response 46 of 57:

Oct 19 19:30 UTC 2022

As the manipulation becomes so f'ing obvious, amplified and outrageous 
over time, it first insults, then frustrates, then angers me.
I'm at that last point now. It's hard to even look at any "news" now, 
regardless of the source.

I'm better off with indie/jazz/classical music and some youtube videos 
of other like-minded people discussing geopolitics and the economy. It 
makes me feel like I live in a world where I can sit at a table and talk
 with reasonable people.

Most people I know now want to talk about things that are so pedestrian 
(like getting drunk or stupid TV) that I honestly can't deal with it. In
 the meantime, Boston University develops a Covid strain that is deadly 
enough to kill 80% of the mice. No one asks why Eco Health Alliance is 
funding it or why these people aren't swinging from ropes for crimes 
against humanity. Then I wonder if people are mentally ill, drinking, 
gambling, cheating and maxing out credit cards because they know this 
too and can't deal with it. China is about to move in on Taiwan, Russia 
threatens to nuke us, gunboats in Haiti, China reselling Russian oil to 
Europe...it's all a bit too much as WalMart rolls out the Christmas 
merchandise and the Fed openly calls for mass unemployment.