America is dead

[MisterSpock]

It hit me, of all the issues facing us, of all the changes we've seen over the years, the breakdown of societal norms, online discourse, the division of neighbors, I finally realized, tonight, the single thing that signals to me we are lost.

Homeless people, or more accurately the social gathering place of the homeless.....AKA the barrel fire.

I was out tonight on a cold MN evening, a few inches of snow on the ground, burning some construction lumber and a few pieces of cardboard(yes, beer cartons) and it hit me.

Watch some videos of homeless encampments, these guys are running propane heaters. WTF, propane heaters, probably got a generator to run a microwave too.

What the hell happened to the good ol days, a barrel, some scrap...a nice fire. Gather around and share a bottle and some stories, fight it out and bond over some warmth.

Now, it's all propane and probably free cell phone plans and sit in your government issue tent while watching tictok garbage.

There is literally NOTHING left of the old days/ways people gathered/bonded.

Weird rant over(I'm out of fire wood).

[MisterSpock]

I realize that maybe this is a newfound issue for me because I'm an ex middle class home owner, now a lower class homeowner(same house) being pushed down financially by garbage government leadership.

I'm currently looking to downsize between what I have now(not much) and a casket.

So I may find myself standing by a barrel fire in the future, I'd hate to look like some old boomer hoping for company while all the kids are in their tents watching chinese media on their government phones.

[FCD]

Sign of the times, my friend. Sign of the times.

Soon those fires will be burning lithium batteries, and the gatherers will be knocking back hooch made with Impossible Corn and blinking in unison with the embedded chips in their now empty brain case.

[underpass61]

I realize that maybe this is a newfound issue for me because I'm an ex middle class home owner, now a lower class homeowner(same house) being pushed down financially by garbage government leadership.

I'm currently looking to downsize between what I have now(not much) and a casket.

So I may find myself standing by a barrel fire in the future, I'd hate to look like some old boomer hoping for company while all the kids are in their tents watching chinese media on their government phones.

Funny, your post is exactly what my screen name is based on.
My wife of 37 years has always been a worrier over our finances, any interruption or problems with our income is a reason for her to worry.

I tell her she acts like we're going to be living in the underpass keeping warm around a barrel fire LOL
Things have occasionally gotten a bit tough but we've avoided the underpass so far!

[Nugget]

Funny, your post is exactly what my screen name is based on.
My wife of 37 years has always been a worrier over our finances, any interruption or problems with our income is a reason for her to worry.

I tell her she acts like we're going to be living in the underpass keeping warm around a barrel fire LOL
Things have occasionally gotten a bit tough but we've avoided the underpass so far!

I blame it on the mastadons. When the last of their breed died out women began to worry about where their next meal would come from and we've been worrying ever since.

I think it's an inbred mechanism to incentivize our men folk to work harder at being prosperous so women have something to feel superior about at their tea socials.

[xuenchen]

Marxist policies are transferring assets to equalize the misery. Happens to debt/revenge based societies. 

[Theatreboy]

You know Nugget, you hit on something there....

It was very selfish of the mastadon/dinasaurs to go extinct so that we can be lied to about a finite supply of fossil fuel.