Everyone here okay?

[RicoADF]

Though I am really starting to despair at the way people behave...

Endless violence. Blah.

Still, I'm a little burnt out as it is from being upset (by personal issues) for like, the last 2 weeks or so...

This? This makes me lose faith in humanity.
It's just plain disturbing that this keeps happening.

But also the things which are just as bad that keep getting swept under the rug.
The double standards...
And all that other stuff...
People are messed up. That much is clear...

That's true but on the positive side the stories of communities standing up to support France is uplifting.

Are you ok? If you need to chat feel free to message anytime, always here for someone that needs a shoulder to lean on.

As for myself I'm abit split, on one hand what's happened in France and Syria is terrible and sad to hear about, but on the other I had my birthday party weekend (Friday - Sunday of LAN gaming with mates and drinking with most of my friends on the Saturday at another mates place) with my Birthday today. So it's a case of mixed feelings of happiness for my personal situation and sadness for what's going on around the world.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Now, as many of you have heard, multiple bad things happened across the world. From off the top of my head, there was the attack in Paris, another in Lebanon and Kenya, and an earthquake in Mexico and Japan.

Is everyone on here okay? I know we have Escapists all over the place, particularly in Europe, and I don't like feeling worried.

I'm ok. I dislocated my knee... So there's that. Yet to be killed by terrorists, so that's good.

Thanks for asking. How are you?

 

[Zhukov]

Well, I haven't been blown up or shot if that's what you mean.

A girl from my hometown was wounded in Paris, but I didn't know her. Last I heard she was expected to make a full recovery.

 

[Zhukov]

Physically I'm still a bit sick, mentally well...considering that attack on paris happened and all the "geniuses" of the world are pointing fingers at either Muslims or Religion in general...I'm not great to be honest, and don't get me started on the sensationalizing of it...I get it 150 people dying is terrible and it absolutely sucks I am absolutely not denying that, but what about the thousands of others dying throughout the world? Nah, they didn't die because of terrorists, and if they did it wasn't in a first world country so who cares? *sigh* alot of the "media" really makes me sick...

I'm always torn on this.

On the one hand, yeah, it is a bit dumb how mass killings in the West are treated as the greatest tragedy imaginable while similar events in the third world are met with a shrug or ignored entirely.

On the other hand, 129 people murdered is a big deal and it's only natural for people to be more concerned with matters closer to home and to pay more attention to dramatic events.

It's also hard to point it out without coming across as "look what an edgy free thinker I am".

 

[rosac]

Legitimately worried that world war 3 could break out, especially due to the situation with Hassad in Syria (Namely that Russians support him, US doesn't, and then there's ISIS in the middle). The terror attacks are also worrying, as an island we have a natural layer of defence compared to mainland Europe, but an attack on the UK is looking more and more likely (especially in one of the major cities, if not London I'd guess Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool.)

Otherwise I'm well, messed my thumb up but should be match fit soon, started going back to the gym as it;s fixed enough to let me lift weights.

 

[Robert B. Marks]

My wife and I are stunned and saddened by the attacks, and our hearts and prayers are with Paris and its people.

 

[krystalphoenix]

While I worry about Europe in general because my family is in the UK and often holidays around the EU, I'm doing okay.

Japan, where I live, copes well with most tsunamis and typhoons. But after Fukushima people have been taking the weather warnings much more seriously. The area that the tsunami hit recently is no where near me, but lots of people were talking about it. Weather is just crazy over here. I'm just glad that people are taking the bad weather reports more seriously.

 

[Robert B. Marks]

Anxious due to the ridiculous attitude some people have here in excusing these attacks.

It is not as much condoning but being like "this has nothing to do with Islam or Islamic State" even after they declared it was them.

Well, I was one of the people who was skeptical that ISIS was behind this - sadly, it looks like they indeed planned and initiated it.

One of the reasons for the skepticism is that until very recently, ISIS didn't really conduct operations abroad. Their recruitment efforts were meant to bring Jihadists into Syria and Iraq to fight the ground war for territory. They actually tended to look down on those who couldn't make the trip as failures. This is why when they claimed credit for previous lone wolf attacks, nobody believed them.

The news today suggests that they were indeed behind it, which is rather frightening. It suggests a massive and terrifying change in strategy that may do a lot of harm before the end.

 

[MiskWisk]

I'm in Loughborough.

...

I'm wondering if I can just leave that statement or explain?

...

Eh, draw your own conclusions.

 

[stroopwafel]

I'm fine... in the 'not having been horrifically murdered by lunatics' sense. Makes me glad I live in buttfucking nowhere.

By the way, you forgot that train detrailment that killed a bunch of people, too. Also in France. They're just having the best weekend.

For real, one god awful Friday the 13th.

Invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein in 2003 continues to be a really good idea. Islamic State, refugee crisis, Syria and Lybia in tatters(not to mention Iraq itself) and terrorists inspired by Islamic State causing mass casualties and threatening to destabilize Europe itself. *sigh* what a fucking mess.

I hope lessons are learned: better an uneasy peace than total chaos.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm fine... in the 'not having been horrifically murdered by lunatics' sense. Makes me glad I live in buttfucking nowhere.

By the way, you forgot that train detrailment that killed a bunch of people, too. Also in France. They're just having the best weekend.

For real, one god awful Friday the 13th.

Invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein in 2003 continues to be a really good idea. Islamic State, refugee crisis, Syria and Lybia in tatters(not to mention Iraq itself) and terrorists inspired by Islamic State causing mass casualties and threatening to destabilize Europe itself. *sigh* what a fucking mess.

I hope lessons are learned: better an uneasy peace than total chaos.

I think the real powder keg for the rise of I.S. was the Arabian Spring, which seemed to have improved the lives of virtually no one living in those regions. Iraq actually seemed to be doing okay for a while inbetween America pulling back and the massive revolts in the surrounding countries. Those dictators were... well, they were dictators, but they also kept the screws on the orthodox kill-crazies.

And now America is gonna have to shallow that enormous ball of pride and work together with not only Assad but Poetin as well. And hopefully now Europe will make plans for a unified intelligence network, since it's every country keeping information to themselves that causes shit like this to happen.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Physically, I'm fine, not much going on here in southeastern PA. Mentally and emotionally? That's a whole 'nother story.

I'm pissed as hell my faith in humanity has dropped another few notches, and I'm starting to worry about the possibility of WWIII, even if it is irrational. Frankly, I'm all for hunting down those bastards, even if that will lead to more problems in the long run.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.

 

[Cycloptomese]

This is a nice thread.

Living in ass crack Georgia, I'm about as far from any physical danger as it's possible to be, unless some super disease were to escape the CDC. Emotionally, my best wishes are going out to France, and the families of the people on that airliner. What a miserable couple of weeks it's been.

Hey, I live in Georgia! I should stalk you!

OT: I should be doing okay. I really should. Yesterday, I was fine. Happy even. But then, today, after I got home from work, a few friends of mine in a skype chat I'm in were talking about these stories that they were writing, and my insecurity jumped on that shit like a fucking pogo stick on a trampoline made of rubber and, on top of the class that I'm positive that I'm failing despite my best efforts, I just want to give up. There's nothing to bring you down more than the knowledge that someone, somewhere, closer than you think (in my case, everywhere that I go in my school) someone is able to do your job, probably better than you, without even knowing. I have read several articles, books, and taken classes on writing a decent story, and I know that I can't write half as good as the people that I go to school with by virtue of them just being smarter and more creative than me. And since I want to make my entire living from writing for video games, that's a REALLY bad thing, especially given that my college offers a degree in video game design that I FAILED because I'm too stupid to program competently. But, then I look at stuff like what happened in Paris and I keep my mouth shut in public because I know that if I complain about it to anyone I know, then they'll judge me for feeling sorry for myself despite having a pretty good life besides.

FYI, the fact that there may be larger problems in the world does not invalidate your problems. Also, keep your head up.

OT: Everything's okay here in good ole Kansas City, Missouri... as far as I'm aware. Also, great idea for a thread.

 

[Vigormortis]

Am I okay? Hmm, yes and no.

I'm alive and not embroiled in any kind of significant trouble. Haven't been the victim of any of the major acts of violence taking place across the globe. Haven't had any major financial problems. So, insofar as all of that's concerned, I'm okay.

But at the moment I'm quite angry and depressed. I'm suffering from chronic pain in my leg and back. My doctor's still trying to suss out what the problem is. I've recently learned, via a phone conversation with my father, that my mother has been suffering from constant pain throughout her body due to degenerative disc and, possibly, bone cancer. A very close friend of mine just went through another miscarriage. And....honestly, I don't feel like recounting the rest of my woes. It's just making me upset and I don't want to bore anyone any more than I already have, assuming anyone even cares or notices.

So yes, OP. I'm okay. But I'm only sort of okay.

Thank you for asking. Concern threads are nice every once in a while.

 

[FireAza]

Japan, where I live, copes well with most tsunamis and typhoons. But after Fukushima people have been taking the weather warnings much more seriously. The area that the tsunami hit recently is no where near me, but lots of people were talking about it. Weather is just crazy over here. I'm just glad that people are taking the bad weather reports more seriously.

No tsunamis in Saitama, minimal earthquakes too. Inland prefectures 4 life!

 

[d00mMarinEBG]

Im super. Thanks for asking.

 

[happyninja42]

I'm fine. None of the recent shitty events have impacted me in any capacity. How are you?

 

[Aesir23]

I'm fine for the most part. The worst of my worries is that I'm still trying to find employment nearly two years after graduating from my training courses so that I can at least attempt to pay off my student loans. However, I'm still alive, whole, have food in my belly and a roof over my head thanks to my parents generosity which is a lot more than many people can say.

 

[sageoftruth]

Well, I've got a friend who's living in Paris. He hasn't responded yet to the E-mail I sent to check on him. Regardless, if I'm destined to feel any anxiety over this, it has not sunk in yet. I'm still fine and dandy for the moment. I had a pretty busy social schedule yesterday, so I was probably too distracted to worry about it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I think the real powder keg for the rise of I.S. was the Arabian Spring, which seemed to have improved the lives of virtually no one living in those regions. Iraq actually seemed to be doing okay for a while inbetween America pulling back and the massive revolts in the surrounding countries. Those dictators were... well, they were dictators, but they also kept the screws on the orthodox kill-crazies.

Except that IS didn't originate in the countries in which the Arab Spring had its strongest effects. Only Syria, really, but it has little to do with the North African nations, and even some of the Middle Eastern ones, in which it had the strongest effects. IS is sadly spreading to those countries too, even to Tunisia in which the Arab Spring was very fruitful.

Besides, IS goes back way before the Arab Spring, starting as an Al-Quada affiliate way back. They simply latched on the mess in Syria to profit from that. I won't ever blame the people of Tunisia, Lybia and all those other North African and Middle Eastern nations who were and are fighting for more freedoms for the rise of Islamic extremism. Of course, I won't deny either that the instability in some of the Arab Spring nations (because in a lot of them the transitions and changes went relatively smoothly) gave groups like IS ground to latch onto. Long lingering tensions saw an opportunity, and since then we've entered into the Arabian Winter, sadly.

As for Assad, he's out, really. Putin has already conceded on wanting Assad to stay. He's pretty much lost this horrendous civil war morally, militarily and geo-politically. Sadly it's still a clusterfuck thanks to all kinds of militant alliances trying to grab territory.

TL;DR; the Arab Spring is mostly, and definitely originally, a North African happening. IS was a Middle Eastern thing and has only very recently spread beyond it.