are you from this planet?

i have chronic pain and fatigue likely to be diagnosed as fibromyalgia. i have sensory issues that impact me to the point that i'm only comfortable going outside at night. i'm also treatment resistant -- medications, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and other things i've tried have little to no effect.

but i'm pursuing a degree and a career. i have passions and interests and life goals. i have very little social life, but there are people on the internet who like my silly little words and art. i have a partner i'm marrying in 6 months. do i suffer? sure, sometimes, but who alive hasn't? who gets to decide what the cutoff between "low enough suffering to justify living" and "suffering so much non-existence is the only option" is?

Some points of interest:

Corporate profits are soaring. After taxes, they now take 12.3 percent of national output, far above their postwar average of 7.3 percent.

Adjusted for inflation, hourly wages have risen 3 percent since the end of 2019, Ip noted. Corporate profits over the same period have risen 50 percent.

The Economic Policy Institute calculates that since 1979 the productivity of American workers has grown 90 percent while the pay of the typical worker has grown 33 percent. Had wages tracked output, the average worker would earn $16.40 more an hour today.

The profits are concentrated among the largest corporations. Earnings at the 500 biggest US firms rose 28 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2021, and their profit margins reached 14.8 percent. The seven technology giants known as the “Magnificent 7”—Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla—grew their profits 63 percent.

i did not fuck that computer with my ponis