Do you mean the great depression? The stolen generation of aboriginal tribes in autralia? The Jewish community after the war? Every native american after thousands of deaths of their people when white man came? I could go on, but this generation of first world country white people need a reality check and a smack in the face. Man the fuck up because there are and were people far worse off then you.
I'm probably gonna get downvoted for this, but I hate the philosophy that your problems aren't as bad as everyone else's problems. You can realise that your problems aren't the worst in the world, but that doesn't make it any less your problem. I'm allowed to be upset, and yes, there have been other worse things that have happened like you mentioned, but my problems don't magically go away when I think about how worse other people have it.
If you’re one of those people who likes to walk around and tell people that it could be worse, you can go fuck yourself. You obviously don’t care about the woes of others, which doesn’t make you a good person. It makes you an asshat. If you can’t be understanding enough about other people’s shit to at least remain silent instead of spewing forth THAT unattractive thought, then you need to shut yourself away and tell yourself that your life isn’t so bad, and stop telling everyone else that they should be grateful.
To tell you the truth icyquiet I've know a thing or two about suffering. I completely agree with what you are saying about pain being subjective but I did indeed mean that this generation of white people (yes I am white from a first world country) can really not be that worse off in comparison as we are the ones who create most of the problems ourselves or our parents do. Having said that, I think this is the absolute worst time a person could be in in any place given the media telling and objectifying women and men to be and look 'perfect'. I struggle with life everyday but other people struggle more. And when I do rememebrr that, it makes me more greatful. I am a caring friend if not the mother hen in our group constantly trying to make others feel special. If you think that your troubles are just as bad and you get no satisfaction from thinking you could be worser off then a big fuck you right back you selfish asshat.
Well, the thing is, is the past relevant to the present? Can we bring up "well, sixty years ago this happened, and it was horrible, so shut up."? The past is no longer a deciding factor in that case. An event that happened in a previous generation does not have the same impact on further successions of people. That isn't the wrong thing to do though in my opinion. The wrong thing to do is forget the events, their nuances, the reasons and framework surrounding it. And even worse is to unknowingly repeat previous detrimental experiences, not exactly repeating, but miming along to the beat. It's not wrong to think you have a problem. It does make you a bit of a twat when you compare your broken arm to another person who suffered psychological trauma and think you are worse off. But our problems are our problems. Why does it matter what happened years ago, as long as we don't repeat the mistake?
If you’re one of those people who likes to walk around and tell people that it could be worse, you can go fuck yourself. You obviously don’t care about the woes of others, which doesn’t make you a good person. It makes you an asshat. If you can’t be understanding enough about other people’s shit to at least remain silent instead of spewing forth THAT unattractive thought, then you need to shut yourself away and tell yourself that your life isn’t so bad, and stop telling everyone else that they should be grateful.