Top trending Google searches in the U.S. are:
- seattle shooting
weather forecast- kai sato adrift at sea
- eric bieniemy
seattle shooting
Another terrible shooting. I have nothing new to say about how terrible shootings are, gun control, or infamy. What is interesting is that the shooter was a 15 year old boy.
Every time I hear of a shooting, it is always a young boy. People often cite bad role models for young men – though they often can only name Andrew Tate – but I don’t think this is the issue. As I grew up, there was always some grifter appealing to young men. None of my friends took them seriously. I believe most people watch these aggressive influencers more for entertainment and shock value rather than legit life philosophies.
I think the biggest driver of these shootings is poor mental health stemming from loneliness.
The combination of technology and affluence allows for people to be extremely alone. Technology allows for texts, work from home, movies, video games, food and grocery delivery. All of this removes any social interaction to the minutia of daily life which, for the whole of human history, has involved little interactions with others. Affluence allows those of us in developed nations to remove ourselves from close family ties. You’re not considered a success if you get a job at your uncle’s car dealership and live with your grandma; a successful young man leaves home at 18 and works his way through school, stubbornly paying for his $1,800/month studio.
Be assured that young women feel this loneliness too. Women also manifest this loneliness is soul-destroying ways. Men, however, are the ones that decide to commit horrific, violent acts like shootings.
I hope we all learn how to integrate technology and affluence into our lives, because they aren’t going away. Family and social ties are the bedrock of the human psyche. They are something we can’t loose to new tech.
kai sato adrift at sea
First we had Louis Zamperini. Now we have Kai Sato.
I don’t mean to make light of Sato’s very real life or death situation, but when I hear a raft survival story I can only think of the dozens of media depictions of this situation I’ve seen. It’s basically its own genre. We have our cliches – chapped lips, sharks circling the raft, out of body experiences. Between Life of Pi, Unbroken, Castaway, I feel as though I could survive on a raft!
The biggest obstacle of this situation would be the fear. As Sato said:
I cried for a whole week, just drifting south, like miserable. I felt like I was going to just try to turn my motor on and just suffocate, to kill myself, I felt hopeless.
Having to be alone with your thoughts for a month, preparing to meet your death, is an exercise in mental fortitude. Even the 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal knew this terror, writing:
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
Swap the room for a broken boat, and let the problems ensue. Now that he is back home and safe, I image Sato will not take the little joys of life lightly.
eric bieniemy
Again I have nothing interesting or good to say about this shooting. What I do find interesting, is that the search is for Eric Bieniemy, even though the recent news is about his son and wife. I had to refine the search to see photos of Elijah, since all the articles just contain photos of Eric, who wasn’t even in the same state at the time of the crime. Hell even Andy Reid made the news before the actual criminal.
Thank god we got Reid’s opinion on this!!!
It seems one of the prices of fame is that you will forever be associated with the bad things everyone around you does. Think of your extended family. Are you ready to be called out for each of their mistakes?
We have seen plenty of examples of sons tarnishing their father’s reputation. Hunter Biden and Chet Hanks both have publicly humiliated their fathers. This problem even has historical examples. John Adams famously disowned his son Charles for alcoholism and adultery.
It’s a shame we judge public figures like Bieniemy by the mistakes of their family. Gotta get those clicks though!
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