I saw this yesterday. I can't even begin to get my head around it.

Here's a post on Financial Armageddon about the ways that capitalism's crisis is pushing people to the edge and making them do crazy and awful things to themselves, to the people the love and to others.

I am confident that one day, maybe a century or two in the future, someone will be reading about these episodes, of people freezing to death in the midst of plenty, or shooting themselves in the head for want of money, and experiencing the same disgust I feel when reading about bear-baiting or the feudal "right of the first night."

From the link above:

Add in the possibility that the flood of foreclosures might possibly be even larger than imagined and, as Nick Turse indicates in his latest post, "bloody" is no longer just a metaphor. Increasingly, the "bloody" layoffs and "bloody" foreclosures lead to "bloody" facts on the American ground. This is a crucial story that Turse first began covering back in October in a piece, "The Rising Body Count on Main Street," that explored local press reports nationwide about extreme acts by economically distressed and desperate Americans.

Sadly this is not at all the nastiest story out of Detroit this week.

Foreclosures are chump change. OTC debt derivitives will be the real pain point. They are the cause of the debt crunch and the crunch is the real killer.

Yes, JP, I believe you are right re future disgust. I have to believe that.

About the suicides... I've been in sort of an amazed state about a lot of that. I keep reading of these people losing a fortune and offing themselves, and thinking how bizarre it is that they are killing themselves because they are now, suddenly... um, not even as "poor" as I am? That's so incredible to me. They could probably sell their casual clothes to get more in the bank than we have... forget the jewelry. Or whatever.

I'm kind of stunned that so many people think that a more basic life is not worth living. That a life without luxury vehicles and designer clothes can't be happy and fulfilling. (or even happier and more fulfilling.)

It just amazes me that people in the U.S. and other places have come to believe that so much -everything!- of their self-worth is what they earn/own. Things are very, very fucked up.

The bit about stealing, though, I understand. That's not even shocking to me. In a lot of ways (I won't elaborate, nowhere near enough space) that's not even wrong to me. no, I've never stolen anything over $5 worth, and that only once.

Yes, JP, I believe you are right re future disgust. I have to believe that.

Thank you.

About the suicides... I've been in sort of an amazed state about a lot of that. I keep reading of these people losing a fortune and offing themselves, and thinking how bizarre it is that they are killing themselves because they are now, suddenly... um, not even as "poor" as I am? That's so incredible to me. . . I'm kind of stunned that so many people think that a more basic life is not worth living.

Maybe it's that they would have no idea how to live such a life.

If you've spent several decades of your life with everyone kowtowing to you because you have a platinum card, because you're a VIP, etc., the skills and attributes that poorer people use to win others' esteem are probably atrophied or nonexistent. There's no incentive to develop a sharp wit if you've surrounded yourself with people who are going to laugh at your jokes anyway, no matter how lame they are.

I heard this guy interviewed on NPR yesterday, and was completely chilled (no pun intended) by his description of the scene. The actual photo is even worse. Truly nightmarish.

This got to me. I sent it to my Detroit native friend, and he was nonplussed. Which is also scary.