Anon predicts the future

- A lot of people became permanently mentally disabled.
  
  Both literally and politically. There has been a huge growth in conspiracy nuts all over the world.
  
  me am regarded bc of long Covid and it fucking sucks
- We had a chance to make some radical societal changes. Working from home became socially acceptable. Commuting disappeared, and the environment noticeably improved. People had more time to take care of themselves and work on hobbies while also still getting their work done.
  Then as soon as bans on working in person were lifted, companies decided they had to bring people back to office in order to justify the expense of the office building.
- Bidenism didn't change shit. He was just the guy between Trump. In the future it's Trump that will shape this chapter in the history book.
  
  Republicans are the gas pedal and Dems are the brake pedal. Bernie was our option to reverse, but his opportunity is past. If we get to vote again, hopefully AOC steps up and the voters get it together
- COVID proved a quarter of humanity would rather gargle their own lungs than tolerate change or admit mistakes. It proved beyond any doubt that conservatives think reality is a team sport. They're not just fucking with you while secretly knowing what's true. They don't believe in truth. Conservatives don't believe anything. Conservatives believe people.
  There is nothing we can all agree on, because some of us don't understand agreement, as a concept. They think it means interpersonal loyalty. You've decided someone is Right.™ If the facts change, you're supposed to maintain allegiance to whatever that person says, because facts aren't real.
  
  Yeah, basically this. 9/11 fundamentally changed the American psyche and ushered in a massive ramp-up of the neoliberal system. Covid didn't really change a whole lot of anything (the biggest problem with it in many ways) but did utterly and fully convince me that we're doomed as a species.
  Nothing has ever illuminated for me so clearly that an unmanageable number of people are too stupid, hateful, or whatever else to work together to overcome an existential crisis. A significant amount of people would rather feel correct and kill all of us than work out their issues. So if humanity is like 30-40% evil, and about 40-50% "neutral" (aka myopically self-interested but not actively violent or hateful), that leaves only 10% "goodness" at most. And I'm sorry but a group that's only 10% good doesn't deserve to go on running things.
- I would argue the trend started when Nixon did the crime and was outed and Roger Ailes started a war on reality

If we're talking politically, covid wasn't the turning point.
If we're talking socializing, then covid wasn't the turning point either, however it was sort of a point of no return or something. Not sure how to describe it.
I've seen plenty of romanticizing of pre-covid days from people around the ages of 18-23 today. Back when they still had friends and their life together, and they never really recovered from the isolation at a critical point.
- Covid was like that part in adventure movies where characters have to run accross a bridge as it's collapsing and look back then say "that was our only way to return, we have to keep going now"
  
  Except instead of hiking their adventurer backpacks up and setting off into the dense jungle in front of them, it's clicking a "forgot password" link and opening a tab with their email while they wait for the new password to log in to zoom or something.
- It's interesting to me. I got out and made more friends after covid. Didn't stop me...
  
  Did it happen during key development years for you?

“We used to be so fleshpilled. It’s 2050, and all these skinmonglers are still fucking with my moo’.”
A cacophony of approving moos rise from a worn speaker. The faint outline of a smile is illuminated by the gentle red light of a whirring monitor.
- If my grandchildren get to leave their squishy meat suits I’ll be so happy for them
  
  Yeah but the next step is amalgatronic goo. I’d take meat suit over that any day. It’s one step away from bionic net suit though. Here’s to the 2070s

It's not all bad --- remote work policy is now a major topic. You'd be laughed out of any number of job interviews for asking about remote work policy, whereas now it's a completely fair question.
- The office building where I work kind of looks like one of those abandoned buildings in Chernobyl. Everyone went remote but they were reluctant to fully embrace it so they kept the office except no one ever went in and now everything's just covered in dust.
  I don't know why they just don't sell the building lease. Maybe they can't find anyone to buy it.
- My local grocery store is staffed by remote workers at night.
- And when they say no, I laugh at them!

They already do. Like, “remember when fast food places used to have a dollar menu, and you could buy a dozen eggs for two bucks?”

Yep, things changed, but it’s more like it’s all mask off now.
Before covid it was all like this, except the majority could pretend things were fine.
Now it’s part of the common zeitgeist that things are not fine.
I like to say that we are now in the endgame.