Do you feel guilty for living in the "first world"?

yuppies

I have to admit, my natural instinct is to feel a bit guilty for getting to live in a developed country, but at the same time surely it's not my fault those countries are the way they are, and so I have no reason to feel guilty!? I should mention that I don't consider myself a "do-gooder" either, but the guilt does hit me every so often. Not a troll thread by the way, genuinely curious how others feel about the state of the third world (ie. conscious and uncomfortable of it, or just don't care at all!)

orourkeda

Dont worry bono is on it

Ficheall

I don't feel guilty for living in the first world, but I do feel embarrassed on behalf of the people protesting in town because the price of drink has gone up while their social welfare payments have come down etc..

kfallon

I don't feel any guilt whatsoever, why should I?

OneArt

I felt more guilty living a first world lifestyle when in the third world. It always perplexed me as a kid as to why lots of people didn't have houses or lived in tin shacks.

maygitchell

Theres very little difference, in this country i pay for skangers to drink tuborg all day with their 12 children, although i dont have to walk miles for water

Kevin Duffy

Do I feel guilty? No. Am I grateful for my luck? Yes.

Geekness1234

To be honest,not even a little.I mean there has and will always be poverty no matter what people think.It's naive to think we'll ever live in a world without it.

pragmatic1

I dont feel guilty at all about it. I do feel lucky from time to time though. Having said that, Ireland wasnt always lovely for the people living here even a few decades ago.

J. Marston

Like fúck I do, what's to feel guilty about?

TheyKnowMyIP

maygitchell wrote: »

Theres very little difference, in this country i pay for skangers to drink tuborg all day with their 12 children, although i dont have to walk miles for water

If you are paying any tax, you're doing it wrong:D

*I am pulling the mickey, obviously:)*

Don't worry, the scangers and their kids will only live till about 30 anyway. Chain smoking and tuborg drinking marathons don't mix too well with life expectancy. It's obvious this is special knowledge only known by medical professionals.

whubee

yeah its a bit depressing when you see pricetags for tacky designer shyt and know that you could probably change someones life for the same price.

do what you can and help a little, life in the 1st world isnt exactly heavenly either.

Soby

Grateful not guilty

splendid101

I feel guilty when I look at my clothes labels and see they were made in Bangladesh or somewhere else where they were likely made in a sweatshop.

But I don't feel guilty for living in the developed world, that wouldn't make sense.

4leto

No just lucky and its status is not so secure anymore, so I feel frightened.

I kind of think Europe is sliding into a decline, it will look more like eastern europe or south America in 10 to 20 years time, but I really hope I am wrong about that.

pragmatic1

Geekness1234 wrote: »

To be honest,not even a little.I mean there has and will always be poverty no matter what people think.It's naive to think we'll ever live in a world without it.

There will always be relative poverty. But the thought that we should just be complacent about people starving to death in 2011 just isnt good enough. Furthermore, the world does have enough resources to give everyone at least some basic level of comfort.

Wetai

Move to a Third World country if it bothers you so much.

yuppies

LiamN wrote: »

Move to a Third World country if it bothers you so much.

Do you feel guilty Liam?

Wetai

yuppies wrote: »

Do you feel guilty Liam?

Not really, not like this country is much of a cause of guilt from living here.

cocoshovel

Nope. lolpoorpeople

ejmaztec

LiamN wrote: »

Move to a Third World country if it bothers you so much.

But he's probably already in Ireland.

mikemac

Guilty for what?

And we lose jobs to them
Fruit of the Loom left Donegal for Morocco for only one example

4leto

4leto wrote: »

No just lucky and its status is not so secure anymore, so I feel frightened.

I kind of think Europe is sliding into a decline, it will look more like eastern europe or south America in 10 to 20 years time, but I really hope I am wrong about that.

One of the people where I work is Polish.
Last week I gave her a lift into Dublin city centre, she said that she was flying home for a couple of weeks and was taking some salmon with her as as it costs the equivalent of two days wages there for four pieces.

So when a piece of decent fish costs about €50 and your wages are €500 a week, then you'll know you've arrived!

Tesco Massacre

mikemac wrote: »

Guilty for what?

And we lose jobs to them
Fruit of the Loom left Donegal for Morocco for only one example

I don't think Morocco's part of the Third World, though.

Ficheall

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Furthermore, the world does have enough resources to give everyone at least some basic level of comfort.

I wonder...
According to some brief googling it seems I use 2500+ kilocalories a day, and there are enough resources to provide everyone in the world with 2700kcals per day.
Would I begrudge the erstwhile starving children of Africa if I couldn't have an extra few bars of chocolate some day because we were feeding the third world? The first time it happened, sure, I'd feel good about myself. What about the second time? And the third? Would I eventually begin to begrudge all those fat little Trocaire babies the fact that it would take me a week to make up a Terry's Chocolate Orange?

Upon reflection - I need to do something about my diet...

4leto

Deleted User wrote: »

One of the people where I work is Polish.
Last week I gave her a lift into Dublin city centre, she said that she was flying home for a couple of weeks and was taking some salmon with her as as it costs the equivalent of two days wages there for four pieces.

So when a piece of decent fish costs about €50 and your wages are €500 a week, then you'll know you've arrived!

That what I worry about, say the Euro failed, it would.

Its as I said it maybe just my usual pessimism, perhaps we can continue to obtain growth for 20 years as our competitors in the East are rising and demanding more of the Earths resources.

yuppies

i suppose the people in the third world now wouldn't give a fcuk if the west started starving to death and they started to have food! (yes i know not all of the third world is starving to death but you get my point!)

4leto

Originally Posted by pragmatic1
Furthermore, the world does have enough resources to give everyone at least some basic level of comfort.


It definitely doesn't, take energy if Africa and asia was the use the same amount of oil as us in the west, the world simply does,t have that capacity. We would all become impoverished.

pragmatic1

4leto wrote: »

Originally Posted by pragmatic1
Furthermore, the world does have enough resources to give everyone at least some basic level of comfort.


It definitely doesn't, take energy if Africa and asia was the use the same amount of oil as us in the west, the world simply does,t have that capacity. We would all become impoverished.

It definitely does. Oil is on the way out as it is. We're all going to go nuclear at some point and our methods of food production will be changed dramatically.

MickShamrock

Not guilty but glad. If I lived in the third world I'd have topped myself by now!

jaffacakesyum

Yeah I do feel a bit guilty

Especially when things get me down or I complain about something; then I realise how lucky I am and I feel like a tool

No and I hate people who constantly bring up how grateful we should feel for not living in a third world country and belittle any problems you have. I do recognise that I'm much more fortunate than many people, but there are plenty of very real problems in this country.

yuppies

Do you hate me Selene Petite Yoga?

If you're the kind of person who responds to someone telling you bad news with 'oh well, at least you don't live in the third world', then yes.

Harry Angstrom

Nope. For all I know, I might end up being reincarnated as a cockroach.

yuppies

Selene Petite Yoga wrote: »

If you're the kind of person who responds to someone telling you bad news with 'oh well, at least you don't live in the third world', then yes.

A few years ago I would have the very odd time, but I was really just trying to be objectively consistent.. I get it now that it doesn't work like that..

Batsy

Do you feel guilty for living in the "first world"?

Nope.

Simon Adebisi

I love the fact that i do. Its not my fault im not a starving african. Thank **** im not.

ZombieBride

Not at all, I had no choice in where I was born.

The Scientician

I was just thinking about this the other day. I won the lotto the day I was born, yet I'm still fúcking miserable. Ah first world, ya spoilt me rotten.

MyKeyG

Selene Petite Yoga wrote: »

No and I hate people who constantly bring up how grateful we should feel for not living in a third world country and belittle any problems you have. I do recognise that I'm much more fortunate than many people, but there are plenty of very real problems in this country.

That's always been a bone of contention with me too. 'Now Mike you know there's always someone worse off than you'. That there were starving children in Africa didn't stop one of my oldest friends hanging himself.

I'm grateful for what I have and I regret what I do not but I pass no apology as to the troubles I do have to deal with!

Malari

No, don't feel guilty at all. Neither do I feel grateful (to who?!). It's just chance.

kylith

No, I don't feel guilty. Why should I feel guilty over being born somewhere? It's not like I had a choice in the matter.

St.Spodo

No. I wouldn't feel guilty for winning the lottery so I certainly don't feel guilty for living my only life in comfort.

Wertz

Exceptionally lucky, yes....guilty? No.

Batsy

kylith wrote: »

No, I don't feel guilty. Why should I feel guilty over being born somewhere? It's not like I had a choice in the matter.

You should fee guilty because that's what the Left want you to feel. The Left hate themselves and all their kind and only like people who are the opposite of themselves.

They think you should feel guilty if you are a man; if you are white; if you are Western; if you are Christian; and if you are straight.

The Left particularly hate white, male, straight, Western Chistians and therefore the Left feel that this group should feel the guiltiest of all.

They believe we should feel ashamed of our great countries and our glorious, proud histories and that we should constantly feel sorrow at those things and that we should apologise to those "wronged" by us as often as we can.

It's just pathetic really.

Helix

Batsy wrote: »

You should fee guilty because that's what the Left want you to feel. The Left hate themselves and all their kind and only like people who are the opposite of themselves.

They think you should feel guilty if you are a man; if you are white; if you are Western; if you are Christian; and if you are straight.

The Left particularly hate white, male, straight, Western Chistians and therefore the Left feel that this group should feel the guiltiest of all.

They believe we should feel ashamed of our great countries and our glorious, proud histories and that we should constantly feel sorrow at those things and that we should apologise to those "wronged" by us as often as we can.

It's just pathetic really.

what in the hell kind of nonsense is that you're spouting?

Kevin Duffy

Helix wrote: »

what in the hell kind of nonsense is that you're spouting?

I'm looking at the location and guessing we've been treated to Chapter 1 of the English Defence League Manifesto.

Crazy Horse 6

Who say's it first world and how is that standard judged?

Joey the lips

yuppies wrote: »

I have to admit, my natural instinct is to feel a bit guilty for getting to live in a developed country, but at the same time surely it's not my fault those countries are the way they are, and so I have no reason to feel guilty!? I should mention that I don't consider myself a "do-gooder" either, but the guilt does hit me every so often. Not a troll thread by the way, genuinely curious how others feel about the state of the third world (ie. conscious and uncomfortable of it, or just don't care at all!)

You must live in france then.... Because you certainly dont live in ireland

Dudess

No, but I don't understand people who go on about Ireland as if it's on a par with a third world country from their laptop/Mac either.

Ireland has stuff to sort out, but quality of life is, in general, ridiculously good - seems really spoilt of people (who aren't genuinely deprived) to be going on as if they have kinda hard lives by virtue of the fact they live in Ireland. Nothing wrong with complaining about what's wrong with Ireland, but have a bit of perspective too.