or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
October 15, 2008
New Tomdispatch
My Depression -- or Ours?
By Tom EngelhardtAmong my somewhat over-the-hill crowd -- I'm 64 -- there's one thing friends have said to me repeatedly since the stock market started to tumble, the global economic system began to melt down, and Iceland went from bank haven to bankrupt. They say, "I'm just not looking. I don't want to know." And they're not referring to the world situation, they're talking about their pension plans, or 401(k)s, or IRAs, or whatever they put their money into, so much of which is melting away in plain sight even as Iceland freezes up.
I've said it myself. Think of it as a pragmatic acknowledgement of reality at an extreme moment, but also as a statement of denial and despair. The point is: Why look? The news is going to be worse than you think, and it's way too late anyway. This is what crosses your mind when the ground under you starts to crumble. Don't look, not yet, not when the life you know, the one you took for granted, is vanishing, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.
Today, in my world at least, this is the most commonplace of comments. It's just not a line I've seen much when the press and TV bring on the parade of financial experts -- most of whom are there largely because they didn't have the faintest idea that anything like this might happen. Whether they're reporting on, or opining about, the latest market nosedives, panic selling, chaotic bailouts, arcane derivatives, A.I.G. facials, or bank and stock-exchange closures, it still always sounds like someone else's story. I guess that's the nature of the media...
The edge of panic in the voice of a friend telling me about the 401(k) she's not looking at catches the story for me. It's visceral and scary and, let's face it, whether this is the half-forgotten past coming back to bite us or the future kneecapping us, it's depressing as hell.
—Jonathan Schwarz
Posted at October 15, 2008 10:26 AMHey, I'm depressed, aren't you?
Hell, no, and you can't make me. There was a beautiful full moon last night and the sun came up this morning just as a squirrel ran out to snuffle up some of the sunflower seeds I had spread earlier for the wild birds. The best things in life are free (or nearly free), after all. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation . . .But alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear".--Thoreau
Posted by: Don Bacon at October 15, 2008 10:53 AMFor those with IRAs, there is something you can do to ameliorate, if not clot, the bleeding - inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They basically increase in price as the market falls. I understand not looking at bad news, but one doesn't need to be paralyzed by depression; or anything else not actually paralyzing.
Posted by: cavjam at October 15, 2008 11:20 AMHangman, Hangman
Wait a little while
I think I see my brother coming
Riding many a mile
You bring a little silver?
You bring a little gold?
What did you bring me my brother?
To keep me from
The gallows pole
To keep me from the gallows pole
Led Zeppelin
Posted by: Mike Meyer at October 15, 2008 12:58 PMIt's a huge problem in the best of times.
I'll borrow Yves Smith's conceit, and point you to my antidote du jour.
http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=220&resolution=high
Saw worse for 25+ years....
The homeless, people with jobs who were homeless, the working poor, the sick who did not have money to come to the clinic to keep their appointments or to eat the right foods for their diabetes as fresh foods were beyond their means, workers who started their shift at 6.00am and left home at 4.00am and got mugged again and again, kids who had to go to school wearing bullet proof vests, gang members bringing their war to the emergency room waving guns to kill their rivals...
Is anyone thinking of them? "DEPRESSION" has been the story of their lives all along. Let's get real.
So your demotard shill friend is depressed about his fucking 401K. Paint me fucking concerned when he's living under a bridge and dumpster diving for dinner.
Posted by: AlanSmithee at October 15, 2008 05:51 PMI know people who avoid funerals. This is not to say that I know people who are thrilled to attend them.
Some folks need closure though, and so do I. That's why when a close friend or relative dies, I have my suit pressed, shoes shined and try to remember how to knot a tie. I know I'll just end up regretting it if I don't.
Perhaps if you dress formal before you open your 401k statement, it will make things easier for you.
Posted by: Paul Avery at October 15, 2008 06:55 PMAlanSmithee:
Could you tell me what kind of douchebag shits on an elderly woman facing the prospect of severe poverty because they aren't already poor?
Posted by: James Cape at October 15, 2008 08:01 PMakshully, been kinda thinking that the 401k concerns (have heard same first-hand, too) shows a fear of losing personal power in a selfish world. the thought or hope that the world isn't restricted to "paying your own way" is outside the conversation at the moment? i think this is maybe related to the humiliation ordinary people feel about bankruptcy in general. socialism being so unpopular, losing a foothold really feels like crap.
Posted by: hapa at October 15, 2008 08:32 PMakshully, been kinda thinking that the 401k concerns (have heard same first-hand, too) shows a fear of losing personal power in a selfish world. the thought or hope that the world isn't restricted to "paying your own way" is outside the conversation at the moment? i think this is maybe related to the humiliation ordinary people feel about bankruptcy in general. socialism being so unpopular, losing a foothold really feels like crap.
Posted by: hapa at October 15, 2008 08:34 PMJames Cape:
What kind of pwoggie-bloggie dumbass thinks Tom Engelhardt is an elderly woman?
Posted by: AlanSmithee at October 16, 2008 01:20 PMWell James now we know the answer to your question -- it's the kind that can't read.
Posted by: Slim at October 16, 2008 01:41 PMThere's a small collection of expressions that cause me to stop reading and give no further attention to those who use them. Among them: 'you people', and 'pwoggie' (and its variations 'pwog' and the full form 'pwogwessive').
Posted by: Nell at October 16, 2008 09:27 PM
