Headlines!

[Despanan]

He wasn't a hippie. I'm a hippie.

He was a kid who wasn't even in college yet - who clearly had some untreated psychological Issues, who was about to start the process of becoming an adult in the worst economy since the great depression.

I mean, shit - college was scary for us, and when we went there most of us had no idea how bad things were gonna get. I really can't imagine what it's like to be a kid getting out of highschool now.

On a slightly related note: There is one way that this does tie into McCandles/Into the Wild. I can't tell you how many longtime friends of mine have told me that they want to die young/ are considering suicide at one point or another during our friendship.

Alot of this is untreated depression and other issues - but I think the phenomenon goes beyond that. Usually they're very smart, but they don't really know how to fit themselves into the capitalist marketplace and have a high level of anxiety about that. They're smart enough just how badly most of us are getting screwed, how miserable our parents are, and how small our chances of success really are. From what I've seen some of them get help/find their people/find a job that they can stand, others become homeless/disappear into drugs/become criminals. Others disappear inside of themselves cutting off from the rest of the world until they attempt suicide, get help, and then try again. Some have joined the military, and this has worked/gotten them killed/driven them even crazier to varying degrees. Others live perpetually off their parents as nigh-permanent men/woman children. Others become crust-punks and rail hop/squat from place to place and city to city.

The more positive cases I've seen involve them getting involved in art, or activism, or both.

The point is - there seems to be a huge chunk of our generation which, for whatever reason is rejecting the society we're all forced to live in. I dealt with it by going on the Appalachian Trail, moving to NYC, and throwing myself into art and then later politics. McCandles did something similar, but even though he came from a great deal more privilege than me he was way less able to deal with the world around him psychologically. Also, if the movie is to be believed - he was kind of a total dick who the people around him inexplicably treated like Jesus - but hey that's Hollywood.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's hard to find your place in society, especially in your late teens and early 20s. It's even harder to find your people. This can lead to alot of things, to the point where throwing the occasional brick through a window might actually be one of the healthier ways to deal with it. Wanting to "die young" is often seen as adolescent posturing, and suicide as strictly the product of an insane mind but as a phenomenon - well I think it may go deeper than that.

Also, as food for thought:

[Phantomgrift]

Sorry I can't reference the video. No youtube until we're done with deployment.

[Despanan]

[synkr0nized]

[Phantomgrift]

Desp, if I can find it, I'm going to link an article from Men's Health that mirrored one from Rolling Stone.
Wherein it points out more of the overall flaws that McSenseless made.

He set out "into wilderness" in his mind to live off the land. He apparently ignored the fact there was a bridge crossing the nasty span of water he forded on his own, two miles upstream. Additionally, there was a logging trail in that direction, along with a trappers cabin a couple of miles away from where he was found. He decided NOT to take the offer of a compass that was given him, choosing instead to head out with little to no knowledge of woodcraft, outdoors skills or anything that could remotely help someone survive in such a situation.

He had to be "unique" and "special" finding his own little plot of "unconquered" land... And it fucking killed him.
Numerous things were on hand that could have technically saved his life or increased his chance for survival, if he hadn't been a colossal moron.

[Despanan]

Synk: I had a tough time in college. I may not have talked about it much - but college kinda sucked for me, though to be fair highschool sucked harder.

Overall though - adult life is leagues better than both.

Phant: I'm not saying he wasn't an idiot - he was. I'm just saying it's likely he'd have survived if he wasn't paralyzed by the neurotoxin in the wild potato seeds.

He was technically "starving" before that, but he probably could have made it out, once he realized the severity of the situation of he hadn't ingested so many of the seeds, that the wilderness survival books said were totally fine.

[Agent]

hey guys we havent gone to war yet

[Phantomgrift]

Hey Agent, no one cares.

[synkr0nized]

[Zengus]

I just look back sadly on how much ass I could have gotten if I was a little bit smarter.

(Culinary school was fucking awesome though)