I mean I don’t really need the customer service rep to have the same customs as me. Even language is not a major issue, I’m good with most accents. Its the lack of training thats the major problem. Companies that off shore their customer service are often looking to cut corners and its blatantly obvious to the customer.

I’d imagine generational wealth matters more than location. Also don’t know if someone with more melanin than this child would want Norway lol. Urban US/Canada would be vastly superior in terms of high development index without being stared at like you just landed from Mars.

Depends on what type of socialization you’re referring to. Socializing with coworkers and other parents through your kids activities is not uncommon.

How much of that is modern tech and social media? I’d argue the Gen Z xoome meeting blank stare can be blamed as much on tech as the pandemic. This is the first generation that grew up living as much online as they do in the “real world”

Collective hedonism is an abstract ideal that has not quite had any real world application. I have met quite a few hedonistic individuals but have yet to see a successfully and consistently hedonistic group. It’s hard to get a large group to agree on what is meaningfully pleasurable. For the purposes of this discussion it’s too abstract to be relevant and even if it was I’m still not quite sure why it would be ‘badass’ as doing the pleasurable thing often does not coincide with doing the right thing.

Collective pleasure does not exist with any degree of permanence but collective prevention of harm absolutely does, and often requires sacrifice / hardship, which is what I would define as “badass”

The reason why it isn’t badass is it prioritizies self over others. Under a hedonistic worldview, your own pleasure matters more than another living beings pain.

It aligns well with capitalism and its inventivization of personal enrichment even if at an expense to others.

In my view being “badass” is taking care of each other, even the supposed “least” amongst us (if we are to believe in such hierarchies), as our superheros and religious figures are written.

There’s a reason we have immortalized such figures and I would describe exactly none of them as hedonistic. Rather they often take on incredible personal pain to bring safety and security to others. That is what I would call badass.

A lot of what we define as pleasurable in this part of the world is driven by consumerism or other environmentally unsustainably/harmful activity. If your pleasurable activities account for your impact on all living things then by all means knock yourself out. Most hedonists I’ve known do not demonstrate this degree of introspection and often are looking for fleeting pleasures to mask trauma or other mental health challenges.

Sounds more like the musings of a hedonist than a badass. The incoordination and head trauma are not as far off brand as he thinks it is.