I was watching two bears eating a red-streaked chunk of deer flesh on frontpage internet news media, and it occurred to me that this might sicken someone — someone who has cheeseburgers at a fast food joint, and watches UFC fights for the excitement of it.

There was an article over a motorcyclist being killed by a bear after attempting to give it food. (Another bear piece!) Apparently he thought the creature was “cute” and wanted to be its friend. Well, he got close to it, alright.

We live in a distorted reality where civilization cushions many of the worst blows of the natural world. Or even of the unnatural world. If you ride down the street on an e-scooter, and fly off, injuring yourself, a hospital will treat your injuries for you. If you suffer from anxiety or depression, self-described, you can get government support for your condition. I even knew a girl once who was living off a job’s insurance policy for her depression! Lucky chick.

Not everyone is covered in today’s brave new world. It is possible to fall through the cracks, and then things get genuinely tough for you. But for the majority, the social safety net is there to support you.

If life were keeping it fer real, 75 and 80 year old men and women would be dying on the streets feebly before our eyes. Generally speaking, society gives the elderly a place to hide, to mask their infirmities from a youth-obsessed world.

The end of a life is never pretty, but we turn our faces away from the punishing health crises of the final years to avoid seeing it. When we’re young and healthy, we never think about such things, but the clock is ticking on us. This is a brutal world that civilization has devised a number of adroit protections against its brutality. Our old age sees us, in modern countries, supported by the government. While we sometimes struggle to move around, our needs are helped along by grocery home delivery for food and cheap television for entertainment.

There are pills for birth control, pills for depression. Pop a pill! Make a life-change! The pills are usually safe and priced to sell. Need an instant boner? Try Viagra! It’s easier than getting a more attractive mate.

Our civilization prioritizes “safety” and “easiness” over everything else, like living a worthwhile life. Cheap pleasures that can be commoditized and monetized are the preferable ones. There are 100 varieties of potato chip, and yet sex with under-16-year-olds is illegal. *hateful glare* Fuckers.

Our “news” is debased to gossip-bare-bottom levels and our sense of unreality grows, masking over what was hard and real. Not only are our lives distorted, but our perception of others’ lives grows distorted, as well.

In this world of spin, you have to hold onto the floor just to keep from toppling over.

A large-scale famine would come as a genuine shock to most. A mass fire would also shock most people. Anything “mass” and negative would fuck up people’s secure, lazy perceptions.

Protected by the police and the military, the average suburbanite, driving his SUV with Starbucks coffee holder in the front, has no idea what he’s gaining. The number of sheltered walls dropped around his existence is astounding. He could never survive without his car or his coffee.

Today’s generation, with its trigger warnings, is the weakest and most spoiled generation ever. Trigger warnings! Absolutely stunning descent into juvenile dementia. Ha ha!

If your biggest problem in life is confronting an unforeseen bit of media, you have it pretty fucking good, my friend.

The distortions continue…