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Yeah, I was forced to work in a different industry hub, the one with all the electrons. It was, as you say, a filthy shithole. Then I tried other parts of the USA, and they were better, but not actually livable I'd say. It's hard to live under this constant umbrella of what I call moralism. Since leaving the US bubble I feel free for the first time in my life, free from people policing my life, my sexuality or my opinions on some racial nonsense. I can actually have a life, go to the amusement park with my girlfriend, that kind of thing. And yeah, this country is a "filthy shithole" in a more literal sense (dirt poor), but I guess I just tolerate a somewhat lower standard of living. It's not the stone ages or anything, just the streets are fucked up, the shower sucks, the wifi sucks. But I'm not being treated like shit by everyone, like this poor nurse! That more than makes up for it!
I’ve also had the distinct pleasure of working in the city you referenced.
The homeless there are awful, but to me they weren’t the worst of it.
I spent a lot of time around rich and powerful people there, and I’d be amazed if they didn’t have the highest number of psychopaths per capita. The whole place seethed with demonic energy, and I routinely saw extremely depraved behavior from supposedly high class people.
Who knew a collective obsession with acquiring and wielding power and secrecy whilst leveraging it to enrich yourself would produce a whole class of devilspawn?
It was a relief to leave that place behind.
Have you spent much time around DC?
Hyup. Way, way too much. Absolutely soul destroying city.
Very physically beautiful in parts, for sure.
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What are you talking about here, if you can share?
A lot of this stuff might not seem that bad in isolation just written down, but keep in mind many of these were all compounded together and the specific way these actions have more menace when someone very powerful is committing them, often strung together.
Keep in mind this was all in public or semi-public settings
Public sex
Galavanting around in public with clearly underage prostitutes
Extreme levels of drunkenness, like drinking until you piss yourself and pass out in a pool of vomit
Extreme levels of illegal drug use out in the open
Credible threats of physical violence, including threatening to have people killed
Continuous severe verbal harassment for 20+ minutes, screaming at the top of their lungs
Sexual blackmail
Extreme acts of conspicuous consumption
Pretty blatant acts of corruption
That about sums it up. Like I said, written down doesn’t seem like much but when the powerful and rich indulge in depravity they tend to go hard, and it’s different when a bum does it in the street because a bum (probably) couldn’t ruin your life if they were dead set on it.
If you’ve ever seen the second season of White Lotus, they pretty much captured a milder version of the dynamic I’m talking about.
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