Hacker News Reader

I wish this would be a completely normal thing to do. I think if we were more genuinely compassionate and cared more about each other’s lives then this world would be a better place.

View on HN

Sadly, I think the problem is not even a lack of compassion, but the fact that many people don't have anyone they trust, and there's a lack of shared spaces where they could belong and eventually connect with others that could help them. Everyone needs connection (well, let's leave schizoids aside for today), and connection requires people being together in the first place. And only then starts the hard part, as a lot of people is pretty particular about connection, trust and openess towards others, but where do we expect to go if we are already failing at getting people together in the first place.

While I'm happy about visibilizing mental health problems, I feel pretty similarly to many other issues that we try to visibilize: that's only step zero, and no one seems to bother to talk about step one afterwards. While it's possible to help specific individuals, we are not getting closer to the root of the structural problems impairing our societies.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com