are you really happy or are you just under the impression that you're happy

I bet you can’t stop thinking about how all your toes touch each other and how your tongue just sits weirdly in your mouth and how you are breathing manually you dumb bitch

I bet you can't stop thinking about how you walk and how much you close your eyelids you dumb bitch

define "happy"

Is there a third option?

Thats a funny assumption that I've ever been happy

if you can't tell the difference - does it matter?

I am absolutely happy now that I know I'm leaving behind the retarded dictatorship my country has become.

@CoreFusionX which one of a dozen? 😂

@shovethisrant - I don't know how much free time you have to think about your toes and your tongue.... but fuck off anyway

@retoor - Not surprised you'd say this given that you think low of me and feel sorry for me

@netikras - I can't. Can you?

@MammaNeedHummus - What do you want the third option to be?

@msdsk - Hell yeah brother. We must suffer together.

@tosesnsei - Yes it does.

@CoreFusionX - Good for you, my guy. Hope where you are brings you happiness.

@jestdotty - Like always, please fuck off.

@SidTheITGuy As per my definition - yes, I am happy.

I've got more than I need, some of what I want and I still have things to look forward to.

I appreciate all that and I consider myself a happy person.

@SidTheITGuy but - how? why?

if "happiness" and "the illusion of happiness" are indistinguishable in any meaningful way - what is the difference?

especially since "happiness" itself is an arbitrary construct that only exists inside of your mind. there is no "happiness-molecule". it's just a term without any intrinsic meaning that we use to label an arbitrary and otherwise indescribable, _very_ temporary state of our minds.

from a philosophical viewpoint, happiness IS "the illusion of happiness". it's just you who decides to make yourself unhappy by introducing a meaningless distinction.

@CoreFusionX That this doesn't tell me, which country you are leaving in 2023 is sortof depressing.

Could be one of the classics like Iran, China or Russia. But could as well be the US or most EU countries. Or maybe its India or Japan. Definitely not Switzerland, Iceland or Norway. Not sure about Canada...

@Oktokolo

I said it a couple times before I think.

But anyway, I'm from Spain and that's what I'm leaving, because our "president" just went full retard.

@CoreFusionX Spain is a surprise. Looked like a pretty liberal country to me. Last time i checked, there was that Catalonia crisis going on. But software piracy and cannabis where legal...

@Oktokolo
Yeah, it's bullshit. Spain is doing about as well as any European country, I bet they're just afraid of the "terror of the wokeism" or some shit.

@msdsk

As you evidently just demonstrated, you have no idea of the situation so just shut up, mmmkay?

@Oktokolo

Kind of the Catalonian "crisis". Back in 2017 terrible Catalonian politicians tried to unilaterally declare independence based on a bogus, illegal referendum. One of them fled for Brussels. The others went to jail, but were released by the govt.

This summer we held elections, and the last govt party got bad results, (2nd by a large margin) however, if they managed to convince absolutely every other party but the first and third ones, which are right wing, to support them, the current president could be reinstated.

Among the parties he needs to support him, are the nationalist Catalonian parties.

And in order to get their support, they have demanded things such as

- relinquishing control of IRS
- alleviate an enormous chunk of their regional debt
- Give amnesty to the prosecuted politicians AND terrorists who committed bad deeds back during that time.

- To have an external, political committee review, and possibly invalidate judicial rulings.

Among others.

This is terrible because not only is the president essentially burdening other regions that didn't go into debt to essentially "buy" the reps he needs (7 out of 350), making the rest second class citizens, which breaks the principle of equality written in our constitution.

But also because an amnesty is not just pardoning the convicted, it means admitting to having wrongly prosecuted them and completely remove their criminal record.

This, along with demanding a political committee to oversee judicial rulings, is a critical hit to the separation of powers written in our constitution, essentially making the judicial power a puppet in the hands of the govt, and without independent judges, what you have is essentially a dictatorship.

To top it all, other of the parties he needs the support from is comprised of ex members of ETA (a terrorist organization that killed many innocents during the 80s and 90s), and they are demanding an amnesty for ETA convicts as well.

And given he needs absolutely every last rep not only to be chosen president, but for pretty to pass every law during the term, these parties will keep demanding more and more, and he will basically sell the country to them.

Lastly, there's the whole matter of increasing taxes more and more to pay for ridiculous shit he keeps doing to buy votes, and that we do not need, or for completely unneeded politicians.

So yeah, basically our president went Maduro style in Venezuela.

I think I do not need to remind you how Venezuela is now...

That's why I'm leaving, and happy of doing so.

Also, in case anyone wanted to try, no, software piracy and cannabis are absolutely not legal here.

(Only in Catalonia you can smoke weed in "private clubs", but if you are caught with weed on your person on the street, you are going to be arrested.)

Just as I thought, classic right wing rant. Don't forget, in the light of international law both ETA and Catalonia have the right to armed fight for independence while your precious central government cannot deny the right to self governance. And if you don't like taxes I hope you're moving to Russia or Somalia.

And just as I thought, classic retarded reply.

No one has colonized them, imposed apartheid on them, nor are they foreigners.

Spain as we know it has existed for over 500 years, with both Catalonia and Euskadi included, and they also signed the constitution when we escaped the last dictatorship.

ETA was, an is, a band of assassins and terrorists, nothing more.

Catalonian nationalists are just terrible politicians that did a terrible job at managing their region, indebted themselves like mad and then held to their last hope of claiming independence.

For fuck's sake, even the Catalonian historians association says their claims are retarded.

And in case you missed it. It is not a matter of left wing or right wing. (And I'm liberal in any case, not exactly represented by any side here).

It's a matter that this guy is essentially breaking the cornerstone of the state.

And he's doing so after he and all his govt swore some months ago that

There would never be an amnesty because it's not constitutional.

They don't even bother to cover their lies now.

And sure, I know what taxes are, and why they are necessary.

Doesn't mean I have to be content with paying 60% of my income in taxes, when them politicians, while having my same income, barely pay 10%.

But yeah, in your mononeuronal brain I understand everything must be reduced to 0 or 1. No capacity to represent anything else.

Hey, leave Spain alone. I love the spanish people.

@SidTheITGuy happiness: https://youtube.com/watch/...

@CoreFusionX So Catalonia wants to be independent and is also a region that is indebted while the remainder of the country does just fine - and they are willing to literally fight for their independence...

I don't see a reason to deny them independence. "It has always been that way" isn't a value in itself. And "they became terrorists (other word for freedom fighters or rebels) in their fight for independence because we didn't want to let them go" also doesn't sound like one.

Resistance against oppression is always outlawed by the oppressors. So the law isn't a good argument either.

And if the freedom to use light drugs like weed is only accepted in Catalonia but not in mainland Spain, that hints at mainland Spain being more oppressive than Catalonia.

@Oktokolo

Whatever, I don't expect foreigners to understand. Most catalonians do *not* want independence.

And even if they did, they have legal ways to push for it.

What our just reelected president has done is a *crime* as per our current laws.

And thus it should not be approved.

As for Catalonia, for all I care, let them be independent, but pay up first, in whatever way it's sensible.

But a lot of the infrastructure, services and such in Catalonia has been paid by all Spanish people, not just them, and thus, them unilaterally claiming independence and taking it all is never gonna be an option.

Also, they are indebted by their own choice, not like the rest of Spain forces them to.

As I said, it's complicated to say the least, and I do not expect foreigners to completely get all the nuance.

That said, I still think this was a criminal act, and don't give a fuck what tag anyone wants to give me for it.

In any case, I'm out, and happy for it. We'll see how well the country does when it's already to the point that half the population is basically maintaining the other half, and those of us like me, who do pay, leave...