a choice, thereby justifying demands for a good vibes only, or worse, a cruel judgment that insists failure to do so is evidence of a selfish moral failing.

I loathe what I've watched those mindsets do to people who just needed a freaking hug or a simple, "Damn. That really sucks."

that it was even necessary. Not angry at my coworker, of course, but at the fact that it feels like society has taken such a horrifying sharp turn into, "keep your shit to yourself," thinking.

We have some assholes labeling empathy as toxic. We have other fuckeroonies preaching that happiness is+

pumping up public anxiety and rage--which, incidentally, makes it much harder for the audience to digest the facts and act on that information rationally, as their brains are too busy being frontloaded and overloaded with assorted hard-wired survival-based reactions to think critically.

Honestly, the longer I've watched legacy media devolve, and the more psychological harm I've seen it inflict upon its audience, the more I'm thinking of about that damage as a human rights violation.

While the facts themselves can sometimes be outrageous, there's zero excuse for intentionally +