OVERWHELMED BY WORLD EVENTS

Certainly don’t agree thatcher was right to go to war for the Falkland’s henetha how would we feel if Argentina owned the channel isles we d want them back wouldn’t we ?
I agree that it’s mostly men and religion that take us to war
It’s all horrendous and scary I try not to dwell on it because I can do diddly squit to help anything

BlueBelle

Certainly don’t agree thatcher was right to go to war for the Falkland’s henetha how would we feel if Argentina owned the channel isles we d want them back wouldn’t we ?
I agree that it’s mostly men and religion that take us to war
It’s all horrendous and scary I try not to dwell on it because I can do diddly squit to help anything

The Falklands have been British territory since 1690

Argentina was founded in 1816

I think by that reckoning they are far more British than Argentinian.

It is definitely overwhelming.
I have taken the decision to just keep up with the head lines so I know what is going on. However all the details and photos and films are just too much.
It is not burying my head in the sand but I can do nothing about it all. I’m sure I would go mad if I spent all my time worrying about all the dreadful things that are going on in the world .

I have limited myself to the headlines, feeling it would haunt me to look more.
Many films and dramas show the wheeling and dealing that
go on behind in politics always in an attempt to keep power
by whoever is at the top of the pile. I've always found that
so depressing and yes its mainly the men in suits.

I think it's people rather than men who are the cause. Remember though that, thanks to the internet and instant availability of news, we are so much more aware than our parents were. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Also as GrannyGravy13 said, good news doesn't sell newspapers and get us to watch television - sadly. It should.

I admit to feeling overwhelmed by it all as well. As a grandmother, I worry about the future of my family and how they will manage in a world that is losing plant and animal species; most of mankind has forgotten how to manage a plot of land in order to feel self sufficient.

My DH has called me a bit of a news junkie, and I admit to watching the news every night, and checking websites during the day. While it's good to be informed about world events, I am finding them so upsetting these days, and the news is so graphic now.

I guess as individuals, we can be as tolerant and kind as possible, and do whatever small bit we can to lessen our impact on the planet.

BlueBelle

Certainly don’t agree thatcher was right to go to war for the Falkland’s henetha how would we feel if Argentina owned the channel isles we d want them back wouldn’t we ?
I agree that it’s mostly men and religion that take us to war
It’s all horrendous and scary I try not to dwell on it because I can do diddly squit to help anything

Argentina never owned the Fakland Islands.

GrannyGravy13

BlueBelle

Certainly don’t agree thatcher was right to go to war for the Falkland’s henetha how would we feel if Argentina owned the channel isles we d want them back wouldn’t we ?
I agree that it’s mostly men and religion that take us to war
It’s all horrendous and scary I try not to dwell on it because I can do diddly squit to help anything

The Falklands have been British territory since 1690

Argentina was founded in 1816

I think by that reckoning they are far more British than Argentinian.

Yes.
I did post a history of Argentina and of the Falkland Islands on a thread a while ago but still the myth persists that they had belonged to Argentina.

Im glad I dont have any children or grandchildren. I have never regretted my wise decision to be childfree.

I watch the headlines once a day but try not to become emotionally invested in what happens outside in the world. There is nothing I can do to influence it. I just treat it like another netflix drama.

You have told us many times how wise you were not to have children biglouis and that was your decision.

However, just because it was wise for you does not mean it is necessarily the same for everyone.

I think every generation worried about the next generation.

Our GC are living their best lives they are sheltered from the horrors of the world, whilst being given an age appropriate explanation of the news.

The teenagers are more interested in recycling and their latest computer game and how well their footie team is doing.

It is not good for anyone’s mental health to constantly dwell on the negatives, look for at least one positive each day and focus on that.

I think the older we get, the more we see the futility of violence, whether wars, hooliganism or whatever other form it might take.

As teenagers and young adults, most of us, and certainly me, tend to see everything in black and white / right or wrong. Now we see many more nuances.

It is not fair, or probably even strictly speaking true to blame men for wars or violence. Women in power have instigated conflicts too, or carried them on. There just have not been so many women so placed that they had that power.

And until very recently women were largely responsible for the early education and upbringing of both boys and girls, so as a sex we could have changed things if we had seen the need. At best women (as a sex) have been complicit in bring boys up to fight and girls to sit at home .

The oldest written Danish law (from the 12th century) starts with the words that the law builds up the country, but if everyone would make do with what is actually theirs, we would not need a law.

A perfectly true statement, I assume, but no society has yet managed to abide by it, so I may be wrong.

The 10th commandment warns us against coveting our neighbours' possessions - if mankind as such had ever really tried to obey that we might just have a solid chance of living in peace.

I shall soon be 72 and grew up in what is termed "peace-time", which when you, my contemporaries, think about what we actually have lived through, just means we were so fortunate that the fighting went on in countries we didn't live in and has not yet escalated in our lifetime into a world war.

Life is no harder now, then it was on the day in 1917 when my great-grandparents received the notification that one of their sons had died on the Somme and the other was battling to survive mustard-gas poisoning. And, my grand-parents were only one set of parents out of Heaven alone knows how many who received that kind of news on that day,

Today we know that fighting is going on in far too many places practically at the same time as the battle commences, but the suffering is just the same, irrespective of which war we are talking about. The news just used to take longer to reach us.

In the interests of remaining sane, we just have to switch off the many forms of news distribuation at times.

I listen to the headlines but cannot cope with the detail and "human interest" stories. If there is nothing I can do to make a difference I try to put it out of my mind. We have too much information now and it is impossible to digest it all. I suspect the world has always been this violent but we were simply unaware of it.

Me too. Overwhelmed by the news, feeling despondent and tearful. I remember feeling this way for weeks when someone at my office die during the 7/7 London bombing.

Does not help that someone on GN accused me of being anti semitic, when I consider myself a tolerant person having a potential SIL with Jewish ancestry.
Plus I grew up in a multicultural country and have been exposed to different cultures and have attended weddings and funerals of a number of faiths – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu.

The world is so chaotic right now, we have just been through a pandemic, cost of living crisis, Ukraine war and now facing the potential of a war that can lead to WW3. It can wear you down.

I agree with you Downnotout, if men want to fight, why don’t they put on their army uniforms, go to a battlefield somewhere and fight like men and leave the women and children alone.

Not sure, whether the world will be better place with women in power, might attract the wrong type pf women - women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

Callistemon21

You have told us many times how wise you were not to have children biglouis and that was your decision.

However, just because it was wise for you does not mean it is necessarily the same for everyone.

This.

biglouis, your choice not to have children. Should you ever need care or medical treatment, it’s likely to be provided by the adult children those of us who chose to have babies and nurture those babies to grow into caring adults who co tribute positively to society.

I am concerned, distressed at times angry or bewildered by what’s happening in Gaza and Israel. I don’t feel hopeful for a resolution, I’m scared it will get even worse.
I understand why Israel wants to destroy Hamas but don’t believe their bombardment of innocent civilians will achieve this.
But I’m not overwhelmed by world events. Being overwhelmed suggests not functioning.

SporeRB

Me too. Overwhelmed by the news, feeling despondent and tearful. I remember feeling this way for weeks when someone at my office die during the 7/7 London bombing.

Does not help that someone on GN accused me of being anti semitic, when I consider myself a tolerant person having a potential SIL with Jewish ancestry.
Plus I grew up in a multicultural country and have been exposed to different cultures and have attended weddings and funerals of a number of faiths – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu.

The world is so chaotic right now, we have just been through a pandemic, cost of living crisis, Ukraine war and now facing the potential of a war that can lead to WW3. It can wear you down.

I agree with you Downnotout, if men want to fight, why don’t they put on their army uniforms, go to a battlefield somewhere and fight like men and leave the women and children alone.

Not sure, whether the world will be better place with women in power, might attract the wrong type pf women - women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

I was about to disagree somewhat with you - then I saw this...

...women who are just as egoistical as men, women like Liz Truss.

She's a very singular individual that one isn't she!

As The Spectator said:

She campaigned hard and sometimes dirty to obtain a job for which she was manifestly out of her depth. Once in that job, she exercised power with peremptory arrogance. She rewarded people who had sucked up to her, cast out anyone who had spoken up for her rival, and allowed experienced civil servants to be hoofed ruthlessly out of their jobs.

Watching her on TV - I don't know about anyone else but I always get an impression of someone 'acting the part' - the way she she attempts to encompass her audience with a 'questioning' look turning her head from one side to the other, as if to say, "I'm-right-aren't-I?", coupled with a look which is meant to deter anyone from questioning her assumptions.

... like this...

www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/liz-truss-allies-set-to-publish-growth-budget-days-ahead-of-autumn-statement/ar-AA1iff9M

So, you could be right. Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.

No children means less worry in many ways. I certainly understand the thinking behind the choice to be childless.

karmalady

No children means less worry in many ways. I certainly understand the thinking behind the choice to be childless.

But it’s not for everyone, obviously. Bringing up children, and then supporting them as young adults can be very demanding in all sorts of ways - but (usually) very rewarding too.

Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.
I was astonished to see her at the Tory Party conference holding forth.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

Anxiety is such a corrosive emotion. Please, for your own health, try to do the mindfulness routine of listing three good things that happened today.
Mine - a robin was singing in the garden, the sun shone, I finished a piece of knitting.

I know it seems trite but I keep thinking of the Harry Potter scene when Dumbledore dies and the students, one by one, use their wands to create a shield of light against the darkness. It's the only form of resistance to the current world news that I have.

lixy, I haven’t seen or read about Dumbledore’s death and I really appreciate the idea of students using their wands to create a shield of light against the darkness.

If only this imagery could be utilised - the world would be a better place. I know not enough about Buddhism but my understanding is there’s an emphasise on compassion for all people. That’s needed more than ever

Callistemon21

^Truss certainly has an ego - keeps popping up like an unwanted mole on your lawn... If I'd mini-tanked the economy and caused millions of people a surge in their mortgage repayments, I'd be keeping a very low profile.^
I was astonished to see her at the Tory Party conference holding forth.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

If I may use a Yiddish word - she certainly has chutzpah.

You may - and she does

I had son and nephew in armed forces, one clears mines for the Halo trust nowand a diplomat father, have been well aware of devastating World events for years, and this Israel/ Hamas nightmare is a repeat of other ghastly horrors still going on.I didn't sleep well when family were in Eg Afghanistan etc, still not sleeping well..