So it seems like there's a renewed crackdown on piracy going on. Torrent sites are dropping left and right. A founder of Piratebay recently gave an interview where he firmly stated the open internet is a lost cause. And I'm seeing first-hand evidence that they're going after individual users again, instead of just distributors -- harking back to the early 2000's days of the battle over file sharing.
I'm seriously considering boycotting major publishers right now. I almost do already when it comes to games, because their content just sucks worse all the time. But I'm talking everything else, too.
It's getting to the point where I want to just go somewhere prominent and set myself on fire.
All I do is work. I give up sleep to have any free time. It's always been like this, but it used to be because I was going to school and working. Now it's because work just gets more and more ridiculous. Supply chain operations are increasingly 24/7 in nature, and increasingly unpredictable and volatile due to cost cutting measures. But the various providers involved don't hire the people needed to operate 24/7, because the stuff that happens outside of business hours, while frequent, is sporadic and not enough to keep someone busy for a whole shift. God for-fucking-bid that someone get paid to cover time where there's no consistent supply of urgent demand. And because hiring people simply isn't compatible with the corporate goal of posting higher profits every quarter. Throw in executives demanding consistently higher performance on delusional KPI's with head-rolling ultimatums, and new projects and reports to make their lives more convenient at the expense of everyone else.
I've heard people accuse me of bragging when I mention how much I make (a bit above the national average household income), yet my wife talks more and more about using suicide to take her debt away from the family. We both avoid getting anything but essential medical care. We're no longer qualified for full Medicaid for our kids, and we're terrified of how this is going to play out for our diabetic kid, when costs for his supplies are skyrocketing right now. And I suck as a parent anymore. I'm too exhausted all the time anymore to show them any good nature, and it's near impossible for me to be engaged in their education.
We're not the best with money, but we're not exactly living extravagantly, either. I saved for 2 years to buy something nice that's only 1.2% of my yearly income, and a good chunk of it was bought with gift cards. I spend an average of $100 a year on games for myself and see a handful of movies. I'll go to a concert once every couple years. But according to older or richer people, this kind of thing is proof that I'm just part of a spoiled, entitled generation. I'm supposed to pinch every penny and live the most horribly miserable slave life imaginable until I retire.
Fuck that shit. I hate this country. I'm sick of everything being judged on profitability, and our cultural obsession with wealth worship. I want the whole business world burned to the ground. The only optimistic thought I have for the future is that the post-apocalypse produces something better.
Before anyone worries - No, I'm not going to do anything rash. Just venting.