Questioning Mark

Hailing from Russia myself, I long ago abandoned the idea of trying to fix it. Why waste time and, potentially, your life trying to sow seeds of consciousness in hell's soil? I hate the Russian mentality, too. Not to say there aren't plenty of civilized, intelligent Russians, as there are in any culture. BUT DAMN—try reading social media comments in Russian or playing an online game with Russians on your team. You'll be left speechless by the level of toxicity those people exude. Even before I left Russia a few years ago, I had stopped thinking of myself as a Russian. I intentionally isolated myself from the culture to the point where I now see other Russians as foreigners. I treat Russia as the gutter I crawled out of. Yet, I don't complain about my past; rather, I treat it as a training ground. After all, it's hard to be soft. Just forget Russia exists, leave, and do what truly fulfills you. That ain't worth it

It's kind of mind-bending to think about how fast human norms evolve. Slavery, arranged marriages, bloodletting, dying at 40, even marrying one's own sibling - all of these were completely normal just a few hundred years ago. So what do you think will shock people a few centuries from now when they look back at us? Maybe they'll say things like: - Wait, people used to keep animals in prisons? (Zoos) - Why did people in the 21st century spend so much money on clothes? - I can't believe psychedelics were illegal back then. - Education made no sense - why did they teach people WHAT to think instead of HOW to think? What else?

Following some forum's advice, I tried looking for friends on Bumble using the BFF mode. I made my profile resonate with the right kind of people by describing my values: autonomous thinking, open-mindedness, and introspection. Ended up meeting the guy IRL and having the deepest, most enjoyable conversation I've ever had. I'm living in Bangkok, if someone's curious.