"People here do drugs because it's a small town and there's nothing else to do".

[Irridium]

Because of course students have the thousands of dollars needed to move somewhere. Thousands of dollars they got from the totally numerous, well-paying jobs available in bumfuck nowhere.

I'm well aware of and sympathetic to the plight of the poor.

But that doesn't mean it's not something that can be worked toward at all. And that doing drugs would ever be a good choice. If you aren't in much of a position to move anywhere else, you're certainly not in a position to be wasting money on drugs.

It's easy to say, and see that, when you're on the outside looking in. But when it is you who lives in bumfuck nowhere, and can't seem any chance of doing anything better, it's a LOT harder to see any way to really get out, or find ways to get out.

There's also the fact that most who do this are teenagers, and most teenagers are idiots who do stupid things.

 

[LilithSlave]

Yeah, let's do homework in my free time. That'll sure be rewarding.

Very rewarding. There's a reason it's assigned by schools.

It's easy to say, and see that, when you're on the outside looking in. But when it is you who lives in bumfuck nowhere, and can't seem any chance of doing anything better, it's a LOT harder to see any way to really get out, or find ways to get out.

Oh, I'm sure it seems hard. And that's a problem. And all the more reason it should be encouraged.

 

[Digitaldreamer7]

Ok so are you talking about small towns in general such as your title eludes too or poor people in small towns?

My answer to you is really... Stop judging people, if they want to live in a small town with their Mc job and get high all the time, let them. It's their life and they can choose how to live it. You have your life and you choose how to live it. you leave them alone and they will leave you alone.

I could say to you " Stop wasting your time and brain energy ranting about something that doesn't concern you and do something you want to do"

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Well yeah, If you live in bumfuck nowhere and your trying to pass the time between your shitty job at McDonalds you get a few options
1.Have Sex [unlikely]
2.Watch porn
3.Do Drugs
4.Go to a Biker Bar
5.Get hammered on the front lawn[most common choice]

This pretty much describes it. It's not that it's the only thing to do (even in bumfuck nowhere, the list is longer than that), but it's so easy to get into, and it's such a common thing. I live in a really rural area. There is a lot of money in the area, but it's all locked up in gated McMansions; the average person is dirt poor. That county is the Meth capital of the state. Note that I'm not trying to defend meth use -- my uncle was on meth for years (he quit and got cleaned up about a decade ago), and I've seen what it can do -- it's not pleasant, to say the least. But in a rural, economically depressed area, it really is one of the easier ways to find something to do. It's not an excuse so much as a pretty fair description of reality; rural areas with little to do for entertainment and very little in the way of economic opportunity tend to have serious drug use problems.

Edit: Oh, by the way, people keep mentioning pot. That's an upper middle class to rich man's drug. Poor people really do tend to wind up on meth; it's easy to manufacture, and meth labs are really common, to the point that the cops can't keep up with all of them, even when the entire community knows where they are.

 

[LilithSlave]

It's directed at people who act defeatist about where they live as a reason they and others use drugs. As if there's no other option.

We all know bad areas with nothing to do contribute to the problem of depending on drugs for kicks. And I know those people who are unhappy aren't the only people who use drugs. But it's still a problem and the people who are using drugs to escape from living in a place they don't like, are the people who shouldn't be using drugs and instead trying desperately to get the heck out of there.

 

[Raine_sage]

Yeah, let's do homework in my free time. That'll sure be rewarding.

Very rewarding. There's a reason it's assigned by schools.

Yeah it's assigned by schools because we wouldn't touch the stuff if we weren't getting a grade on it. Unless someone has an inborn passion for something, the desire to study it is kind of not there. And most people prefer instant gratification to sacrificing personal pleasure for something that may (and it's not a guarantee either) improve their quality of life at a later date. Especially with the economy the way it is. I know plenty of brilliant, college educate people, who cannot find jobs above minimum wage right now.

Basically it boils down to this: Many people would rather complain than actually do anything to fix their situations. It happens all the time, not just with drugs. People complain about being sick rather than go to the doctor. People complain about their jobs but don't look for a better one. There may be valid reasons why they don't do these things, but complaining is an instant easy way to make yourself feel a little better about your situation. As opposed to the long arduous slog it takes to actually get things to improve.

If their lives are boring that doesn't necessarily mean they find them unbearable. Going out, working, getting high, sleeping, repeat process, isn't the most rewarding lifestyle there is. But hey it clearly works for them. If they complain, it's probably more for a quick moment of catharsis than any deep seated problem with their situation.

 

[Housebroken Lunatic]

Even video games aren't a very good away-from. They should compliment someone's life, not be their only escape from a boring life.

Drugs can compliment some people's lives to you know.

And I find it somewhat hypocritical that it's all "A-ok" to smoke, drink, eat candy etc. But "doing drugs" is just "wrong" in comparison...

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Edit: A brief addendum. If you feel genuinely ashamed enough to make excuses for your behavior upon being judged, you know perfectly well that it is an improper way to conduct yourself, for whatever reason.

Most people fear censure rather than actually feel genuine shame. Shit gets around in small towns, the social repercussions of being labelled a drug addict/user or what have you can be very serious. You show contrition or make up a few "excuses" and you might be able to offset that a bit.

 

[LilithSlave]

Yeah it's assigned by schools because we wouldn't touch the stuff if we weren't getting a grade on it.

They're assigned by schools because they're important to do. Whether or not they're enjoyable or not.

To get what you really want, you have to make an effort. And that effort, generally should be encouraged.

Drugs can compliment some people's lives to you know.

I do know, in fact I said thing that should support that perspective in the OP.

I said that drugs shouldn't be an escape for those unhappy. Nothing that isn't what someone really wants should be a replacement for what they really want. It doesn't matter whether it's alcohol or Everquest. Resignation from moving forward is not the path for a human that should be encouraged, it's sad.

 

[Inner Pickle]

snip

Do you drink alcohol? Do you eat fast food regularly? Do you smoke? Do you watch television? Do you play videogames? Do you masturbate? Do you go to fracking church? Same principal, except legal. Who are you to judge how people choose to escape from the monotony of their lives? Everything can be dangerous in excess. Everything. If you can get high thinking about France then power to you but you should never judge a man by his vices. Ever.

 

[LilithSlave]

People certainly seem to be jumping for the wrong impression. I'm actually quite for THC or psilocybin when used responsibly. For people who want spice in their life and actually enjoy their life, instead of an escape from how terrible they find life. Basically, I don't promote any "escapist" hobbies to anyone who is truly trying to escape. Because they're the wrong way to escape from a situation you don't like. And the real reason individuals gain a compulsion to drugs that actually aren't addictive.

I do not approve of eating fast food regularly. At all. It's wildly unhealthy. Much more so than occasionally ingesting psilocybin. And I would not approve of drinking alcohol or playing video games as an escape from a life and place you don't like instead of trying to improve your situation.

People shouldn't "escape the monotony of their lives", they should make it better.

 

[Amondren]

A lot of people say that where I'm from (North East America) and honestly its not true their is a lot to do beach mall theme-parks or just hang with friends. I think that most of the time its a excuse.

 

[Aetera]

That's why, when describing my home town, I say, "well, half the town does drugs and the other half stays at home playing video games, since there is nothing else to do."

I'm... I'm not making a joke for this thread. That is literally how I have been describing my town for years. Although, many here just do both. Still. It is an accurate description of this town.

I don't disapprove, mind you. I'm simply stating a fact about where I live.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Yeah, let's do homework in my free time. That'll sure be rewarding.

Very rewarding. There's a reason it's assigned by schools.

It really baffles me how you don't understand the mind of a drug addict.

This person lives for the drug. And your piece of advice is "If you're so bored, why don't you just do homework?"

You do know that a normal person doesn't exactly find homework fun, right?

 

[Berethond]

Well yeah, If you live in bumfuck nowhere and your trying to pass the time between your shitty job at McDonalds you get a few options
1.Have Sex [unlikely]
2.Watch porn
3.Do Drugs
4.Go to a Biker Bar
5.Get hammered on the front lawn[most common choice]

Or you can try to better your life and move somewhere else. By like, I dunno, studying in your freetime.

Or was that a joke I'm not getting?

Except there isn't any point in studying in your free time because no matter how good you did at your shitty public tiny-school town you'll never be able to get enough money to afford to go to college, if you can even get admitted.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Well yeah, If you live in bumfuck nowhere and your trying to pass the time between your shitty job at McDonalds you get a few options
1.Have Sex [unlikely]
2.Watch porn
3.Do Drugs
4.Go to a Biker Bar
5.Get hammered on the front lawn[most common choice]

Or you can try to better your life and move somewhere else. By like, I dunno, studying in your freetime.

Or was that a joke I'm not getting?

Except there isn't any point in studying in your free time because no matter how good you did at your shitty public tiny-school town you'll never be able to get enough money to afford to go to college, if you can even get admitted.

I wouldn't say that. The people at the top of the class generally get enough scholarship money to get the heck out of there. The average students and the drop outs, on the other hand? They tend to get stuck in a boring town with a dead end job. They're the ones who wind up on drugs. The ones who can escape generally already have before it becomes an issue for their age group.

 

[LilithSlave]

It really baffles me how you don't understand the mind of a drug addict.

This person lives for the drug. And your piece of advice is "If you're so bored, why don't you just do homework?"

And you're quite misrepresenting my argument. That's not what I said at all.

I'm saying that people should not live for a drug. And that people should do things to better their lives, even if they're hard. And should be encouraged to do so.

 

[GlorySeeker]

I lived in a town of 750people for a time. The fucking State Police station was in this town, yet more people do drugs in that town then I had ever seen. That was the excuse they used, and you know what? Thats complete shit.