some sort of disability or mental illness. So I told her that I literally have the same problems and that I do sometimes can not walk, often can't get out of bed, etc. She said that I was different because it's obvious that I'm "actually trying". That I'm an inspiration and put in the work to try to get better and be normal. That pissed me off so fucking much. That woman is probably working just as hard as me! Whether or not you receive help & make it in life as a disabled person is LUCK. I just happened to be born in a family who can help me pay for my meds and therapy, I just happened to have enough strength to go to physical therapy, the work I did put in just happened to work out for me. Someone could be in the exact same situation as me too and put in the exact same amount of work, and they just might not have the luck I have to continue going. Phew, sorry to dump that on you! I was going to make it a short story but I kinda got more angry the more I typed! Very glad I have my regular physical therapist back.

[@sambilson1559]

@@aesthetichoarder8248 all I can say with this Comrade, is that these people are numerous! they are nothing special, You and I are better off not engaging with them lol

[@flask223]

Good point

[@jooot_6850]

mmm, sure, but keep it up guys! the People loooove to see you struggle against things the People also implemented!

[@flopkito]

yep. but, i’m gonna keep trying and working hard to live. no matter how ostracized or in pain i feel, i have to keep going. i have severe tourette’s syndrome and autism, and to every disable person out there nobody is truly alone

[@melonpop_5303]

A 5 year old girl just spent 2 months straight without sleep, food, or drink to raise 10,000 dollars to prevent one of her fellow classmates from being thrown into the bottomless pit of despair. Isn't that just wonderful?

[@juiceoverflow]

Btw if you want to do anything to fix this you're an evil socialist

[@3_pancakes767]

The bottomless pit of despair tuly shows the best among us! We should strive to threaten to meet the monthly quota of 500 kids thrown in per day!

[@benjaminsymon]

​@3_pancakes767 insufficient. If we up the numbers by a few orders of magnitude it will be much more fun

[@maureenobrien9268]

Um, you know that humans can’t survive without water for 3 days, much less 2 months

[@battleman146]

The fact that 5 year olds have too sell lemonade to pay for chemo is horrible

[@haleybrown2836]

Nothing heart warming about these stories. My reaction, disgust. We are not progressing in the States but regressing to where the Lord of the Manor had everything and the rest toiled incessantly to keep him there and his minions were expected to be thankful for any little handouts given.

[@michaeljosephjackson2364]

@@haleybrown2836 racism getting worse Us hospitals getting expensive It's safe to say that us is getting worse

[@RobertTempleton64]

And people like Bezos et al make more money per second than most people make per year and have no empathy or humanity to be found.

[@dayones4596]

@@michaeljosephjackson2364 out of everything muh "racism" lol

[@laindoer333]

@@dayones4596 medical racism exists. dont be dense.

[@VarsVerum]

The answer to solving *literally* any problem is to figure out the root cause of it. Instead of putting a bucket under a leaky ceiling, patch the leak. Things like TeamSeas or those lemonade stand kids are certainly better than nothing, but they divert attention away from what is causing the problem in the first place. Prevention is the best medicine in life in general lol

[@onnol917]

The US has never done prevention. Unless its about equality

[@Nai-qk4vp]

"b-but something HOOMAN NETURE" All human problems have human solutions

[@big_sea]

yes

[@VitaeLibra]

There was a climate scientist that made roughly the same argument about team trees and he got hated on for not supporting this wonderful fantasy that planting a lot of trees will solve everything Edit: oh he actually mentioned Simon Clark. I forgot his name. That's the guy. He made the same argument with team trees as he did with team seas. And he's a CLIMATE SCIENTIST. Of course the youtube comments decided they knew better than him...

[@Just_a_turtle_chad]

What they're doing is good but it's not going to fix anything until the core of the problem is fixed.

[@SennaHawx]

As a kid I had a classmate who was diagnosed with Leukemia. Thanks to our regular health checkups via our school (so the family situation was irrelevant) he was diagnosed early and since he was so young it wasn't deadly. He still had to spend almost 2 years in hospital. Due to sick children, the hospital had a school, so he didn't miss out on any years of his education and joined the regular school system in the 5th grade again, without any issue. He's now still alive and healthy This whole thing cost the family 0 additional Mark (Germany's currency pre-€). Every time I see these US-American headlines, it breaks my heart

[@hepthegreat4005]

The worst thing, is some people *like* our system. It's insane, and they're brainwashed, but there you go.

[@grmpEqweer]

I read somewhere that the average cancer patient in the USA graduates care with 10,000$ in medical debt. 😬

[@pablobarrios7681]

A fellow leftist chainsaw man fan? I salute you, comrade!

[@grmpEqweer]

@@almamater489 Just remember, that's an average. It can be way more. Edit: And mind you, one estimate says 68,000 people die per year here of preventable causes due to no insurance.

[@grmpEqweer]

@@massacrematt4613 Oh, yeah, certainly. I forget where I got that figure. I believe it was on a cancer awareness site. That's what people WHO HAVE INSURANCE still get stuck paying for, basically. I still have a somewhat crooked arm because I ran out of insurance. I had about 30 k in coverage, and did a number on it. _...That was in 1991..._

[@Josh-99]

When I was very young, I remember there was a girl in my elementary school who couldn't afford lunch. She never seemed to have anything to eat for lunch, and I couldn't honestly tell you why her parents didn't at least give her something to bring to school. She was so sweet and so upbeat all the time, and was a good friend of mine; she was just one of those little kids who always seemed to be happy. One day I found her crying in an empty classroom. It was just pure luck that I stumbled on her, and I can't tell you why I was going into that classroom to begin with; maybe I had forgotten something after art class or something along those lines. I asked her why she was crying and she said that she was so hungry she was in pain. I was confused because she seemed so happy all the time, and I'll never forget her words: she had to make herself smile or she would cry. I was 7 or 8 years old (second grade), but even then I understood. I got so angry at the teachers and the cafeteria staff at lunch the next day. I DEMANDED that they give her food, and I wouldn't listen to anything they said about her family not having paid. I created a huge scene and they dragged both me and her to the Principal's office, where I yelled at the Principal for not giving the girl food. They called my father, who came from work. They explained the situation to him, and he told them how disappointed he was... in the school. He told them that he grew up in abject poverty on a Caribbean island, sometimes stealing sugarcane to survive, and emigrated to America because he knew -- he KNEW -- that there is no way AMERICA would let one of its children starve. CERTAINLY if a child at the school was starving and another student let the teachers know, they would just give the child food. His son, a second grader, was the only person in the room who had the courage to do the right thing. My father isn't perfect -- nobody is -- but I will never, ever forgot that day, no matter how old I get. His response was peak humanity, peak fatherhood. And to this day I still advocate that everybody -- children and adults both -- should ALWAYS have a way to get healthy food, warm clothing and safe shelter at no charge regardless of their means if necessary. It doesn't need to be extravagant; it just needs to be available. I'm not talking about charity services -- these are the basics of life that a functional, modern government should provide to ALL of its citizens, no questions asked.

[@owencole5774]

Thank you for sharing your story. I completely agree with you.

[@kyle4563]

I hope the girl is doing well.. but even so, there’s still millions of people going hungry every day. I’m glad that there are still basic humanity left in some people. Because it’s what we need in order to fuel change.

[@PS-dm1dq]

Your father sound like the best role model a kid could have. Good for you for making a scene, you were completely right and it is disgusting that so called "responsible" adults would let a kid starve to death like that. I hope the school officials were appropriately ashamed after your dad called them out like that?

[@WhySoSquid]

"It doesn't need to be extravagant; it just needs to be available." +++++++++++

[@Josh-99]

@@PS-dm1dq I don't know what happened after that. My father had me sent back to class, and he never said a word. All I know is that the girl was able to get food for lunch, but I don't know if he shamed them into doing the right thing or just paid for her lunch himself. He did tell me how proud he was of me that night. It made a huge impression on me, and I've been involved in community service and political advocacy pretty much my whole life because I came to love the feeling of satisfaction I get from helping people out.

[@applechomper6514]

“When I feed the poor they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry they call me a communist” -Hélder Câmara

[@polishrepublic5055]

If adults who live in one of the wealthiest country in the world can't afford food there is something wrong with those adults

[@AlucarDarkiush]

@@polishrepublic5055 more likely something wrong with the country

[@polishrepublic5055]

@@AlucarDarkiush He who does not work, neither shall he eat

[@angelTechnician64]

@@polishrepublic5055 i work full time and regularly have to forego food because i need to buy medicine. Try again.

[@polishrepublic5055]

@@tuckerbugeater it's something different, those people are really in bad situation.

[@joshuahafer]

The correct response to this is "I don't want to live in a world where the only solutions to our problems are generous rich people."

[@nataliekhanyola5669]

💯💯💯

[@bpalpha]

Who obtained their "wealth" by exploiting the labor force and the environment seems to slip the minds of everyone.

[@matthewfusaro2590]

Generous rich people? No, generous middle-class people, and they are dying off.

[@thepsychocyborg9278]

@@matthewfusaro2590 The "middle class" never existed to begin with: They're just slightly wealthier proletarians.

[@Eyclonus]

Agreed, also cause that feels like its the step before we start advocating for Nobility and Royal Blood

[@mrsbasia122]

Reminds me of how, instead of wage increases and hiring more workers to levitate over-worked staff, managers motivate their employees by buying them pizza. When our manager did this, and ASKED us to say ‘thank you’, everyone in the room remained dead silent. You could practically feel the seething resentment in the room. It was extremely uncomfortable.

[@topphatt1312]

Good, make your parasite bosses squirm and writhe under the united glare of all workers.

[@juiceoverflow]

When you see a pizza in the break room it lets you know the quarter was prosperous for the company and you'll receive absolutely nothing of it

[@tartipouss]

Weird. I remember seeing the exact same comment word by word but on reddit last year

[@doemdirtydavis9240]

Oh u want a raise how about pizza party instead 😂

[@ComradeDt]

@@doemdirtydavis9240 without toppings too

[@artimiss1238]

I remember seeing a local news clip about a woman who toughed out her labor contractions by walking 5ish mi to the hospital so she could spend less money on healthcare and more on her child when it arrives. I was so angry against the overpriced healthcare system, but the news person kept going on about how tough she is, what a great mom she is which only made me madder. Yeah, she was amazing, but holy shite, no one should ever have to go through that.

[@ticktockontheclock5691]

Sounds like that story needs a re-write complete with dark gloomy music and an interview with the mother about the real horror of having to walk to the hospital in active labor because she can't afford otherwise.

[@unterhau1102]

Sounds dystopian

[@melodybaoin1425]

Teacher in a third world country here. Feel good stories is junk food in my media especially when it comes to the field of education. Every single time there is a headline that says: " look at this kid who is walking across oceans just to get to school", " look at this kid picking paper from the trash can so he can have materials for school, such a good boy, why can't all student be like him" , or in the case of teachers ' look at his teachers crossing across an ocean just to teach their students in a place with no roads, such hard workers ❤️❤️❤️"....I want to rip my hair off. Clapping kids or teachers for their hard works is just empty praises. It is a way of patting people in the back without solving the problem. For these kinds of stories, the message is either:. " huhuhu look at this poor people struggling, you entitled little twats should consider yourselves grateful" or " awwww look at this child from a family of farmer/fisherman/lower class struggling to get their basic needs, how inspiring ♥️♥️♥️♥️". Thankfully, things are slowly getting better as some of these media outlets are active in providing resources like school supplies and roads for these people. However I know this is not enough as it feels like short term rewards instead of a long term solution.

[@society1876]

@@melodybaoin1425 where i live there isnt even that, every news story is just a random tragedy, like the story about an engineer or something dying gruesomely. theres no point in that story, its just 1 death, but these fuckers still make these

[@DragonOfTheMortalKombat]

Don't what the hell is wrong with news outlets sometimes, why they feel shame in exposing the bad system and why people accept it so blindly.

[@jeffherringa4709]

On Undercover Boss, only 5-6 people may be helped, but then the rest of the employees are left to fend for themselves. It's basically a feel good TV screen moment for those who are helped, but doesn't solve systemic socioeconomic issues of capitalism. My dad and I agree, the powerful are looking for a good "sob story" to hide their greed or disinterest for most Americans' struggles in life.

[@rushrush1209]

Agreed. Undercover Boss is a publicity stunt and CEO's don't want to look bad on national TV. Only reason they are generous to those few on TV.

[@ChrisGuerra31]

It's an admirably cunning strategy. Everyone seeing the story gets that thought in their mind that they are possibly being watched and that if they just work extra hard, maybe their "pursuit of happiness" moment will come. America needs to start looking at the good things that are just common sense for other countries. Free healthcare, rehabilitation centers for criminals, the homeless or those suffering from drug addiction, better food programs for children and at least widely affordable higher education. Cave Johnson said it best: "When life gives you lemons, you don't make lemonade! You make life take the lemons back! GET MAD!"

[@stardragon7893]

@@sovereignindividual2625 Because poor people must be "monsters." Maybe they just don't make enough to get by.

[@aquasnippy]

@@sovereignindividual2625 what about being addicted to drugs makes someone a monster? Explain

[@lovejoy11_11]

@@sovereignindividual2625 We all have some kind of addiction. Some of us are addicted to hate, intolerance, and judgement.

[@recedinghairline5696]

Its heartwarming to hear until you realize "why should a 6 year old be selling lemonade just to live?"

[@whysocurious7366]

Well, you see, [insert economical smart-sounding BS that doesn’t justify the problem at all]

[@thedarkdojo5115]

Humanity: The ONLY species that pays to live...

[@bread9815]

And lives to pay

[@sharstarg2414]

Literally why I wish I had a kid/kids. Ppl would give to a kid before helping an adult 😒

[@Hyperion4K]

@@whysocurious7366 omg ikr, literally every comment has replies like these, literally you could say something like "1+1=2" and somehow someone will completely miss the point and turn it into a politcal issue and bring up race or something

[@fatcat1414]

I like to call these stories "poverty porn" where people can feel good about themselves by taking a peek at the suffering of the poor and say "hey, look what humans can do with a little bit of kindness :)" while simultaneously calling things like universal healthcare "a free handout."

[@transsylvanian9100]

The whole point of charity is that it's limited, that it only ever amounts to a fraction of what is needed, and that those with wealth get to decide who is deserving of the scraps they offer out of the goodness of their hearts, it's a way to play god and choose who lives and who dies. If it was a universal program then everybody would get it and that is a huge problem, suddenly this is no longer something that the poors need to thank you on their knees for, it is a legal right. Universalizing programs takes away the power to reward or punish certain people or certain types of behavior by giving or withholding charity.

[@oilslick7010]

@@transsylvanian9100 This! playing god and deluding themselves that they alone have the power to solve an otherwise unsolvable problem. That's what they get off of

[@Roxor128]

@@transsylvanian9100 Charities are workarounds for bugs in government that need patching.

[@transsylvanian9100]

@@Roxor128 Maybe in a few select cases they are. Most of the time they are just tax loopholes and PR opportunities for the wealthy. A large part of the money just goes back into the pockets of the very same people, of various corporations, or is wasted on bureaucracy and administration. They often do more harm than good, especially when it comes to helping people in developing countries where western so-called aid most of the time is highly disruptive to the local economy and the social fabric. They create dependencies in those places instead of offering real development. In addition to this, charity creates the false impression that the giant problems caused by capitalism can be and are being addressed by individual action. This in turn is used to suppress calls for systemic change. There may be a few exceptions to this but most charity is a scam, a deliberate ploy by the rich to maintain their wealth and power by looking like they are giving a few crumbs away and to score prestige points with their fellow rich ghouls.

[@legitplayin6977]

May I subtly suggest the name “Poornography”?

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

This reminds me of them hiding Dislikes on KZbin. They are doing it supposedly to "stop small creator harassment." despite the fact most small creators do not face this harassment and still see the effects of said harassment. In reality it is done to protect corporations who release bad products that get mass dislikes so less people realize the flaws.

[@koibubbles3302]

The only video I’ve ever seen with more dislikes than likes was KZbin rewind, so I don’t think it’s doing anything either way.

[@n1ppe]

@@koibubbles3302 There's a bunch of videos that had more dislikes than likes, but pretty much in all cases the videos were shit.

[@biggestnibba]

@@n1ppe that or the content creator deserved it for being a rapist/groomer

[@Diamond-OSCandMarblestuff]

They do that to protect big corporations

[@n1ppe]

@@Diamond-OSCandMarblestuff From what?

[@jlcii]

I went through that very situation when I was a kid, and my mom forgot to fill out whatever paperwork for the school year for me to receive free lunch since we were low income. That lunch lady literally took my lunch away from me, and threw it in the trash in front of me. I was 7 years old. The fact that this has still been going on to this day absolutely disgusts me.

[@RiftVaulter]

I had so much lunch debt after 5 months of school sophomore year, 357$ dollars

[@jingbot1071]

I just want you to know, just reading that made me reflexively say "fuck that lunch lady" out loud.

[@90sajen]

@@jingbot1071 They probably have to, to keep their jobs. Probably also have bills to pay.

[@jingbot1071]

@@90sajen Then the job isn't worth it.

[@90sajen]

@@jingbot1071 Bruh wtf. Do you think they enjoy conciously denying hungry children food. Acting like they get to choose where they work. Your privilege is leaking man.

[@glebjohnson9057]

When I first heard of that lunch debt story I thought "Wtf that's a thing? America is crazy." How can people be so delusional to not see that this is not how society is supposed to be?

[@marghea4008]

i was thinking the same thing! when i think of a feel good story i think of like idk "old man adopts this cute dog from a shelter" and not "a kid raises money for his firend that can't afford school lunch bc the system is fucked up". Doesn't feel really good to me tbh.

[@tumultoustortellini]

My schools middle school and above have always had free and/or reduced lunch options. That's not universal, of course the fact that's seen at all is awful.

[@thebuilder5271]

They aren’t mentally disabled they’ve been brainwashed by the system and by conservatives and capitalists. Don’t throw around medical terms like “delusional”

[@glebjohnson9057]

@@thebuilder5271 I'm sorry for my use of words. I understood it to mean "believing things that are not true" and wasn't aware of it being a medical term.

[@JoetheDilo1917]

Because we've been brainwashed to believe that this is the only system that works "in spite of it's flaws," and that any other way of doing things will inevitably lead to some totalitarian nightmare dystopia.

[@downwindfish1]

School lunch debt may be the most capitalist thing I’ve ever heard

[@RedSunUnderParadise]

*Tips shades in Ancap ball*

[@snowcrabby5544]

Babys must now pay for formula and those who don’t must amass debt

[@mewmimo8465]

In our school we have a fast food cafeteria, and there a plate of noodles is around 50 cents(ppp adjusted)

[@Palafico3]

@@mewmimo8465 Wow, a cup of empty carbs with no nutritional value for 50¢?? Capitalism is cured!!!

[@Random_dud31]

Thats not even capitalism. Capitalism means the cafeteria will have many suppliers competing for the customer America a socialist country where govnement provides for the corporations

[@AntonArmsberg]

The owner of GoFundme already famously said: "Our company is NOT a subtitute for proper healthcare"

[@juiceoverflow]

Conservatives when you tell them crowd funded healthcare should not be a reality in the most wealthy nation on the face of the planet

[@belendomar964]

Preach!

[@idjles]

But he’s making a lovely profit anyway.

[@melanieclark2668]

In Germany, the need for charity is seen as a failure of government, and not the fault of those in need.

[@itsmetimtim]

I wish I lived in a country with citizens that know when they are being taken advantage of. In America, most people actively worship those who have more power than them, no matter how corrupt they are. Even when it is obvious that the government has failed the people, our people will always come crawling back to authority, instead of fighting for our rights. Nobody ever thinks for themselves in America.

[@sebys1414]

germany is not backwards unlike the US, they understand socialist values are important for the average citizen

[@TheSorrel]

What? We have entire TV Stations whose only content is making fun of "antisocial" welfare receivers.

[@KingMickeyMouseOoO]

@@itsmetimtim Well......that's slowly but surely changing. In good times, the American people are NOT going to be like "Oh, it's okay, I'll stay here and work at this crappy job because I'll get replaced by someone else otherwise." After Covid-19, "The Great Resignation", the "independent movement", etc., I can safely tell you that times ARE changing! Gen Y and Gen Z especially are looking back on their lives and saying, "What the--?! Where are my good old days?! Why am I screwing up royally?! What happened to "good times" for me?!" and so forth! Then again, Gen X is starting to see this as well, at long last, but as for Baby Boomers and WWII generations, they're all just like "Oh, work harder! Praise and worship the wealthy elite and powerful! Do what your wealthier and celebrity counterparts tell you to do!" So yeah, there IS a change that is indeed coming! People, like me, HAVE woken up! And more ARE waking up as time goes on! Gen Y and Gen Z especially are all opening their eyes!

[@bastooo3]

*failure of society. government is made out of people. we should never talk about it as a separate thing.

[@DanRyanCarter]

I worked at a warehouse where the owner was on undercover boss. It backfired because not only did they select two people and give them life changing amounts of money while all of us were poor, he also shot a montage at his mansion which none of us had seen before. We all kinda realized how fucked up it was that this rich dude could have spent that money on installing air conditioning on the factory floor so people weren't fainting on the job, but instead they spent it on two individuals as part of a tv show to make him and the company look good. Their resolution to the heat problem on the factory floor without air conditioning was to hand out free Gatorade. Several people on my team fainted from the heat and I think I heard that after I left someone died or had serious complications beyond fainting. They bought the selected guy a car, the selected girl a bunch of camera equipment, and gave them both thousands of dollars on top of it.

[@CraigKeidel]

Undercover Boss is the fuckin worst, just a way for capitalists to pat themselves on the back while they exploit the working class

[@alexthewrecker4666]

We are a nation of temporarily embarrassed millionaires

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

I remember the GA Republican who wanted child labor for poor school kids. Jack Kingston. I reported it at my radio station. I got into a little trouble for veering into a rant about him. I grew up poor while attending classes in elementary school that were advanced and filled with well off kids. The prejudice was overwhelming. I told off Kingston on the air and concluded my news read with, "Remember poor families, Republican Jack Kingston is after your kid."

[@anmolt3840051]

It's like watching Americans reinvent the caste system in real time

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

@@anmolt3840051 Damn straight.

[@angelTechnician64]

@@tuckerbugeater people's lives are more important than "productivity" and laziness is a lie

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

@@tuckerbugeater the only problem with capitalism is that we don't do capitalism hard enough!

[@Lack_Of_Interest]

@@tuckerbugeater Are you a basketball player? Because you sure love pivoting.

[@FreyaEinde]

My far more cynical view on these stories is that if elementary school children can easily reason out solutions to poverty we as adults should feel ashamed for perpetuating systems that keep it in place because clearly even the slightest effort would make a difference and we’ve chosen to make things more difficult for people for no logical reason beyond cruelty.

[@enter_eagle]

Helping those in need live is such a *childish* idea, you really should just grow up /S

[@Hyperion4K]

your not just being cynical lol, your just right

[@SMPKarma]

It's not that adults don't know how to solve these problems. It's that solving them would decrease profits for our owners, or even require abolishing capitalism altogether. So our owners spend loads of money on propaganda to try to make said adults believe that helping starving children and the like is as bad as what Hitler did. And given the gutted education and all sorts of misinformation campaigns, working class people believe it.

[@matthewgagnon9426]

But if we solve the problem then billionaires wouldn't be billionaires! And is that *really* fair to the billionaires? Could you tell the weeping billionaire that they will have to go without their third yacht for just a month?

[@unterhau1102]

@@matthewgagnon9426 oh no, poor Elon musk and Jeff bezos, whatever will they do?

[@dronestrikejr]

Im 25 and black, in NY i literally remember having to plot with my other black classmates on how to steal our lunch everyday because it was $2.25 for lunch meal per day, might not sound like alot but 5x a week for a year when your broke school student living in poverty it added up, its so messed up how they run us dry and punish poverty

[@perdition79]

See, that's what the academics and the elites too far removed from the masses don't get: that people are survivors. You're denied lunch due to economic and bureaucratic circumstances, but you don't just cease to exist. You find another way to endure, rules be damned.

[@hakageryu307]

@@perdition79 They completely understand everything you just said. If they didn't, they wouldn't be sure to make it so poor people get severely punished for just trying to survive. They knowingly make sure that they push the narrative that causes so many people to fetishize the concept of helping the less fortunate being "Evil Socalism/Communism", but bailing out and subsidizing the wealthy as "Boosting the economy". They rather people fall in line with the status quo than actually learn a bit how things work.

[@LegioneSacra]

Forgive me ain't american... can't you bring a sandwich from home?

[@PresidentialWinner]

What is this babble? You steal. You must understand that is wrong. Don't make excuses.

[@mduckernz]

@@PresidentialWinner I think most people, if they're actually honest, will steal if the alternative is going hungry

[@ross4]

News programs SHOULD tell these stories. But it should be framed from the perspective that our systems are failing so badly that a literal child needs to make a lemonade stand so their classmates don't starve.

[@BrotherBoresIsBest]

That’s what he said.

[@ross4]

@@BrotherBoresIsBest Yeah I'm agreeing with the video

[@fastertrackcreative]

They don't want to rock the boat

[@aroshliyanage4578]

Finally someone talks about this often it makes people ignore the very larger problem at hand and makes people forget them

[@jakeen229]

Hm, sounds suspiciously if it's by design.

[@jerryvelasquez1289]

Puts a lot into perspective

[@jerrontaylor4611]

Some More News did a similar video a while back.

[@nfzeta128]

@@tuckerbugeater Because social consciousness is usually how stuff like this gets changed.

[@LancesArmorStriking]

@@tuckerbugeater ...In the context of what you are talking about (his free video about feel-good stories), no. The video is free lol

[@JLDREAMS]

Ironically, lemonade stands in front poarches are no longer allowed because of regulations. Making the kids have even less options

[@draalttom844]

Here they usually let the kids do unless they are blocking a road, at least a lot realise it's stupid

[@celestejones6315]

My thoughts exactly, lol. Even being in a rural area where setting up a lemonade stand is literally futile, they're still not allowed anyway.

[@KasirRham]

Man, these kids are so innocent and benevolent. Seeing how genuinely sad they become upon realizing the suffering of their classmates shows how dark this system is and how nice people CAN be. Why not build upon that instead of having them grow up in a dystopia. With regard to Mitch it seems like he does not even understand how common Angel's problem is. She's a great employee, but come on dawg the whole work force needs a raise.

[@matthewfusaro2590]

Seriously, you don't actually believe the stories, do you? All of them look scripted to me.

[@tonyhakston536]

@@matthewfusaro2590 Reality is unrealistic.

[@kokorochacarero8003]

They haven't been brainwashed enough to become useful american patriots yet

[@frigginjerk]

"Innocent and benevolent"? If those kids were smart, they would buy up their classmates' lunch debts, group a bunch of those debts together, and sell the whole thing as a collateralized debt obligation for people all over the world to invest in. They could make millions, and all it requires is the realization that they could exploit their friends' hunger for personal profit. ...I feel like I ought to confirm that I'm being sarcastic, here. Which is a very upsetting feeling to have.

[@JcoleMc]

@@frigginjerk You forgot the part where the kid flies to middle eastern Saudi Arabia and strikes a deal with multi millionaire Muhammad Hariri Yasir Al-Rumayyan to construct the biggest and wealthiest petroleum mine in history

[@Mastervitro]

Imagine a whole feel good story movie, showing an inspiring business person who raises up a poor family, cleans up pollution, and feels for those who can't afford medical or schooling. Then at the end where the audience is showered with emotions of the family's happy ending, we see more and more flashes of the hellish landscapes and conditions the millions of other workers are still doing, the trashed land and ocean, people dieing from the same common diseases shown earlier, poor kids who are working who can't be educated. Roll credits.

[@richhornie7000]

You just described the entire plot of Okja

[@BrotherBoresIsBest]

I will.

[@Hyperion4K]

holy shit this needs to exist, if there are movies like this please someone tell me

[@Mewtwodestroyer]

@@Hyperion4K read the first reply i think. Idk i didnt watch okja.

[@mhdibm7515]

The really sad part is that all of this is probably preventable , it doesn't have to be "this way cuz that's how life is" , it is this way because some people are profiting from it

[@masterdeetectiv9520]

Especially in the US. There is literally a surplus of food there

[@gusty7153]

@Masterdeetectiv and any surplus is thrown away instead of dropping the prices to something affordable as what i was taught price lowering was suppose to happen

[@masterdeetectiv9520]

@@gusty7153 yeah our global agricultural output is enough to feed 10 billion people. Despite this world hunger is a major issue Not only that but we are destroying more of the ecosystem to make even more farms, which is completely unnecessary and only needs to be done because of an inequality of resources. Poorer countries need more food for a growing population and need to destroy their local ecosystem to grow food

[@gusty7153]

@@masterdeetectiv9520 and I just finished watching a video on a potential way to farm that would work harmoniously with the landscape to increase yield while minimizing impact on natural resources and more efficiently use water

[@DodgeThatAttack]

Yeah its this way because some people are really fucking greedy, and there's just enough people who let them get away with it

[@Ali_Nar]

As a non-American, it’s always confused me how Americans see stories like that as heartwarming. I remember I once saw a story about a teen that could only get into university if he scored a goal in basketball and he did and everything was like ✨✨wholesome

[@Palafico3]

Imagine if he didn't, and he broke down crying realizing that his future was shattered while everyone looked on and shook their heads in disappointment. Apparently that was the alternative

[@cheetoschrist5685]

@@Palafico3 smh should've just merited harder, now his grandchildren deserve to be poor as him

[@juiceoverflow]

@@Palafico3 nah, it's totally necessary to make someone perform a party trick so they can have a chance to own a house in their lifetime

[@gusty7153]

It's all about the spectacle. Just remember all those action movies from the 80s may as well be documentaries. Corporations run the government and the media is all about making a spectacle of things solely to distract the general public from our dystopia nightmare

[@siddycosmos607]

That's the most sadistic way to play with someone's future. And people consider it as entertainment.

[@jeffs4483]

Imagine living in a country that spends billions on overseas wars of adventure for the military industrial complex, yet can't feed or house it's own citizens.

[@rompevuevitos222]

But the new fighter jet!!¡!

[@bubbainc-k6u]

Aye to be fair that fighter jet does look pretty lit 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@penguinpingu3807]

bUt wE aRe "saving lifes" aNd "bring democracy"

[@rompevuevitos222]

@@bubbainc-k6u It does, but i don't think they need ANOTHER one

[@tonywords6713]

*trillions* actually

[@richardcoates4751]

The worse was those "dad that came home from war" stories. It was illegal to show the caskets of dead soldiers that didn't survive but the media kept pumping put dad's in school in their military fatigues jumping out of a box during their kids class. Totally meant to put it in our heads that the war was doing great which it wasn't!!!

[@courier6960]

Why is it illegal to show the caskets of dead soldiers? Doesn’t that seem like a violation of freedom of speech to the most obvious degree?

[@ratedpending]

You don't even have to look at the dead soldiers or anything that kid had their dad taken away for a false cause and now he has PTSD I don't really think you need to look anywhere else honestly

[@biggusdickus.376]

im guessing this was from the axis side right?

[@mynamejeff3545]

@@biggusdickus.376Weird way to call the U.S.A. but I guess it kind of fits?

[@joshuabonilla3491]

@@courier6960 it mostly was banner during the Vietnam war , since it lasted for so long and so many America’s died when people started seeing caskets it dead American soldier getting shipped back to the states or on tv it was the governments attempt to keep the war moral up. Didn’t really work but they never got rid of the policy.

[@gravity_mxk5663]

This just in: 12 year-old girl chosen in the reaping, so loving older sister goes in her place🥰🥰🥰

[@sageforasennight]

Basically

[@flask223]

FR

[@Lussimio]

The Hunger Games is a literal critic of the United States

[@blacky_Ninja]

lol, i‘m literally reading that exact book at the moment 🥲

[@greenbean5186]

@@Lussimio it prob not "literal"

[@kaseywahl]

The most soul-crushing reality of this is that the "feel-good" story is such an effective tool. It's literally what Mr. Beast built his whole career on. And he understands that his brand of "giving" is incredibly lucrative. It's the peak of winning in the attention economy where one or two or three people gets temporary relief, Mr. Beast rakes in millions for himself, and the rest of us are left with nothing but a sense of "wow, isn't that neat"...and that's usually enough to keep us from thinking too deeply about the system of exploitation that fuels the whole enterprise.

[@johnwalker1058]

Another big problem I have with "feel good charity" stories is how often they are used by "bootstrappers" to justify their arguments that people should just "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." "Just stop being lazy!" or "just work/try harder!" If this kid with a missing leg can sell a couple thousand dollars worth of lemonade and then pay his own hospital bill, then anyone who complains about medical expenses being too high is just a lazy, incompetent waste of space who just wants to use excuses to cover for their failures and blame the system for their own failure! Aside from covering up issues of how a system is broken, these sorts of "heartwarming stories" can sometimes also be used as propaganda to justify the existence of the broken system in the first place. The idea is that if someone who is supposedly disadvantaged or has the odds against them can succeed in something that seems like it would have been or should have been impossible for them, then shut up and don't question the system! Just try harder, or find another way! One thing people who follow such a narrative seem to forget is the fact that such stories are treated as exceptional. The whole reason why such stories make headlines in the first place and stand out as remarkable is the fact that they are unusual and typically don't happen in the types of situations they are related to. For every kid who managed to raise enough money to pay their lunch debt, how many others just had to go hungry? For every instance in which [disadvantaged person] accomplished [impressive feat], how many others in their situation would have been able to do the same / were able to do the same? People who fall for such stories or the narrative they are all too commonly used to perpetuate could stand to learn a little something about a logical fallacy known as survivorship bias. Sure, if you pay attention to all the instances where a system seems to work, even in situations where it might seem like it wouldn't have or even shouldn't have, you can make it look more successful or reliable than it actually is in reality if you simultaneously ignore all the instances of failure when it didn't manage to work out successfully.

[@trybunt]

Pfft, whatever, you're just not performing well enough to your undercover saviour CEO, otherwise you too could have fair pay. Easy. Why doesn't everyone just do that..

[@timebomb4562]

that was something i never thought about but it's worth considering

[@jeffs4483]

Imagine living in a country that prioritizes feeding, housing, and providing jobs and healthcare for it's own people.

[@rompevuevitos222]

There are a couple that do, housing is taking speed and many countries are starting to provide ultra cheap if not free housing to homeless people. The rest is just common sense for any actually developed country. Jobs are always an issue but many countries create easy jobs to boost the economy

[@joeanthony7759]

Hard to imagine in a country overrun with nincompoops convinced that doing so would be “evil socialism.” Corporate/capitalist propaganda works.

[@otherssingpuree1779]

@Joséf from TX Also the right wing need to stop being loud and uninformed. When you scream entitled freeloaders and complain about majority persecution, socialism, culture wars and tell folks to vote Romney or Trump, we all look like clowns. P.S. I think no side actually cares each side uses free publicity from loud mouths on social media to defend themselves and portray themselves as the righteous.

[@otherssingpuree1779]

@Joséf from TX Small things accumulate to make bigger changes. Demi Lovato's pronouns will bring consideration in the minds of some while annoying the others similarly, make believe racism will make real racism less acceptable and fake racism more unacceptable.

[@otherssingpuree1779]

@Joséf from TX You too mate, strawmanning won't let you do well in the real world.

[@missk1697]

“When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist." -Archbishop Hélder Câmara

[@pepi7404]

Honestly, let them. If you want people to be housed, they call it communist. If you want people to be fed, they call it communist. If you want people to get treatment, they call it communist. Access to clean water, access to electricity, access to breathable air, freetime, privacy, all communist. At this rate, communism will become synonymous with just having your basic needs met.

[@jomoeiviem7619]

@@pepi7404 Archbishop Camara was apparently not a big fan of the Soviet Government but did agree with Marx's ideas on class struggle

[@optricks2469]

Interesting quote considering communism lead to many starving and such but okay.

[@pepi7404]

@@optricks2469 What a unique and interesting take. You should add that the soviet model is the only way to do communism, that no other factors outside of the soviet union's economic system lead to the famine and that definitely nobody ever starved outside of communism. It's not like 10-15% of the global population are food insecure under capitalism or anything.

[@hakageryu307]

@@pepi7404 To petty, self-flagellant people, anything that helps them is "Kindness" and a "Blessing" that they are entitled to, but anything helping anyone else is "communism" and their stagnate minds can't handle it in any other way than it being evil and actively harming them. Helping people is the heresy, and Jesus would be burned at the stake as a witch if he were alive today in the USA.

[@NeonNion]

As a Finnish person, I can't even imagine a paid school lunch. Free school meal is such a crucial part of education!

[@Infotact]

I was wondering why anyone wouldn't talk about this. Things like, "Humanity is still alive" or "Let's join hands to " often hide the absolute dystopia this system is.

[@scienceium5233]

Yeah

[@noc9901]

Finally, someone brings attention to this!

[@agentc7020]

Some more news also did a video of this a couple of years ago, check it out

[@anmolt3840051]

Cody's showdy bro

[@1drumshark]

Also here to shout out Some More News

[@nathanieljones8043]

Not the first by any means but it is a shame that even leftist are cool with Mr beast

[@Grampelmonster69]

Warmbo loves great feelgood stories where ceos save lives and gives money tog workers

[@reddeath7456]

The fact that my school literally was doing fine without kids buying lunch and have now gone back because 'covid is over' doesn't get rid of the problem that these kids probably relied on those meals because it was the only thing they would get in the day is just sad

[@millicentduke6652]

That scene with the boss paying his employee a $250,000 bonus from a decade of her wages that he’s stolen just kills me. No way my bank would have cleared that check that day for me to find other accommodations. I would have probably only gotten the first $300 of it released before the bank immediately placed a fraud freeze on my account.

[@ticktockontheclock5691]

Or the problem of suddenly reporting that much income, she's gonna lose a big chunk to a tax bracket she can't maintain.

[@ES11777]

@@ticktockontheclock5691 Her tax bracket is not going to change from a single donation…

[@kellyrussell1877]

@@ES11777 do you actually understand how tax brackets work or

[@CraigKeidel]

"I was so inspired by your perseverance at poverty wages. That's the kind of leadership we need. So we're going to give you a notional title increase to feel better about getting a raise to slightly less poverty wages"

[@91megatron]

I believe Americans are kind of trained into individualism, which makes it so every problem is "just someone's problem" & not a symptom of the society we live in. This video makes that so much more obvious.

[@davidzz4307]

Exactly

[@dmwanderer9454]

My face, my choice!

[@cloberlobster2276]

I wish Americans could have individualism, but also be able to understand the system at heart and come together to change it.

[@davidzz4307]

@@cloberlobster2276 me too, it is possible to do both because we all benefit collectively and individually.

[@tonywords6713]

Absolutely. All the American myths and virtues have that photographic negative image. It's remarketing social atomization and divide and conquer to seem virtuous or desirable. Definitely helps explain the epidemic of loneliness and suicide, generally hopeless, abandoned sentiment. Same thing with the people who think because they've got their guns they're safe from tyranny. No organization or community, just many delusional cowboys. Forget about the fact that there's countless ways they can fuck you before using physical coercion, like defunding education, brainwashing you with corporate propaganda, poisoning your food and water supply, etc. By the time they "come for muh guns" it's way past too late.

[@stonetop]

"School Lunch Debt" is high on the list of things that radicalized me

[@tonyjones1560]

Same here. My wife's a teacher. School lunch is often the only decent meal many of these kids will get. "Lunch debt" means that the kid who may have come to school impaired by hunger will go home impaired by hunger...and possibly return to school the next day in even worse shape because he's *still* hungry. No child should have to literally give his plate back over insanity like this, not least in light of the fact that the food *will be thrown in the trash.*

[@Fafnd]

It was medical debt and corporate greed for me.

[@donteo508]

These feel good stories never sat well with me and this video finally helped me realize in words why

[@D9xAbstract]

Same

[@nfzeta128]

@@tonyjones1560 yea the fact that the food can be literally thrown out instead of just letting the child eat is just... wow.

[@tayzonday]

Yes. You are good at teaching on these topics. I get bored and go straight to Michel Foucault and complicity with heteronormative biopower, Chomsky, Derrida, Keynes, Friedman, etc.

[@llamapartyy]

ur an absolute legend 🙏

[@freelance_commie]

Based Zonday

[@ts-wo6pp]

you go straight to pedophiles?

[@ts-wo6pp]

bourgeois obfuscation

[@pixel6854]

Was not expecting a goat here

[@ajpend]

"These stories are not just a positive spin on a bad thing; they're a misdirection and a dangerous distraction from the problem."

[@taylorbug9]

They were really not letting kids have lunch over $74? I think it's time to admit we live in a dystopic hell hole of a country.

[@daviddiaz5815]

World*

[@amogusinsuster9560]

Funny jet plane is cooler

[@oats8854]

@@kurisu3000 yea, cause we can all just put our lives on hold everytime the government fucks us over right? this is truly spoken from someone who knows nothing about what it takes to speak out against a government.

[@liviwaslost]

@@kurisu3000 don’t blame the citizens.

[@taylorbug9]

@@liviwaslost it is our fault. Can't rule who won't listen. Know that from experience. I respected and listened to my mom but she dated shitty men with dumb rules whom I very much ignored. If we all put our foot down, said enough is enough, what could they really do? Kill us all? Then who will make society function?

[@roccorubino6288]

I was a teacher for 16 years; the greed of the foodservice companies like ARA is unconscionable. Their concern is their profits, so they supply the barest amount of food for each meal as possible. Breakfast is an oatmeal bar and mile; lunch is a couple of nacho chips with cheese and ground be sprinkled on top. It was sickening to witness this fraud and child abuse each day.

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

The sad part is that might still be a better meal than they would get otherwise

[@eliw5864]

I agree... this is the fault of our broken govt that is bought by companies like the one u speak of.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

@@eliw5864 Nah, that's just capitalism doing its thing: dismantling our democracy in order to maximize their profits. Plain and simple, really.

[@mystupidlife123]

Lunch debt is just one small thing that the federal government could fix with the stroke of a pen. It's messed up that kids accrue debt and get shamed for it in elementary school.

[@Junket-20]

And to think America says theyre "family oriented" when theyre denying kids food because of lunch debt.....

[@liamkilpatrick5026]

@@Junket-20 "family values"

[@liamkilpatrick5026]

Not just lunch debt but student loan debt as well

[@NyetTube]

Is the food better in schools now? When I went to school their food was disgusting. The school should of paid us to eat it and be served by woman with mustaches and tits sagging to the floor. Ah found memories🤡

[@mystupidlife123]

@@NyetTube don't know I always brought lunch from home

[@Mieze0503]

Yes. From a German point of view these heartwarming stories are like horror stories - and unimaginable here.

[@skoruno1]

Gibts hier genauso

[@ФедяКрюков-в6ь]

Yeah, at least the world has germans who are famous for social justice and humanitarian acts throughout the human history. Maybe someday they will even come down to reason their american sovereign to stop wasting money of NATO bases on german territory in order to provide american children with free school lunches

[@eri_noemi1462]

Because the taxes are so high in Europe - that's how these things are paid.

[@CruellaDeVil.]

@eri_noemi Taxes are high as shit here too and nothings getting paid

[@celestejones6315]

@@CruellaDeVil. This, lol. Exactly. Our tax system is messed up in infinitely many ways (like how if you work for tips, you OWE taxes you can't afford to pay because you're paid less than minimum wage in the first place, whereas the CEO of the chain you work for can get away with paying zero out of millions), but it is literally all for next to nothing compared to countries like Germany especially...

[@Aspensauce64]

“These children are having to take responsibility for the mistreatment we’re forcing them through, give them a big hand!”

[@underground868]

I went to the Atlanta Aquarium today with my family and was appalled to see that two of the main sponsors is Georgia Natural Gas and Coca Cola. My family thought I overreacted when I laughed and got upset at the irony of this and said, "well it's just politics. It's not our problem. It doesn't affect us and we shouldn't get upset about it" Their apathy towards real life problems enrages me not just because they don't want to do anything themselves, but that I'll never be able to convince them to change.

[@gbd-oq1rz]

They love ignorance.

[@gliiitched4429]

@@gbd-oq1rzan *idea* is just a thought that people *fight* for. So many people want change without wanting to fight for it, as they’re conditioned to believe that they are useless. On our own, yes, that may be true, but together, we are unstoppable.

[@chronicallyboredenby]

It breaks my heart that people can’t get free healthcare. As a Canadian, our healthcare system is not perfect (pills and dental still cost money) but at least people don’t need to pay millions just to survive. It’s not even socialism or communism to say people should have healthcare- it’s simply a thing that many European countries consider a human right.

[@Sinaeb]

and then conservatives provincial gov all accross canada are trying to get it dismantled by destroying it with covid then say it didn't work so privatize, happened in québec with the liberals, will happen again with the caq, which are liberals rejects.

[@n3m128]

The US is the only county to not consider food a human right. We destroy excess food to make a profit and force millions to starve whilst any food that is somewhat impure is dumped in trashcans and doused in bleach. People are whiling to live with broken bones or not take life saving surgeries just so they don't go bankrupt. Meanwhile some of those people say "it's better than living in a commie hell hole like Norway"

[@no_name4796]

@@n3m128 meanwhile norway enjoys one of the best standard of life in the world, thanks to what americans call "EVIL SOCIALISM"!

[@Dekubud]

@@n3m128 Sadly, the same happens in Canada. A few years ago, an egg producer was sued by the egg producers association of their province (we don't have factory farms in Canada so farmers create associations) because they donated their excess products to orgs feeding the homeless and the poor, saying doing this devalues eggs. They were forced to start destroying their excess products again instead of donating it.

[@thetruth65756]

Almost all the prosperous contries in Europe with high happiness levels (Scandinavia) are a capitalist, privatized system with high taxes that fund a strong, secure welfare state with many benefits. Although it seems like a working system, do you think that would work in the US, where the population is much bigger? Our federal spending habits and politicians are too corrupt for a high tax system to be trusted

[@dennisspqr]

I fully agree with this take on the issue. When some years ago a film came out about a man who lost his home with his small child and they ended up on the streets, later successfully 'fighting ' to get out of their desperate situation, I heard someone say it's a story about American optimism and positive attitude. I just thought it's shocking and shows the lack of a social system in the US. I realise the videos of this channel, which I enjoy watching as I learn a lot, refer mainly to the US. Thank universe many of such issue simply were unlikely to happen in Europe. Anyone with a child will always be housed by the council, children don't need to work to pay for friends hospital bills etc. But I stand behind the notion of changing the curse of neoliberalism that has brought misery over Europe and many places and people so am consciously on this side.

[@ulysses7157]

The feel good story actually is as old as ancient Rome. In Romen culture, when the patriarch of the house hold didn't like the child his daughter or wife gave birth to, he would order to abandon it outside and let it die. But at times, other slave owners would take these abandoned children and raised them as slaves to work them to death. There were play writes of men (more like young teens) who were in this situation "rising up" and working there way out of enslavement by toiling away and impressing their slave owner to let them go free when they reach 18. Though in reality they often really don't live that long and end up being worked to death anyway.

[@notavailable877]

And after the fall of Western Roman empire Ostrogoth King Theodoric forcefully pushed Rome's Laws onto the Various Gothic peoples in Europe. The Gothic peoples being the Visigoths (Germans, Nords, Danes, Anglo, etc) and the Ostrogoths (Slavic). Trying to erase the local cultures that were far more progressive than Christianity allowing women to own land and have autonomy by forcefully converting them from their pagan religions, such as Druidism and Wicca. This was funded by the work of serfs who in exchange for protection by their new landlords would work the land for whoever the current Lord was and not be able to be removed from it. This allowed the landlords to work their trade of warfare on behalf of Christianity centered in Rome. There is a lot more to it that also ties to modern day, but I don't have the energy right now.

[@ligmabalzack]

@@notavailable877 any book recommendations?

[@D9xAbstract]

@@notavailable877 very good, your right 100%

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@notavailable877 That's some serious pseudo-historic bullshit. 1. Ostrogoths were Germanic and had little to do with Slavs. Slavs settled in their former lands after their emigration. 2. Visigoths were just Visigoths, not some Umbrella term. The two gothic tribes were once a single one after all. 3. Theoderic, king of the Ostrogoths, ruled over the remnants of Western Rome, at that point basically Italy+. The idea that he had the power to transform the culture of the countries beyond the Danube, let alone Scandinavia is ridiculous. Visigoths, Saxons, Franks, Vandals and so on were doing their own thing.

[@Wasserkaktus]

@@notavailable877 This comment is a serious piece of fake history BS.

[@naughtmeinam4603]

This is why I've never been able to put faith in donation-based charity organizations ever since I was a kid. Aside from doubts about responsible spending within the organizations, I couldn't help but always feel like throwing relatively miniscule money at a problem that the world is proceeding to actively perpetuate on a systemic scale anyway always felt virtually pointless and even deceptive. Yeah, it "feels nice" to send meals to a few starving people in Africa, but when twenty more starving people take their place the next day, all I've really managed to do is convince myself that I made a difference and that I "did my part", which is a gross overstatement at best.

[@ratedpending]

I don't think it's deceptive, like TeamSeas obviously isn't going to fix anything but it's gonna make it better than if it wasn't there If you're alternatively using that money to search for radical solutions then that's different but if you have the means to do both then why not

[@naughtmeinam4603]

@@ratedpending If you have the money for both, put all of it toward the thing that actually makes a difference and not the thing that effectively sweeps the problem under the rug for everyone who doesn't understand the severity of the situation. That's how I see it. I promise you that the majority of people seeing their beach cleanups think that that's saving the world and leave them to it, thinking it'll be enough. It would be better to show the world just how ugly we're making it if that's what it takes for change to happen.

[@ToastyTastyPancakes]

Yeah, I'd rather feed the homeless people in my own city than the starving people on a different continent.

[@lauridsjensen7757]

That is just a stupid argument. Just because you can’t save everyone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to save some. I get that you’re never gonna see those people, and feel the true gratification from them, but saving a life is still a life saved. We’re not talking about saving bees. We’re talking about real human beings

[@ranuastika9847]

I always think, "don't give money, but give them job. " At last dont give a strong man who clearly can work money, but instead give them a proper job so he can support the other.

[@Cryptidflavored]

I feel so bad for these kids. I don't know who could look at this and not wonder why SIX year olds have to go into debt for some goddamn food

[@aos8695]

@Justin Lukas this made me cackle

[@Fafnd]

@Justin Lukas not even funny or sarcastic. Also why don't you, and only you, pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

[@Cryptidflavored]

@Justin Lukas comment of the year award for most boring comment ever

[@cakeisyummy5755]

@@Fafnd That was clearly Sarcasm my guy. Do you need everyone to use /s, or?

[@matthewfusaro2590]

I wouldn't feel bad for them. They are most likely child actors and the stories they tell are make-believe. Whoever heard of a child raising $23K selling lemonade?

[@Noksus]

As someone who lives in Finland, "lunch debt" just feels so icky.

[@harvardmanfred4214]

Also, I LOVE the new snarky, dry, sarcastic Second Thought, makes it more entertaining to watch, previously it was just video lectures you'd see in class, now it feels more like a KZbin video that entertains and teaches

[@SecondThought]

Thanks so much! Glad to hear it

[@bonehead2426]

I personally prefer the previous tone but the content is still fire. But that is just my opinion

[@spoonikle]

@@bonehead2426 Simply an opinion thats my opinion, its only my opinion though. lol

[@bonehead2426]

@@spoonikle Do i state an opinion and not clarify ? Im not a native english speaker and mostly learned by imitating what i see online.

[@goutamboppana961]

@@SecondThought Dry Humor the best humor

[@ArimaHato]

I've always had had a criticism of these types of news headlines but found it difficult to put into words. So glad you made this video

[@rachelrolltide3106]

They are the only thing worse than people thanking god when one person lives in a disaster.

[@foodparadise5792]

PPl around me think I am a nay sayer for offering critique of stuffs like this

[@emuriddle9364]

@@foodparadise5792 I totally understand that. Some people are focused on vibes. Which isn't a bad thing. But we also need pragmatic people, to figure this out. Which is basically why our country was able to do so much after WW2. Because we had pragmatic people. Instead of hating on them for "ruining the vibe."

[@selalewow]

Whenever I brought it up I was called a pessimist instead of a realist.

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

Agree with you and all the commenters -- speaking the truth when it's negative gets you labeled as a curmudgeon, a kook, someone socially unacceptable, and often even scares people. People tend not to like having the membrane of consensual illusion pierced.

[@kanguruster]

I'm loving this channel more and more (not in a feel-good manner, though). Too few understand that charity papers over the cracks in our system and encourages us not to do the analysis that might lead us to really fix things.

[@freelance_commie]

Charity has become big business tax shelters and a mask for the most wicked ghouls out there.

[@LdyVder]

I find it extremely frustrating that so many Americans are okay with people living off the goodness of others to be charitable, but hate the government providing those same services for those same people and if you can't get help through a charity. Too damn bad. Refuse to think corporations should do a better job at providing better benefits outside of getting some PTO and/or vacation time, with no sick pay and maybe bad health insurance that's barely worth the paper it's written on. It's not how a civilized society should function.

[@Valvad0ss]

@@tuckerbugeater grow a brain 🤡

[@nfzeta128]

Charity is best when it's just helping those who slip through the cracks, the problem is they aren't cracks any more, they're sinkholes and the charity is just raising the bottom slightly.

[@Hubcool367]

Same vibe as "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

[@courier6960]

This was my exact thought when I heard about “Team Sea’s” (and mind you I like Mr. Beast, he’s seems like a really great dude who makes good content). Your gonna remove 20 million pounds of trash from the ocean? Great, what’s gonna stop the next 20 million pounds from being dumped? What’s going to be the long term impact of all of this, short term solutions are great only when the long term has been planned out and in action, but it clearly we aren’t there yet… You going to inform the public that recycling is just a corporate ploy (literally look it up, this isn’t some tin foil hat conspiracy, this is actually where the idea of “reduce, reuse, recycle” came from, it’s a displacement of responsibility from corporations onto the public), and that 90% of improper waste disposal is corporate in origin? You gonna fund valid alternatives to non-degradable and non- renewable trash, or start a legislative campaign for the banning of them? You going to ensure corporations and governments are held responsible for their actions? It reminds me of the spongebob episode where he goes: “congratulations Patrick, we’ve saved the city!”, while the whole city is burning behind them from their ignorance and inaction. Sure you might have done something nice, but you haven’t fixed the world or saved the city, you just delayed it’s destruction another day. It’s not an “inevitable” destruction, it’s very much a fixable problem but you treated it like a bandaid on a bullet wound.

[@IForgor._.952]

The problem isbthat thougj, hes just a youtuber, hes not the govertment that chsnges the truth, i feel like its bad that he even made a video like that, just shows that even people that mainly does fun stuff has to try ro raise awareness

[@mackycabangon8945]

i mean, what can people like them do? Yea it isnt much but what else can they do to have any larger impact?

[@courier6960]

@@mackycabangon8945 Simple, instead of focusing on creating short term solutions, focus instead on long term solutions, helping develop new technology that prevents waste instead of removing it when damage has already been done, help campaign and create legislation for policies that would help, spread public awareness of what actually does and doesn’t work and how responsibility is being displaced onto the consumer, use their connections and money to help fund certain critical elections or candidates that they support or have similar goals with. Really anything that isn’t just a flashy PR stunt that doesn’t attack the basis of the problem.

[@megsley]

@@courier6960 so we just leave all the trash currently in the ocean there? if I see a sea turtle caught in trash I should just ignore it cause it's already damaged? 🙃 we can clean up the current while also creating better processes for the future.

[@courier6960]

@@megsley You really don’t understand what any of us are saying don’t you? It’s not about individual problems, but about systematic solutions. The Big picture that actually matters over smaller less impactful actions. You can take out 10,000,000 pounds of trash, but your not actually solving the issue or making a difference if 10,000,000 more pounds of trash are easily going to replace it. If you have a leak in your roof the permanent and right solution isn’t just to place a bucket under the leak, it’s to fix the hole in your roof. You need to try to stop things at the point of origin, prevention is the name of the game. You can spend your entire life in the woods off the grid without power and growing vegetables for a living, and how much carbon emissions you saved wouldn’t even be worth 10 seconds of systematic pollution that could much more easily be reduced and prevented. The whole concept of individual action is pushed by corporate polluters and fossil fuel providers more than anyone because it doesn’t actually make the difference that matters the most, it is a displacement of responsibility, blaming the public for something they aren’t actually responsible for. It’s why the message needs to change from “help me pick up the garbage you can see in front of you” to “where is all this garbage coming from in the first place”

[@TheLowBrassDude]

I was radicalized when I was a kid and I watched an episode of MASH where the US Army tried to cover up their shelling of a South Korean village by rebuilding it and blaming it on the North, and framing it as a feel-good story.

[@GalacticNovaOverlord]

@tjuyftutjyfudt ironically most of the founding fathers established their own elite system of oppression as well into this country lol But that is true as well. Not the tools, but their grievances and cause for revolution. They wanted revolution for themselves and they got it.

[@maiq_6821]

The US army is a terrorist organisation, of course they do crap like that

[@reversecardthompson1197]

What are you talking about mash is a good show

[@TheLowBrassDude]

@@reversecardthompson1197 yes. That was the point. Hawkeye was outraged that the US army was covering up the slaughtering of a village. He was calling out a general and was vindicated.

[@unterhau1102]

Or that one time where the USA military bombed civilians. Oh wait, that doesn't narrow it down like at all

[@jeffwilson3519]

I have been outraged for years at how feel-good stories are presented and accepted in place of society doing the obvious things that a humane society (which we claim to be) should do. Thank you so much for this video and keep up the good work!!! BTW, for younger people, radio and television used to have something called The Fairness Doctrine. If a citizen wanted to present a "responsible opposing view", the radio or TV station was required to put them on the air. I do remember some citizens who went on the air. The Fairness Doctrine was eliminated in 1987.

[@adamc1966]

And right wing talk radio started soon after.

[@matthewfusaro2590]

I wish more people would talk about the Fairness Doctrine. People wonder how they can "fix" the news, the answer is simple: bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Yet, no one ever talks about it.

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

@@matthewfusaro2590 it needs some tweaks for the modern era but yeah would definitely do a lot to fix it

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

Thanks Reagan

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

It was the beginning of the end of true journalism.

[@shinlanten]

First time I saw Undercover Boss, thought it was a good show, but then after watching more episodes, realized that it was more or less putting *_"lipstick on a pig"_* and not addressing systemic failings of the companies.

[@Rampala]

Right? I never saw an episode end with the boss realizing how greedy he was and increasing EVERYONE'S pay. They just reward a few good employees and go back to their yachts.

[@glorfindelchocolateflowery6392]

Exactly preach. I had to stop watching also. Always rub me wrong in some way never knew what it was until you pointed it out

[@Alex_Barbosa]

That story of the woman that lives in the homeless shelter actually made me tear up. Like WOW. We live in a society where this is something that we acknowledge happens, and still refuse to care outside of entertainment purposes. And it's so easily solved too We just don't....

[@JamesConnollyLives5353]

Capitalists: "Communism/socialism leads to starvation" Capitalist society: *starving children*

[@CosMos-ui4px]

@@jellifywas4641 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGGbf3dplLWBndU kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHaripibh6injKs

[@CosMos-ui4px]

@@jellifywas4641 just because you have deluded yourself into believing that there's no better alternative doesn't make it true, people are already starting to see through these lies. The vast majority of countries are capitalist.

[@MrToradragon]

You will ave starvation, for many reasons, in any society, but it depends on the level. Any large scale implementation of communism will inevitably lead to stagnation and then supply chain problems.

[@abaddonanon7573]

Oops! Methinks you forgot the key word "democratic". Everyone knows about The Bengali Famine, right? But no one talks about the fact that an independent India had several crop failures but no mass famine. And this in a time where they thought that the Ambassat car was peak innvoation or was just good enough. Yeah, I know that indians are both fat and malnourished etc, etc. But please try to whitewash communism again when India has another famine with 2-3 million dead. And who could prove that that democracies don't have famines? The indian Amartya Sen. Seems like he wasn't decolonialized in his mind enough! XD

[@sirnikkel6746]

Social Democratic Countries, having the advantages of Capitalism and Socialism/Communism at the same time: *I have no such weakeness*

[@authenticbaguette6673]

That "undercover boss" clip made me physically gag. "Oh wow you are homeless? Just become a manager."

[@rodden1953]

“Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community.” Aneurin Bevan Minister for Health who set up the NHS in the UK

[@anmolt3840051]

How long before it's destroyed by conservatives though?

[@rodden1953]

@@anmolt3840051 Not long they have privatised most of it

[@planefan082]

That quote should be written in stone.

[@rodden1953]

@@planefan082 it should be

[@optimusprime320-h9c]

It’s almost as if most people don’t want to acknowledge that misfortune is a thing that often outside of our control, almost as if there’s a denial to that part of our share reality.

[@thedarkdojo5115]

"You know it's funny when it rains, it pours... They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor..." - Tupac Shakur

[@willguggn2]

Like those stories about successfully raising enough money for medical treatment. As a European those stories are just shocking that for many US citizens it's something special to recieve necessary medical treatment or have your children fed regularly.

[@DidierWierdsma6335]

Greetings from the Netherlands i too am digusted by this. America is rich enough to fix all of these problems they should be ashamed of themselves. America the greatest nation on earth FUCK NO it's the worst nation period. We here in Europe are blessed i would never want to live there.

[@vividesiles3763]

@@DidierWierdsma6335 Exactly! The rich are so hypocritical. I'm just sad for the people living there sometimes. France isn't at all the best but the governement "tries" (not his best though)

[@nicolasleroux5302]

It will never change. In the US, corporations are legally allowed to donate millions of dollars to political campaigns. Because of this, politicians are completely beholden to pharmaceutical companies, arms manufacturers, and other big industries. And since these industries don’t want universal healthcare and world peace, we’ll never get it.

[@grmpEqweer]

We'll get universal healthcare, and our democracy back, when we offer the government little choice. That is to say, when it's give us a genuine democracy, or else. So for that we have to organize parallel power structures, and stop thinking the electoral system is going to fix the problem. It won't, not without strong outside pressure.

[@Junket-20]

As someone from the Caribbean, I agree with you

[@Tenoem]

The only thing I find reassuring in these stories anymore is the fact that people have to be constantly fed the belief that they are doing enough which says to me their complacency is not the default of human behaviour but a learned coping mechanism.

[@ghostburgers4284]

The fact that children need to look out for each other is proof that our country doesn’t have our backs. We are always left to fend for ourselves or each other. The amount of money that our country puts into war alone can fix all of our problems and then some.

[@rivertwygzbed543]

What's the point in being a "Patriot" when your country has a dog eat dog ideology and doesn't give one flying fuck about.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

@@rivertwygzbed543 Wanna know why socialism will never work in America. It’s quite simple really. When a European sees his fellow countryman starving on the street the European says, “Poor lad, we should do something about it.” When an American sees his fellow countryman starving on the street the American says, “Glad it’s not me.” Americans are hyper individualistic, and aside from brief moments of pity for the downtrodden, their default mindset is to only care about themselves and their immediate family.

[@americancommunist6076]

@@Kaiserboo1871 socialism is not free healthcare. we must institute a socialist state through a revolution.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

@@americancommunist6076 I’ll fight you every step of the way, I am a nationalist capitalist at heart and socialism is anathema to my beliefs. And government run (because let’s face it if the government is paying for it, it’s going to run if) healthcare is socialism by definition.

[@RenegadeChain]

@@Kaiserboo1871 you don't know the definition of socialism.

[@jaclynrachellec]

I remember being forced to buy a school lunch even though I couldn't afford it, and always dreading the end of the line where the lunch lady would berate me for my lunch debt.

[@Stachelbeeerchen]

Forcing children into poverty. Murrica!

[@mrtrollnator123]

Lunch debt?

[@DodgeThatAttack]

Yeah its like if i could go back with my knowledge now I would argue the fuck outta that because there is no way they would end up on top after telling a child they should have more money

[@jwanie366]

"Feel Good" stories are always nice to hear, as they show that despite all the shitty things we hear about every day, there are also good things happening too. That being said, I highly agree with your point here. It seems that we keep presenting short-term solutions to long-term problems, and that's why those problems still exist today

[@kyle4563]

Yeah I agree, we should be coming up with long term solutions. But again the system we live in is broken. At least we see people trying to make an effort, even if it doesn’t solve anything it reminds us that we are still willing to change. Though, I doubt the elites want to change the status quo.

[@talus9663]

Thanks for discussing Team Seas/ Team Trees. I’m an environmental scientist and work in the forest carbon accounting industry. Projects like these often do more harm than good. That $30 million would be much more useful somewhere else.

[@whatwasisaying1338]

What is "forest carbon accounting"?

[@E4439Qv5]

What specifically are the downsides to plastic collection and skimming? Like, I get what you're saying about money involved, but my family has been helping with beach clean ups for 8 years now. It's not better to leave that lying around, no?

[@jacobwalker8730]

I work for a conservation organization and carbon credits are such greenwashed jokes. The idea makes sense in theory but in application is literally impossible to administer. A great way for corporations to get some easy PR without having to fundamentally change anything.

[@whatwasisaying1338]

@@jacobwalker8730 thanks for sharing. I learned something new today. 😃

[@E4439Qv5]

@Zaydan Naufal you can't rush town hall

[@oceanthresher6184]

"When I give to the poor, people call me a saint. When I ask why they're poor, they call me a communist."

[@strawberryanimation9294]

The poor are poor because they don't work hard enough and want everything to be handed to them. Say's me a privileged guy who never struggled or suffered and can't even imagine what's it like to be poor. But I still think being poor is a choice. So work harder!

[@E579Gaming]

I live in Australia where you mostly bring your own lunch, but the fact that you can get in "lunch debt" even if its not a crazy amount of money and the fact that lunches arent free and kids go hungry is terrible

[@thedarkdragon1437]

And thank god younger generation realizes that and keeps correcting them to the actual reality

[@pumpkingamebox]

I actually thought about this before when I wondered why so many operas ended in tragedy, yet modern stories always must have a happy ending. Even Disney changed their stories to be cuter and more lighthearted, meanwhile they lost the lesson they impart. Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast are just a few examples. It's as if in the story "Boy cried wolf" the boy would only brush death's grasp to live again. But that doesn't frighten children enough not to lie. Melancholy helps us determine what is important. If we leave feeling good after a good lesson, it doesn't impart as well.

[@mixfeat]

Yeah, these never seemed like a “feel-good” stories to me. Always made me terrified for my son’s future.

[@DecidedlyNinja]

A foreign friend of mine described it like this: "Every human interest story in America is about how 200 orphans were saved from the orphan-grinder, but no one questions why there is an orphan-grinder to begin with."

[@Voidsworn]

The very idea of CHILDREN HAVING TO AFFORD FOOD is disgusting. They're CHILDREN! They don't need to afford the necessities of life, they are to be provided them.

[@ararepotato1420]

Well... we wanted schools to teach kids the skills they need to succeed later in life... What a world.

[@Voidsworn]

@@ararepotato1420 Yeah, but not like this and certainly not this early.

[@Window4503]

@@Voidsworn Think that’s why they said “what a world.”

[@Voidsworn]

@@Window4503 I am aware. I felt it needed said, regardless.

[@charlestonianbuilder344]

@@ararepotato1420 yeah but isnt that what school is suppose to do? And not child labor? And even then school cant teach you valuable life lessons

[@Catge]

Hi, I know you are reading comments. Just proud of how much your channel has grown. Good work for the past years man.

[@SecondThought]

Thanks so much!

[@2FadeMusic]

@@SecondThought goat

[@grmpEqweer]

@@SecondThought 👍

[@herohero-fw1vc]

In Japan, kids are educated in school how to make lunch. It is part of the education curriculum & they would eat it together with their teachers.

[@robd5886]

How magnanimous of the rich to offer us a band-aid for the gushing bullet wound that they fired. Last video I watched was about someone who spent 4+ million dollars to buy the Batmobile from the TV series, WTF?!? Unfortunately, nothing will ever change since these greedy POS's run the media and governments. Love your videos, keep up the great work!

[@juiceoverflow]

Sometimes I feel physically sick when I see how many garbage movies there are that had tens or hundreds of millions pumped into them, like if we used the money it takes to produce a single marvel movie we could fix world hunger in a snap

[@ES11777]

@@juiceoverflow The thing is, they got that money back tenfold for the tickets sold.

[@seybertooth9282]

A European perspective: Ten seconds into the first "feel good" story, I turned to my wife and said "Why would you want to live in a society where kids have to collect money so other kids don't have to starve, when you can pay a little more tax and live in a society where no kids are hungry?" In countries like Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany and France we don't have those sort of "feel good stories" on tv, because no children go hungry and no children lack medical care. But then again, that's "socialism" so that's bad, right?

[@luc6284]

I live in the Netherlands and I've seen Undercover Boss on tv here. I always hated it, but it certainly exists. Of course things like TeamSeas are also well known here, as youtube is international.

[@cakeisyummy5755]

Actually, That's just Social Democracy, not Socialism-

[@129das]

@@luc6284 He was a little harsh on TeamSeas but it right to say it is not a fix all. No I don't think it makes people complacent ether, if anything it gets already complacent people to actionly do something even if just a little bit. But stuff like hollywood awareness Campagns do nothing like that.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

Everyone criticizes American healthcare without realizing a few very important details. 1. America has a massive population bigger than any European country. 2. Americans hate paying taxes. They despise it, most would rather have larger paychecks than better benefits. 3. Americans are some of the most unhealthy people in the world, and the largest consumers in the world. People WANT to be unhealthy, which is fair enough, but Americans want no part in paying for unhealthy people’s healthcare because of their poor choices. And before you say the government should regulate health, this is a culture that sees government mandated health as tyrannical, just look at the response to Biden’s vaccine mandate. They hate him for it and resist it in anyway they can with lawsuits, refusals, and walkouts. 4. America is an extremely diverse country. This means that there are large segments of the population that have no cultural work ethic to speak of and would rather leech off of government benefits than contribute to it. Socialism works best when the country is culturally and ethnically homogeneous (like Europe) because then everyone has a single, unified cultural work ethic. Case in point: Britain. Britain had to literally dismantle its empire and its place a super power (through demilitarization) in order to fund the welfare state its citizens wanted. You can’t be a super power and have a socialist welfare state at the same time, and if the US doesn’t step up to the superpower plate then who will? I’ll tell you who, it will be Countries that care more for their military might than the welfare of their citizens, nations like China and Russia. Speaking of which. 5. America literally funds the free world’s military. The only reason why European countries can afford such juicy benefits is because they don’t have to defend themselves. If they had to pay half of what the US pays on military expenditure then those juicy welfare benefits would dry right up. America is NOT Europe and America could never BE Europe. Stop trying to apply European solutions to American problems. The reason why the current system is as fucked up as it is, is because America is using a hybrid system that combines the worst aspects of socialism (government red tape) and capitalism (monopolization). Personally I believe America should completely privatize healthcare with no government regulation (with the exception being trust busting as that is an essential government job). America will never embrace socialism of any kind, not without causing massive revolts in large sections of the country and this hybrid system we currently have sucks. Therefore the solution is to go all in on privatization.

[@129das]

@@Kaiserboo1871 1. China is bigger with nation health care. 2. Can't argue with that 3. So they need it more 4. Doesn't matter human body is for the most part the same 5. No the don't they fund the biggest military for there own greedy and luxury, That like saying Britain took the new for the free world or Rome took Germany for the free world. USA is no different then any other large empire, they are different they are worst to there own citizens as well other nations.

[@bnfgh123]

Gotta say, your videos are a kind of a feel good stories for me. It reminds me that no matter how much some things in my country suck, it's still not as bad as the US.

[@qjtvaddict]

Lol damn

[@qjtvaddict]

What is your country? I am curious

[@bnfgh123]

@@qjtvaddict I'm czech. Not the best country in the world but miles ahead of the US.

[@jimmynuetronrblx8628]

Cap

[@TianZhaoHeavenlyFortune]

And man oh man, I gotta say - thank you for doing a video about this!!! The fact that you see through this bullshit and call it out like this is man, I wish you existed and I wish I found you when I was younger... I let these stories trick my brain into thinking - man I need to work harder in life because if these people who have less than me can do it then why can't I? I let these stories trick me into thinking I wasn't doing enough and well, basically it was ultimately bad for my mental health as I ended up being way too hard on myself. Man... this video is abso-freaking-lutely fantastic because it points out exactly what needs to be pointed out - the systemic/structural problem! Thank you man! Thank you oh so much for being you and doing what you're doing!

[@zizthefirst]

Man donates 10.000$ to stop orphan crushing machine for 2 days. No one ever questioned why the orphan crushing machine exists.

[@CraigKeidel]

Well the orphan crushing machine has been running so long, and everyone says if we stop crushing orphans then we all need to get crushed including the orphans. Yes, I know the orphan crushing machine told everyone to say that and provided them with megaphones while actively crushing dissenters but it's all we know and I don't want to get crushed so while regrettable the orphans must continue being crushed

[@juanjacobomoracerecero6604]

In México they recently had glorified the stories of a very elderly man and a man withouth a leg delivering Uber Eats by foot. In the richest and most progresist city of the country. That was gross.

[@IsabelRodriguez-jt8tg]

y la gente en los comentarios aplaudiendo al señor y criticando a los que se quejan de las condiciones laborales… como si no estuviera bastante precarizado el empleo en nuestro país 🙄🙄🙄

[@chikitronrx0]

@@IsabelRodriguez-jt8tg Aquí en México la gente se sigue tragando la estúpida idea de la meritocracia. No solo eso, muchos siguen creyendo en el sueño "americano" incluso sabiendo como está estados unidos. Lo que me parece más absurdo es que incluso un latinoamericano considere donar a esas campañas de Estados Unidos considerando que se supone nosotros estamos peor. La población mexicana y de otros países habla hispana tiene cierto grado de calvinismo En el cual creen que la pobreza y todas tus condiciones precarias provienen de ti También vemos al adulto mayor con miedo y repudio por no valerse por si mismo. Y a los enfermos o discapacitados con miradas discriminates, como si su situación dependiera de ellos. Aún sabiendo que nos puede pasar a cualquiera en cualquier momento. Las ciudades no estan construidas centradas en las personas Y las personas no tienen dignidad por la vida de otras personas. Hemos adoptado demasiado del sistema estadounidense y eso se nota en muchas falencias y horrores del sistema. Todos tenemos historias de un conocido que se fue a trabajar a ese otro país y le fue bien. Pero nadie te cuenta lo malo o esas tantas otras historias donde les fue mal. De hecho nadie revindica a los perdedores, cuyas historias son más importantes conocer pues es mas probable perder que llegar a esa idea del éxito que muchos promulgan. También hay muchas obsesiones con el lujo, lo material y lo banal. Peor aún tenemos una cultura del trabajo muy tóxica, donde se le llama flojo a toda persona que quisiera tener algo de tiempo libre, que quisiera pasar mas tiempo con su familia, etc. Se espera de nosotros que siempre aspiremos a más, a una mansión, coches, yates, aviones, etc. Una vida de puro lujo sin ninguna gracia.

[@hojosconsal9913]

@Armament Armed Arm hey, look up, you just ate a propaganda cake sir

[@IsabelRodriguez-jt8tg]

@Armament Armed Arm i wont tell you to read again the coment, because you clearly dont understand the context or you need some reading comprehension

[@okamiwithacamera6077]

Bienvenido a Mexico!

[@del3496]

This actually reminds me of an episode of Bojack Horseman where Diane is ordered to make interviews about happy stories in her show for an app. Her partner suggests the story of a girl who has to sell lemonade to save her dad from cancer, just like the ones shown in the video. Diane then questions him and goes on a rant about how it´s not a happy story, but a tragic one, since her chances of success are minimal, unfortunatly. It just shows that this critique isn´t from nowadays, since the episode aired in 2019-2020. Anyway good video.

[@cherryboywriter6299]

"The growth of kindness and the decline of justice are intimately intertwined."- Janet Poppendieck

[@preciouscolor_]

In reference to the school lunch thing… this actually happened to me, I owed money for a book that was lost in the media center. I was like 7-8 y/o at the time. Nothing too crazy, til I owed up to 20 dollars in book fees. If I knew then what I know now, I woulda just asked my mom. But instead, literally all of my classmates and teacher scrounged ice cream money, extra quarters, etc. just so I had the ability to read and check out books in the media center. I felt so appreciated but now at 25 I’m like wtf.

[@boombot934]

Overwhelming truth. Universal free meals for children is a basic human right. Guys, please, push up the algorithm!

[@Workman743]

Food is a basic human right. Period. Universal free meals are needed for all, not just children.

[@oswalddupree6064]

@@Workman743 not for those who can and don't work

[@guyfauks2576]

@@oswalddupree6064 you are part of the problem

[@oswalddupree6064]

@@guyfauks2576 why?

[@guyfauks2576]

@@oswalddupree6064 food in it of itself is the right for all who live regardless of if they can work or not. Just because you may see a man who's credit can not get them a house, or a woman who's committed acts that are unmentionable does not mean you should make them work to eat.

[@ThrottleKitty]

It's depressing that before they are even into double digits children can identify they live in a dystopia and they are just desperate to do anything to change even the smallest part of it. The sadder thing is knowing most of them will grow up to be broken down by society when they learn the depth of all the problems and the sheer powerlessness we have in our current system to even attempt to engage with them.

[@grapentine739]

It shouldn't be heart warming. It should be enraging. Thanks for the good hard work. Please don't stop. We need everyone we can get to contribute.