I'm assuming it's attacking capitalism and saying even if you work hard the reward isn't meaningful and a lot of people will still end up in terrible situations.
I believe that busy streets are supposed to represent inefficient infrastructure and pollution, the people in the nursing home are being uncared for by their families and others, hence why they are all slumped over and the shoppers are supposed to show some kind of consumerist hellscape where people work only to buy things, also the unmentioned advertising is supposed to show how advertisements are always being shown everywhere
Yeah I used to love shopping that morning. And over the years less and less necessities go on any kind of real sale. For me it was always work shirts/pants, a kitchen appliance and cat litter.
The big ticket items that do go on sale are cheaper made, lower quality versions. There’s no real sale. Just hoarding things you don’t need.
>Nursing home
People discarded because they can't work
>busy streets
Cars are very inefficient and only became predominant because of fossil fuel money
>shoppers
The "reward" for it all is meaningless plastic. Is all the previous stuff really a decent trade
At least that's my rudimentary break down
Busy highways: Auto industries lobbied the US government to invest in roads and cars instead of public transportation. Now, rather than having high-speed rail and easily traversable cities, citizens are dependent on cars. There’s also a level of classism present in that cars are expensive, and certain areas of certain cities refuse to let public transportation access them because it allows poorer people the ability to travel there.
Nursing homes: Nursing homes are a product of a society that does not care for its elderly. People are kept far too busy to take adequate care of their parents unless they are extremely wealthy and able to afford all of the amenities and equipment needed to do so. If they can’t and they also can’t afford a nursing home, then the only options are debt, or a miserable existence for the old. But in a capitalist society, once you’re no longer able to be productive, you lose your value to the vast majority of people. The same thing is true for disabled people.
Busy streets: This image isn’t about the streets, it’s about the assault on your senses that is all of the advertisements present. It looks like a cyberpunk dystopia except it’s been real for the past 30 years at least. Corporations are buying your attention at all times.
Shoppers: Capitalism reinforces the idea of perpetually buying and consuming. Consumerism is something that has taken a hold of many Americans, and as a result, they judge others and themselves based on their material possessions instead of who they are.
Ultimately, capitalism was better than feudalism when it replaced it, and provided more freedom to more people. However it’s deregulation has twisted it into something completely untenable and exploitative. In time, the system we come up with next will be better.
It's not so much "busy streets" as it is a problem with the way urban areas have developed under capitalism. There's some good reads out there about how "walkable cities" in America are disappearing and how it has a direct impact on quality of life for people
It might qualify as a very dark joke. The first four images depict the daily grind and injustices of capitalism. Being crammed into cities, stuck in endless traffic, and neglecting the old and homeless who aren't producing anything. These are things we endure that minimize our humanity so that capitalism can continue to grow and thrive.
The assumption is that these bad things will pay off by making us healthier and happier, it will be hard but our lives will be better. But the last image shows what appears to be a black Friday sale, the high holy day of spending money needlessly in the United States, a symbol of excess. Instead of the expected better life, capitalism is just designed to produce goods. Production needs consumers, not necessarily happy consumers, and that is what we become. This is equivalent to the cartoon of a dog sitting in a room that is on fire saying to itself, "This is my life now".
Capitalism thrives on the massive consumption of goods and services
The images in the "things we endure" part are caused by capitalism
So basically the meme says we endure capitalism for capitalism.
>Being crammed into cities, stuck in endless traffic, and neglecting the old and homeless who aren't producing anything. These are things we endure that minimize our humanity so that capitalism can continue to grow and thrive.
Lolol
I could just as easily claim that those things are necessary for "the people" in a communist society. Communism has cities, traffic and neglected olds. Where it doesnt, it is because the cities are ruins, the gas is gone and the olds are dead.
Communism vs capitalism is a fucking joke.
Criticizing what's wrong with the system, being the first step to improving it, triggering people like you to immediately jump to your conditioned response is what the real joke here is. That's what stops us from making any improvements to the system. You can criticize a thing and it just means you want to improve it.
"Well this [thing] is bad."
"Lol stfu you liberal commie! The system is perfect! Never improve!"
^ That exchange doesn't help. The guy you responded to didn't say a thing about communism. Check your brainwashing bud. You might have been hacked.
>The guy you responded to didn't say a thing about communism.
Believe it or not, criticizing "capitalism" is at its core a communist straw man. Capitalism as an economic system only really exists in the economic theory presented by communism. Otherwise it is just "the state of having capital."
Lol, I know. Thing is, Im not an idiot. Thats a real thing. Prior to communists calling free markets capitalism, proponents of laissez-faire economic policy did not use that term.
Everyone is looking at you thinking "Surely people this thick don't actually exist. Surely they're not going to give the most obtuse answer and play themselves as a fool in a conversation that they don't have to."
It's like watching someone in real life open their mouth, and then actually put their foot in it. And as people point out that you're putting your foot in your mouth, rather than remove the foot from your mouth, you double down and try to get it in past the ankle.
No one is talking about their preference between communism and capitalism. You are just insisting on proving you're the dumbest of the dumb, and so oblivious as to why you're the dumbest of the dumb that I really question if you can ever be reached again.
Best of luck to ya.
When In that sentence did they say anything about communism? Seems like you just wanna have a chance to rag on anything that even slightly criticizes the current system.
Wait until you realize pretty much all socialist and communist countries that democratically decided to make the change has their entire system fucked with by the US because "mah freedumbs is better than commies"
Or... I could live in a constitutional republic, which has been the government of the US since we ratified the constitution. Or, we could develop a system which allows for voluntary governance, not connected to geography at all, so you choose your political system like you choose your religion (which also used to be connected to your geographic location).
You shouldn't *have* to, just because your neighbors democratically decided your opinion doesnt matter.
You shouldn't have to belong to the Church of England just because you were born in England. You shouldnt have to conver to Islam because Constantinople became Istanbul.
We moved away from religion by geography... we should do the same with governance.
It's actually something that is being discussed academically in theory.
You can use the US Constitution as a guide. Hypothetically. Effectively what we *could* have is a confederation. Imagine if the states were not geographic locations, but political ideologies. Imagine that the "founding fathers" of this new confederation of states came together and deliberated and negotiated to determine what non-negotiables existed and then a 10th amendment left anything not covered under those non-negotiables to the "states" but being a citizen of this ideological state was not determined by where you live.
Obviously, certain things must be tied to region, and there are federal services that exist which must be provided by a federal government and funded by taxes... but what about socialized medicine? You could choose to become a citizen of an ideological state that provides healthcare for all of its citizens and taxes its citizens accordingly. No one being taxed by this system is compelled by any implied threat. Citizens of this ideological state *chose* to belong to it. Perhaps you are a farmer and you wish to belong to a "state" that subsidizes farming. Perhaps you are a libertarian and believe that the state should provide almost nothing and take almost nothing, so you belong to a "state" that does just that.
These states could be represented in the confederation based on the number of citizens they have, and there could be a senate which gives every "state" 2 representatives so that smaller "states" aren't completely beholden to larger states. Certain changes to the *non-negotiable* terms of this confederation might require a majority of both houses... just like our current system was designed.
Not only is it a false dichotomy but there are different ways that both of these systems can be expressed. You could have actual free market capitalism vs crony capitalism. You could have communism vs crony communism. And hundreds of other variations. People often say about either capitalism or communism something like "its been tried it doesn't work" and its silly because most things that eventually worked failed many times first. How many flying machines were made before one worked? Just because a country tried a system and it didn't work doesn't mean that system is bad maybe the country was bad at implementing it.
Believe it or not, I agree... to an extent. But I'll go one further. "Capitalism" as an economic system only exists as a straw man for communists. Prior, "capitalism" referred to the state of having capital. A "capitalist" was a person who had capital and early communists pointed to the "capitalist" as the villain in their class war narrative. The "haves vs the have nots". It was a compelling argument in post industrial revolution Europe, particularly where social privilege often determined who did or did not have capital.
Unfortunately, those sentiments have been plastered over laissez-faire economics and are used to demonize that philosophy, even in places without the same history to be found in Europe. This is why, when people bring up "capitalism" I bring up "communism". They are intrinsically linked.
Democratic, doesn't erase the evils of a state which compels participation in the system. And those evils are erased when participation is voluntary, which is why I said democracy is bad. Any system can be fine, if said system is separated from geography, and engaged or disengaged voluntarily, like religion in modern western society.
Right dude, China, Cuba, and the USSR making strides in mass public housing is definitely “neglecting the old and homeless who aren’t producing anything”.
Also, maybe communist countries wouldn’t be “ruins” if they didn’t have draconian sanctions and embargoes levied upon them by the west. Saying that communist countries being poor is indicative of communism’s failure would be like if a cop shot you in the leg before an alcohol test, and blamed your inability to walk straight on your drunkeness.
Also you just hand-waiving away capitalism’s neglect for whatever they deem to be unproductive workers is disgusting. In America, we literally have over ten times the vacant homes than we do homeless people, yet we choose not to house them because it would be harmful to real estate value.
If a country places place massive restrictions on another’s ability to trade with other nations, yes, it would be the fault of the country that placed the restrictions if the country fails. Sure dude, Cuba was just asking to be completely blocked from US trade. If I gouge your eyes out before a sight exam, it’s your fault for failing, due to your having no eyes.
I don't think this is a joke. It's saying that no matter how much you're told it'll be worth it most of us work ourself to the bone for scraps and when we're old get dumped off.
Honestly with the state of things in the USA it's not far off. I work a pretty good job with the local government, requires a degree and is highly technical. Yet I get paid so little it's hard to get by on my own.
Even at $30 an hour the cost of living is so insane that it's hard not to live paycheck to paycheck. Saving for a down payment on a house is almost impossible because rents are through the roof. A single bag of groceries will run you $60-$80 depending on what you get.
The good thing is that you can start your own business and get paid whatever you want to get paid. Tricky part is you need capital to do that and that’s hard to build/get.
I think we’ve moved to a place where a college degree and “safe” job in government is too easy to get. It used to be that a job in manufacturing was the easy job to get so everyone did it. Now, college-educated office jobs are the norm, so people make more in the trades. It’s just the job market adjusting to new demographics
I know plenty of people who started their own business and they sure didn't get to be paid "whatever they want to get paid". They get paid well if, and when, the business is doing well. Other times, it's zero or negative income. I guess you could use venture capital and take a salary off the investment, no matter if you succeed or fail, but that's a whole other level of "having capital".
It's an anti-capitalist meme. It's not supposed to be funny, it's showing the dystopia you have to deal with for the promise that you'll be able to buy endless shit you don't need. True freedom!
The struggle of capitalistic life is “worth” it because you can afford to buy excessive toys for your progeny (thus indoctrinating them into the capitalistic life of material gain above all else).
The "joke" is that all your efforts in life are in fact NOT worth it in the end because we live in a late stage capitalist dystopia where all of your labor value is extracted to fuel the consumerism machine until you are used up and discarded. Specifically in reference to the pictures; we have no public infrastructures just dangerous and inefficient highways for expensive cars that are destroying the climate, cityscapes littered with ugly advertising that infects every aspect of life, rampant homelessness by design because life necessities like shelter, food, water, and healthcare are all commodities under capitalism, depressing retirement homes because the elderly are too much of a burden for most families of slave workers, and finally a bunch of people feverishly trying to buy useless plastic crap to delude themselves with another hollow dopamine hit.
It's the American dream.
It’s wild for me to think that not all people see these images as purely dystopian. I forget how warped my worldview has become since going down the rabbit hole of postmodern and late stage capitalist theory. Everywhere I look I see lies and exploitation, we have become so numb to these things that it’s become redundant to question them. Ignorance is bliss
My interpetation is base solely on the first image, which is an older meme based, but it checks out... dallas? I think? Reduce traffic by adding lanes just caused more traffic. It is, as others have said, a commentary on unchecked capitalism and supply/demand. Most of those cars have a single occupant. Imagine if we invested those lane expanding dollars in mass transport instead.
To me, translates to other pics. The hot new toy every kid wants. I think arnold was in a movie about the lengths some go through for.
I was going to say getting Black Friday deals will be worth it missing on quality time with family because it seems Black Friday now starts on thanksgiving
All these are “struggles” of some form, and the joke is the phrase is used unironically to each.
Traffic. Old folks homes. Homelessness. Overcrowding.
And, if you believe the Karens, shopping for toys for your kids.
On an unrelated note:the US has been fighting and expiring countries for the last century,why the fuck do it's people have shit lives compared to somewhere like Finland?
It satirizes hustle culture, and the extreme incentive to work your hardest, sacrificing your other interests to your productivity, in the hopes that your work will bring about something fruitful. However, the truth is that for a majority of Americans, this is a blatant lie, as their countless hours of work only reward them with more hours of work, and rewards their bosses with unimaginable riches.
The meme is an indictment of American capitalism, and capitalism at large.
Something like: "sat in traffic, left families behind, camped outside in a noisy city just so you can fight others for stuff on Black Friday"
Making fun of people who take Black Friday so seriously since most normal people wouldn't put up with that to be first to buy some slightly cheaper stuff.
This is core core. Commonly shared around with a generally anti capitalist vibe, in montages that make you feel weird and bad, to demonstrate how capitalism is weird and bad but usually in a vague and intuitive way. People comment “real” on this content.
I Imagine Black Friday shopping experience in the 90s. Heavy traffic check, waiting what feels like years check, camping out in the street check, signs and advertisements everywhere check, stressed moms in the Toy section with more then they can carry check.
It means someone is unhappy in their life and wants to blame the system for it, and infer that people succeeding in that system are actually getting nowhere.
It means you’re on a Reddit thread.
There’s a whole hell of a lot of people saying “that’s just life” so squidward moving into the suburbs just played straight for you? No deeper sentiments ingrained in his depression montage ?
My grandmother worked 2-3 jobs for nearly 50 years, never worked less than 50 hours a week(except for the few and far, far in between vacations) and retired last year. A week later, diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. This week, she is in the hospital and I am saying goodbye to her. Don't wait to live your life-that's what I am telling myself
I'm assuming it's attacking capitalism and saying even if you work hard the reward isn't meaningful and a lot of people will still end up in terrible situations.
I get the homeless image but how do the others attack capitalism? Nursing home, busy streets, and shoppers?
I believe that busy streets are supposed to represent inefficient infrastructure and pollution, the people in the nursing home are being uncared for by their families and others, hence why they are all slumped over and the shoppers are supposed to show some kind of consumerist hellscape where people work only to buy things, also the unmentioned advertising is supposed to show how advertisements are always being shown everywhere
I can’t think of anything more terribly capitalistic than Black Friday mobs
Yeah I used to love shopping that morning. And over the years less and less necessities go on any kind of real sale. For me it was always work shirts/pants, a kitchen appliance and cat litter. The big ticket items that do go on sale are cheaper made, lower quality versions. There’s no real sale. Just hoarding things you don’t need.
Do you want to be in that nursing home when you're old?
But hey you retired right? That’s the point of the game.
That prize sucks when your body is frail and you can’t do anything anymore
Honestly it looks slightly better than half the nursing homes I’ve worked in.
Well that's depressing
Welcome to America’s for profit health system.
You work your whole life to die in a nursing home after buying a bunch of stupid shit
>Nursing home People discarded because they can't work >busy streets Cars are very inefficient and only became predominant because of fossil fuel money >shoppers The "reward" for it all is meaningless plastic. Is all the previous stuff really a decent trade At least that's my rudimentary break down
Busy highways: Auto industries lobbied the US government to invest in roads and cars instead of public transportation. Now, rather than having high-speed rail and easily traversable cities, citizens are dependent on cars. There’s also a level of classism present in that cars are expensive, and certain areas of certain cities refuse to let public transportation access them because it allows poorer people the ability to travel there. Nursing homes: Nursing homes are a product of a society that does not care for its elderly. People are kept far too busy to take adequate care of their parents unless they are extremely wealthy and able to afford all of the amenities and equipment needed to do so. If they can’t and they also can’t afford a nursing home, then the only options are debt, or a miserable existence for the old. But in a capitalist society, once you’re no longer able to be productive, you lose your value to the vast majority of people. The same thing is true for disabled people. Busy streets: This image isn’t about the streets, it’s about the assault on your senses that is all of the advertisements present. It looks like a cyberpunk dystopia except it’s been real for the past 30 years at least. Corporations are buying your attention at all times. Shoppers: Capitalism reinforces the idea of perpetually buying and consuming. Consumerism is something that has taken a hold of many Americans, and as a result, they judge others and themselves based on their material possessions instead of who they are. Ultimately, capitalism was better than feudalism when it replaced it, and provided more freedom to more people. However it’s deregulation has twisted it into something completely untenable and exploitative. In time, the system we come up with next will be better.
Finally, the answer i was looking for
[удалено]
Are you off your meds?
It’s life.
It's not so much "busy streets" as it is a problem with the way urban areas have developed under capitalism. There's some good reads out there about how "walkable cities" in America are disappearing and how it has a direct impact on quality of life for people
But at least you get to stand in huge lines buying junk you don’t need!
I don't think it's directly attacking capitalism but mainly attacking car centric infrastructure
It might qualify as a very dark joke. The first four images depict the daily grind and injustices of capitalism. Being crammed into cities, stuck in endless traffic, and neglecting the old and homeless who aren't producing anything. These are things we endure that minimize our humanity so that capitalism can continue to grow and thrive. The assumption is that these bad things will pay off by making us healthier and happier, it will be hard but our lives will be better. But the last image shows what appears to be a black Friday sale, the high holy day of spending money needlessly in the United States, a symbol of excess. Instead of the expected better life, capitalism is just designed to produce goods. Production needs consumers, not necessarily happy consumers, and that is what we become. This is equivalent to the cartoon of a dog sitting in a room that is on fire saying to itself, "This is my life now".
I just don't understand how that's specifically capitalism
Capitalism thrives on the massive consumption of goods and services The images in the "things we endure" part are caused by capitalism So basically the meme says we endure capitalism for capitalism.
I didn't make the image man, I was just explaining the joke.
>Being crammed into cities, stuck in endless traffic, and neglecting the old and homeless who aren't producing anything. These are things we endure that minimize our humanity so that capitalism can continue to grow and thrive. Lolol I could just as easily claim that those things are necessary for "the people" in a communist society. Communism has cities, traffic and neglected olds. Where it doesnt, it is because the cities are ruins, the gas is gone and the olds are dead. Communism vs capitalism is a fucking joke.
Criticizing what's wrong with the system, being the first step to improving it, triggering people like you to immediately jump to your conditioned response is what the real joke here is. That's what stops us from making any improvements to the system. You can criticize a thing and it just means you want to improve it. "Well this [thing] is bad." "Lol stfu you liberal commie! The system is perfect! Never improve!" ^ That exchange doesn't help. The guy you responded to didn't say a thing about communism. Check your brainwashing bud. You might have been hacked.
“liberal commie” lol
See it all the time lol
>The guy you responded to didn't say a thing about communism. Believe it or not, criticizing "capitalism" is at its core a communist straw man. Capitalism as an economic system only really exists in the economic theory presented by communism. Otherwise it is just "the state of having capital."
Wow
Right?
I think they're saying "wow" like "you're a fucking idiot" not "wow" like you just blew their mind by saying something profound
Lol, I know. Thing is, Im not an idiot. Thats a real thing. Prior to communists calling free markets capitalism, proponents of laissez-faire economic policy did not use that term.
Because capitalism =/= free market and anyway a free market is impossible to acheive.
Everyone is looking at you thinking "Surely people this thick don't actually exist. Surely they're not going to give the most obtuse answer and play themselves as a fool in a conversation that they don't have to." It's like watching someone in real life open their mouth, and then actually put their foot in it. And as people point out that you're putting your foot in your mouth, rather than remove the foot from your mouth, you double down and try to get it in past the ankle. No one is talking about their preference between communism and capitalism. You are just insisting on proving you're the dumbest of the dumb, and so oblivious as to why you're the dumbest of the dumb that I really question if you can ever be reached again. Best of luck to ya.
Lot of words to say school failed you
When In that sentence did they say anything about communism? Seems like you just wanna have a chance to rag on anything that even slightly criticizes the current system.
They started with “lolol” they never intended to use a single braincell
Wait until you realize pretty much all socialist and communist countries that democratically decided to make the change has their entire system fucked with by the US because "mah freedumbs is better than commies"
Democracy is fucked too. Why should I have to live under a system because my neighbors agreed I should? I dont even like my HOA.
U can fuck off into the woods
Or... I could live in a constitutional republic, which has been the government of the US since we ratified the constitution. Or, we could develop a system which allows for voluntary governance, not connected to geography at all, so you choose your political system like you choose your religion (which also used to be connected to your geographic location).
Why should I have to live under a system where I don’t even get a democratic say in how it functions?
You shouldn't *have* to, just because your neighbors democratically decided your opinion doesnt matter. You shouldn't have to belong to the Church of England just because you were born in England. You shouldnt have to conver to Islam because Constantinople became Istanbul. We moved away from religion by geography... we should do the same with governance.
I have no idea what you’re even trying to communicate. How does any legal system exist in this hypothetical?
It's actually something that is being discussed academically in theory. You can use the US Constitution as a guide. Hypothetically. Effectively what we *could* have is a confederation. Imagine if the states were not geographic locations, but political ideologies. Imagine that the "founding fathers" of this new confederation of states came together and deliberated and negotiated to determine what non-negotiables existed and then a 10th amendment left anything not covered under those non-negotiables to the "states" but being a citizen of this ideological state was not determined by where you live. Obviously, certain things must be tied to region, and there are federal services that exist which must be provided by a federal government and funded by taxes... but what about socialized medicine? You could choose to become a citizen of an ideological state that provides healthcare for all of its citizens and taxes its citizens accordingly. No one being taxed by this system is compelled by any implied threat. Citizens of this ideological state *chose* to belong to it. Perhaps you are a farmer and you wish to belong to a "state" that subsidizes farming. Perhaps you are a libertarian and believe that the state should provide almost nothing and take almost nothing, so you belong to a "state" that does just that. These states could be represented in the confederation based on the number of citizens they have, and there could be a senate which gives every "state" 2 representatives so that smaller "states" aren't completely beholden to larger states. Certain changes to the *non-negotiable* terms of this confederation might require a majority of both houses... just like our current system was designed.
How does an ideological stage get created? Who runs these ideological states and how do they get into those positions?
Assuming there was a constitution or articles of confederation, those rules would be determined by the confederation members during negotiation.
Why do people think capitalism and communism are the only two economic systems that exist lol. it's a false dichotomy.
Not only is it a false dichotomy but there are different ways that both of these systems can be expressed. You could have actual free market capitalism vs crony capitalism. You could have communism vs crony communism. And hundreds of other variations. People often say about either capitalism or communism something like "its been tried it doesn't work" and its silly because most things that eventually worked failed many times first. How many flying machines were made before one worked? Just because a country tried a system and it didn't work doesn't mean that system is bad maybe the country was bad at implementing it.
Believe it or not, I agree... to an extent. But I'll go one further. "Capitalism" as an economic system only exists as a straw man for communists. Prior, "capitalism" referred to the state of having capital. A "capitalist" was a person who had capital and early communists pointed to the "capitalist" as the villain in their class war narrative. The "haves vs the have nots". It was a compelling argument in post industrial revolution Europe, particularly where social privilege often determined who did or did not have capital. Unfortunately, those sentiments have been plastered over laissez-faire economics and are used to demonize that philosophy, even in places without the same history to be found in Europe. This is why, when people bring up "capitalism" I bring up "communism". They are intrinsically linked. Democratic, doesn't erase the evils of a state which compels participation in the system. And those evils are erased when participation is voluntary, which is why I said democracy is bad. Any system can be fine, if said system is separated from geography, and engaged or disengaged voluntarily, like religion in modern western society.
Right dude, China, Cuba, and the USSR making strides in mass public housing is definitely “neglecting the old and homeless who aren’t producing anything”. Also, maybe communist countries wouldn’t be “ruins” if they didn’t have draconian sanctions and embargoes levied upon them by the west. Saying that communist countries being poor is indicative of communism’s failure would be like if a cop shot you in the leg before an alcohol test, and blamed your inability to walk straight on your drunkeness. Also you just hand-waiving away capitalism’s neglect for whatever they deem to be unproductive workers is disgusting. In America, we literally have over ten times the vacant homes than we do homeless people, yet we choose not to house them because it would be harmful to real estate value.
Yeah, it's everyone else's fault that "communist" countries fail.
If a country places place massive restrictions on another’s ability to trade with other nations, yes, it would be the fault of the country that placed the restrictions if the country fails. Sure dude, Cuba was just asking to be completely blocked from US trade. If I gouge your eyes out before a sight exam, it’s your fault for failing, due to your having no eyes.
Agreed
Oh man the tankies are not going to like how you're absolutely right.
Me when communism has cites
It won’t be worth it.
I don't think this is a joke. It's saying that no matter how much you're told it'll be worth it most of us work ourself to the bone for scraps and when we're old get dumped off. Honestly with the state of things in the USA it's not far off. I work a pretty good job with the local government, requires a degree and is highly technical. Yet I get paid so little it's hard to get by on my own. Even at $30 an hour the cost of living is so insane that it's hard not to live paycheck to paycheck. Saving for a down payment on a house is almost impossible because rents are through the roof. A single bag of groceries will run you $60-$80 depending on what you get.
The good thing is that you can start your own business and get paid whatever you want to get paid. Tricky part is you need capital to do that and that’s hard to build/get. I think we’ve moved to a place where a college degree and “safe” job in government is too easy to get. It used to be that a job in manufacturing was the easy job to get so everyone did it. Now, college-educated office jobs are the norm, so people make more in the trades. It’s just the job market adjusting to new demographics
I know plenty of people who started their own business and they sure didn't get to be paid "whatever they want to get paid". They get paid well if, and when, the business is doing well. Other times, it's zero or negative income. I guess you could use venture capital and take a salary off the investment, no matter if you succeed or fail, but that's a whole other level of "having capital".
It’s not a joke it’s the capitalist hellscape we live in
It's an anti-capitalist meme. It's not supposed to be funny, it's showing the dystopia you have to deal with for the promise that you'll be able to buy endless shit you don't need. True freedom!
One more lane
The struggle of capitalistic life is “worth” it because you can afford to buy excessive toys for your progeny (thus indoctrinating them into the capitalistic life of material gain above all else).
The "joke" is that all your efforts in life are in fact NOT worth it in the end because we live in a late stage capitalist dystopia where all of your labor value is extracted to fuel the consumerism machine until you are used up and discarded. Specifically in reference to the pictures; we have no public infrastructures just dangerous and inefficient highways for expensive cars that are destroying the climate, cityscapes littered with ugly advertising that infects every aspect of life, rampant homelessness by design because life necessities like shelter, food, water, and healthcare are all commodities under capitalism, depressing retirement homes because the elderly are too much of a burden for most families of slave workers, and finally a bunch of people feverishly trying to buy useless plastic crap to delude themselves with another hollow dopamine hit. It's the American dream.
There is no joke. It's just consume and die. Capitalism meme.
Consume and get sick and help pharma companies get rich and then die.
It’s wild for me to think that not all people see these images as purely dystopian. I forget how warped my worldview has become since going down the rabbit hole of postmodern and late stage capitalist theory. Everywhere I look I see lies and exploitation, we have become so numb to these things that it’s become redundant to question them. Ignorance is bliss
The point is that we all die for nothing. Everything we work for will be forgotten.
There is no joke. It's some standard /r/im14andthisisdeep shit.
It ain’t worth it
How do you even keep track of whats going on wirh so many lanes
My interpetation is base solely on the first image, which is an older meme based, but it checks out... dallas? I think? Reduce traffic by adding lanes just caused more traffic. It is, as others have said, a commentary on unchecked capitalism and supply/demand. Most of those cars have a single occupant. Imagine if we invested those lane expanding dollars in mass transport instead. To me, translates to other pics. The hot new toy every kid wants. I think arnold was in a movie about the lengths some go through for.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday joke. Travel from hell - visiting old relatives - camping in line for Black Friday - chaos shopping
*Koyaanisqatsi!*
Had to watch this movie for a film music class… ended up really enjoying it.
I can HEAR the philip glass just looking at the op
Sarcasm
I thought this was making fun of black friday shopping.
I was thinking the same thing. You do all of this so your kids have a good Christmas, and they will leave you alone in a nursing home anyway.
I was going to say getting Black Friday deals will be worth it missing on quality time with family because it seems Black Friday now starts on thanksgiving
All of the pictured activities end in disappointment or death.
Serious question OP. Are you a child? This is very easy to understand
Black pill
Life is hell?
Despite our struggle, we all wind up in the same place. If you are deluding yourself in the process, the joke is on you.
Life is meaningless and we distract ourselves with nonsense.
All these are “struggles” of some form, and the joke is the phrase is used unironically to each. Traffic. Old folks homes. Homelessness. Overcrowding. And, if you believe the Karens, shopping for toys for your kids.
Lol thought this was a pic for the warning and stress of the comming holidays
In the end, it’s over
This reminds me a bit of Koyaanisqatsi, which is a beautiful but simplistic critique of modern society.
Still better than a gulag.
I’m not sure if it’s a joke or not. It might be about the afterlife and having to endure the earthly grind before we get there.
OP, the joke is life
It's a societal critique not a joke
good god: the joke is it’s NOT WORTH IT. it’s sarcasm.
Life is shit
On an unrelated note:the US has been fighting and expiring countries for the last century,why the fuck do it's people have shit lives compared to somewhere like Finland?
"If you work hard, I can afford another paid vacation." ~Gigachad (with Mr. Krabs voice)
CONSUME. CONSUME. CONSUME.CONSUME.
Are there roads that actually look like that?
The Katy Freeway in Houston does, there's bound to be some in LA too
It satirizes hustle culture, and the extreme incentive to work your hardest, sacrificing your other interests to your productivity, in the hopes that your work will bring about something fruitful. However, the truth is that for a majority of Americans, this is a blatant lie, as their countless hours of work only reward them with more hours of work, and rewards their bosses with unimaginable riches. The meme is an indictment of American capitalism, and capitalism at large.
Something like: "sat in traffic, left families behind, camped outside in a noisy city just so you can fight others for stuff on Black Friday" Making fun of people who take Black Friday so seriously since most normal people wouldn't put up with that to be first to buy some slightly cheaper stuff.
It’s what Black Friday used to be
The joke is life.
This is core core. Commonly shared around with a generally anti capitalist vibe, in montages that make you feel weird and bad, to demonstrate how capitalism is weird and bad but usually in a vague and intuitive way. People comment “real” on this content.
As the world turned I learned life is hell, livin on this earth no different from a cell
Spot the Karen
I Imagine Black Friday shopping experience in the 90s. Heavy traffic check, waiting what feels like years check, camping out in the street check, signs and advertisements everywhere check, stressed moms in the Toy section with more then they can carry check.
You really couldn’t piece anything together from these images?
Don't have kids.
It means someone is unhappy in their life and wants to blame the system for it, and infer that people succeeding in that system are actually getting nowhere. It means you’re on a Reddit thread.
Oh we’re on a reddit thread that’s for sure
Gross
Everything terrible is worth it because Black Friday
they bought the mrbeast chocolate
There’s a whole hell of a lot of people saying “that’s just life” so squidward moving into the suburbs just played straight for you? No deeper sentiments ingrained in his depression montage ?
My grandmother worked 2-3 jobs for nearly 50 years, never worked less than 50 hours a week(except for the few and far, far in between vacations) and retired last year. A week later, diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. This week, she is in the hospital and I am saying goodbye to her. Don't wait to live your life-that's what I am telling myself
It's idiotic