How are doomers made?

[MEA]

I like to think I'm a doomer becuase I grew up in the shadow of the club of Rome -- but I was 1 of 4. Of the other 3, one is a doomer, 1 is a PO denier "and anyway, even if we run out of the stuff, they'll come up with something else" and 1 thinks that "something that bad just couldn't happen."

I'm lucky enough to have real live doomer as friends (as well as none doomers), and as I was pondering the question, it stuck me that for my small study group (ie myself, my brothers and 6 friends) the key seemed to be having something bad but not too bad in your adult life, and,in some cases an unhappy childhood seems to be significant too.

For example, a bad marriage that one got out of (doomer) vs a bad marriage that one is still in and seems to consume one's entire life just managing day to day (non-doomer)


This strike a chord with anyone?

[mtlouie]

Oh, yeah, this has been discussed a lot on the forum.  Definitely I would say most doomers (not all) have not had the easiest of lives.

[residualheat]

Maybe a not-so-good life is a prerequisite - it makes you realise just how many things can go wrong.

[MEA]

In my case, I think I've been lucky enough to have had a wonderful life, with some very sad things happening it it. Of course, sad things happened to a lot of people.

[Grower]

I'm like MEA. Great life, but with lots of sadness, esp. when I was younger, before age 20. It made me sensitive, and I think that's why I'm a doomer. I pick up on things more than most do, I think. Nobody in my family is a doomer.

[Bill Hicks]

Maybe a not-so-good life is a prerequisite - it makes you realise just how many things can go wrong.

I'm not sure about that.  Though I had some hardships (divorced parents, mother who was manic depressive), my life has been pretty good.  I started my career right out of college and have never been unemployed.

I think I'm a doomer because our family has a stroungly individualist onery streak and I was always encouraged by my parents to think for myself (or at least not DISCOURAGED from doing so).  I've also always been pretty skeptical, and gave up religion when I was 14.

Personally, I think doomers are actually pessimistic, skeptical free thinkers who have merely reached logical conclusions.

[haggismudpie]

My life has been good (no thanks to lots of stupid decisions on my part).  I think I was very much influenced by being an only child raised mostly by a constantly working mom, a German-Russian
immigrant with health problems.  She had a stoke at an early age and then again at age 44.  She had a 6th grade education and was well read.  Never heard her complain once.  She lived with us from age 62-74 when she finally died of another stroke.  She did almost all of the house and garden work, cooked, took care of the last 2 babies. so hubby and I could work. I was also able to go to nursing school during that period.  My kids loved her stories of immigrant life on Colorado-Nebraska-Wyoming farms and making do during the Depression.  Her own mother had died of TB at age 32, after bearing 10 kids, 5 of whom died as children.  I always admired her survival skills and now, of course, wish I had told her I loved her.

[ExRanger]

Doomers are made in a hidden forge that most people don't even realize exists. They are made of a rare and special steel alloy known for its high strength, high flexability and off the chart breaking point. This alloy holds an edge well and requires little maintenance even in the worst environments. They are hammered out on the anvil of adversity and tempered in an icy bath of crystal clear reality.

[urbanfarmer]

I DEFINITELY want that t-shirt!

[residualheat]

Nice one, ExRanger 

[Macs UK]

Personally, I think doomers are actually pessimistic, skeptical free thinkers who have merely reached logical conclusions.

Personally, I think you're probably right 

But damn, ex-ranger does put a nice gloss on it 

[Shamaness]

Personally, I think doomers are actually pessimistic, skeptical free thinkers who have merely reached logical conclusions.

Personally, I think you're probably right 

But damn, ex-ranger does put a nice gloss on it 

+1 to both of you!   

I think skepticism and free-thinking are a big part of it.  Some other aspects that I suspect are involved, in my case at least...

1.   Being one of those people who lives by "if I want it done right, I've got to do it myself."
2.   Being raised to be the responsible one in a family - I wonder how many doomers are oldest or only children, or the first child after a wide age gap.
3.   Being in the midst of some kind of major disaster or trauma, like hurricane Katrina for instance.  For me it was being caught in DC on the morning of 9/11/01, responsible for 50 people's safety.
4.   Having a strong need for personal freedom, and knowing that such a need means you can't trust (nor depend upon for help) any person or institution that wants to control you.

Maybe personality/experience traits like these can also help to explain why certain people aren't open at all to a doomer's message.

I'm sure there's more...I want to think about it further.  Good discussion topic.   

[gnosis]

Doomers are made in a hidden forge that most people don't even realize exists. They are made of a rare and special steel alloy know for its high strength, high flexability and off the chart breaking point. This alloy holds an edge well and requires little maintenance even in the worst environments. They are hammered out on the anvil of adversity and tempered in an icy bath of crystal clear reality.

 


+1

[gin]

I think true doomers are probably hard wired that way.. for me since I was a child..
I thought pretty much everyone was full of shit but they also told me I was gifted . 

[Grimus]

Doomers are made in a hidden forge that most people don't even realize exists. They are made of a rare and special steel alloy known for its high strength, high flexability and off the chart breaking point. This alloy holds an edge well and requires little maintenance even in the worst environments. They are hammered out on the anvil of adversity and tempered in an icy bath of crystal clear reality.

This needs to fly like a banner on the forum home page if nothing else.