"Most people are happy"

[Messgram]

I see this phrase a lot, especially when it comes to antinatalism, those who are against this philosophy enjoy this argument to justify that it's worth bringing more people into the world.
The truth is that only a tiny portion of the population can really be considered happy. Think about it, most of the world is precarious, and even in first world countries it is common to see people living in a miserable way.


Where I live, the population is exploited by a corrupt government, and all sectors are precarious, so the quality of life is hell. If that wasn't enough, most people work almost half the day from Monday to Monday on a boring/meaningless job to earn a shit salary that is barely enough to get by.

How can someone declare themselves happy when living in these conditions? How can anyone say they are happy, when most of their life consists of wagslaving, being exploited by others and having to deal with the stress of bills and other annoyances in life?

You can't say you're happy when most of the time it's not that happiness you experience, but rather boredom and stress.

That's exactly how the people around me are and in most parts of the world too, because I know the world is a rotten place.
I don't believe it when people around me, especially at work, say they're happy. They're just deluded into beleaving they are, whe in fact all of them are almost as unhappy and miserable as I am, they just cant realize it.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

I think a lot of people are happy in general, with certain aspects in life. If you're not severely depressed, then you can feel and experience happiness on occasion. However, that phrase is very patronizing.

 

[Lost Magic]

It really all comes down to the a persons state of mind. Some people are content with what little they have in life and some are not. It's just life.

 

[FuneralCry]

Maybe people are lying when they say they are happy, or they say it to try and convince themselves that their life is not that bad as they do not want to accept how miserable they really are. I do not understand how anyone could be happy in a world like this, to me happiness does not even exist. Just the fact that there is so much suffering in this world is enough to make me want to leave.

 

[lostontheroad]

I call bullshit. Most people put up a front that they are happy. They just cope with existence. I haven't met many people that don't use drugs/alcohol/prescriptions to cope with this sad reality.

 

[.............]

There are people that are truly happy but I do feel that for the most part, what people feel is either some level of content with their lives or neutrality. Just like a lot of things, how people feel about life is on a spectrum and I think a lot of people sit somewhere near the middle. Wish I was one of those people.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

Most people are happy if they have a social life to keep them busy. Less traumatic events and are financially stable to travel

 

[outrider567]

Well, I WAS happy, but now I'm endlessly miserable and in black moods constantly

 

[its-about-time]

I don't believe happiness is so heavily determined by what's happening around you. I believe happiness is a trick we play on ourselves to cope with whatever we find difficult in life. Most people are able to trick themselves in some form or another. Doubt anybody is 100% "happy" (don't believe that's attainable) but a sizable percentage of happiness seems to be enough for most. I don't think everyone is happy. But I think a large chunk, the majority, are happy enough to consider life worthwhile. I don't feel capable of tricking myself into happiness. But sometimes I find a little happiness anyways.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Too bad I'm not most people.

 

[Messgram]

I don't believe happiness is so heavily determined by what's happening around you.

Most of us wouldn't be a pit of sadness if the events around us weren't so hellish.

As you said, it's just a trick. They're not really happy, they just "think" they are and everyone is wrong as well about their life being "worthwhile" , because death will come to take It all, consequently any life won't be worth living.

 

[Ta555]

I wouldn't say most people are happy. They're probably just neutral or content enough and feel the high of happiness on occasion. I would give anything for that. I had that before something fucked with my brain.

This is also only relevant to first world countries. I think it's hard to be content if you're living in a military dictatorship or don't know where your next meal is coming from or have no medical care for your severely ill child or whatever.

 

[depressedmaniac]

As you said, it's just a trick. They're not really happy, they just "think" they are

Well we all just experience life from our very limited perspective. Happy is just a word so it might mean anything to someone else. They have enough motivation to talk about being happy and living their live so maybe they are actually "happy". whatever that means to them and they might not even mean any ill intend talking like that. I am really high I shouldnt talk lol.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

I wouldn't say most people are happy. They're probably just neutral or content enough and feel the high of happiness on occasion. I would give anything for that. I had that before something fucked with my brain.

This is also only relevant to first world countries. I think it's hard to be content if you're living in a military dictatorship or don't know where your next meal is coming from or have no medical care for your severely ill child or whatever.

I agree

 

[The Abyss]

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

[dreambound]

I think fear plays a large part in people saying they are happy when they are not. Society considers 'being grateful' as a virtuous
attribute for an individual to display.....so people can outwardly show their gratitude, while inwardly feel completely hammered
by the pressures & expectations of the world around them.

 

[jimmy7754]

I feel crushed inside a box everyday..

 

[sandalphon]

Most people DON'T want to kill themselves, so that means they're happy or at least content with life. People in this forum are the exception, not the rule.

 

[motel rooms]

The truth is that only a tiny portion of the population can really be considered happy.

I don't believe it when people around me, especially at work, say they're happy. They're just deluded into beleaving they are, whe in fact all of them are almost as unhappy and miserable as I am, they just cant realize it.

I do not understand how anyone could be happy in a world like this, to me happiness does not even exist.

Nobody gets to decide what "happiness" means for another person & who's "(un)happy". That goes both for pro-natalists & those of us who are anti-natalists.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

Most people DON'T want to kill themselves, so that means they're happy or at least content with life. People in this forum are the exception, not the rule.

There are some misconceptions in this post.

Most people indeed do not want to kill themselves, but that doesn't mean they are happy or content. And all because we are on this forum, doesn't mean that we don't want to die. Many people here do not, but for some or most of us, it is the lesser of the two evils between dying and our current existence.

There are people in the recovery section of this forum who are trying to change things for the better. You mainly see people in the "suicide discussion" whom have given up hope and accepted their circumstances, but that does not mean we want to die. It is just preferable compared to sticking around.

People who do NOT want to kill themselves and have not yet could and still are battling through survival instinct, guilt and false hope.

 

[Zzzzz]

I strongly disagree that most people are happy. If they were happy, why are they constantly complaining? People are simply afraid of death and losing their lives. That's not the same as being happy. Most holocaust victims would never suicide. Were they happy? Of course not. Content is not the same as happy either. The survival instinct and social conditioning/mental delusions keep most people content in this utterly sadistic game.

 

[Messgram]

Nobody gets to decide what "happiness" means for another person & who's "(un)happy". That goes both for pro-natalists & those of us who are anti-natalists.

I'm not deciding anything, just saying that it's contradictory to consider yourself a happy person when you rarely experience such happiness, instead, experiencing negative feelings such as boredom, sadness and anguish most of the time.
I'm sure nobody likes wageslaving, not being able to put enough food on their table or not having enough money and time to spend on things they want. Regardless if someone tells me that they are happy living on this miserablel state, it won't change the fact that they are suffering from all these needs and the real happiness they mentions is overwhelmed by negative feelings.

 

[motel rooms]

I'm not deciding anything

You sort of are:

The truth is that only a tiny portion of the population can really be considered happy.

I get it, you're bitter. I get very bitter too, but that doesn't give me the right to say who's "happy".

Regardless if someone tells me that they are happy living on this miserablel state, it won't change the fact that they are suffering from all these needs and the real happiness they mentions is overwhelmed by negative feelings.

What is "real happiness"? What gives you the right to say that someone whose brain is separate from yours experiences more negative feelings than positive ones? How would you feel if some "expert" told you that you're not really unhappy & that you actually experience many more pleasant feelings than horrible ones? You'd get very, very upset...

 

[Zzzzz]

I call bullshit. Most people put up a front that they are happy. They just cope with existence. I haven't met many people that don't use drugs/alcohol/prescriptions to cope with this sad reality.

Exactly. Most people have addictions they use to cope with life. Is that happiness? Just looking at most people's faces tells you how unhappy they are.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

Yeah, I don't buy that some people are not genuinely happy. I think those that are saying that are just bitter, projecting and jealous (Don't worry, I am quite jealous of certain people myself so I get it).

 

[lostontheroad]

Yeah, I don't buy that some people are not genuinely happy. I think those that are saying that are just bitter, projecting and jealous (Don't worry, I am quite jealous of certain people myself so I get it).

Eh. Whatever happiness they have is fleeting. Some people are better off, some are worse.. etc etc. We are still all going to die at the end of the day.

 

[Hurt]

You can't see who's mentally ill. People who seem the happiest could be the most depressed.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

Eh. Whatever happiness they have is fleeting. Some people are better off, some are worse.. etc etc. We are still all going to die at the end of the day.

Everything is fleeting. beauty, wealth, happiness.

It's better to have it than not.

 

[lostontheroad]

Everything is fleeting. beauty, wealth, happiness.

It's better to have it than not.

To each their own. I would have rather been aborted than live in this world. Life's pain/suffering far outweighs its pleasures in my eyes.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

I would have rather been aborted than live in this world

Honestly, same. But only because I am unable to have the life I want from start to finish.