Developed nation guilt?

How many of you ever stop and reflect on the fact you can sit on your computer, go buy food easily, go to school, and go to work and literally not worry about living to see tomorrow, because you are in the extreme minority of the population of the developed world?

I don't know. Call it white guilt or something. I just feel like I have blood on my hands all the time. Clothing, food, everything, can be traced back to the blood, sweat, and tears, of others. It really gets me depressed.

Why would I feel guilty about that?

Knowingly participating in a socioeconomic sphere where you can get goods and services for cheap because the developing world is paying the price....? You tell me...

I don't call it guilt, I call it being grateful. It isn't my fault I was born in New York instead of Pyongyang. That doesn't mean I don't feel some empathy for the less fortunate since I have been to both Iraq and Afghanistan and saw their living conditions.

Still unsure what I should feel guilty about. should i also feel guilty that I was born into a middle class family rather than a poverty stricken family? or that I could afford to go to college? or being smarter and getting better than my classmates? People/the world/life is inherently unfair

It's not my fault I was born into a first world society.

It's nobodies fault they were born in the developed world. But what about how we consume?

the topics in OT get more pathetic by the day

are we supposed to not consume?

People in developing nations can also live secure and affluent lives, and the developing world is not paying the price for the developed world's high quality of life.

You should not feel guilty for having all of those luxuries, you should feel ashamed for not helping the less fortunate. Be proactive instead of this junk.

No I don't feel guilty and couldn't care less what is happening in other countries. My own country is too fncked up for me to have time thinking of the rest of the world.

We consume because there is the option open to us. Are you telling me that people in the developing world wouldn't be just like us with greater access to luxuries?

This wouldn't have happened if they had a gun....

I don't fell guilty, but I do feel that developed nations should be doing more for the undeveloped world. Imagine how problems like world hunger could be addressed if countries like the U.S. and Russia cared less about pissing eachother off than the good of humanity.

It's unfortunate that people in other countries don't have these basic human needs fulfilled, but that never stops me from wanting more for myself.

I can relate to that guilt or whatever you are reflecting on. It's not the kind of guilt where we are to blame, but it just doesn't sit well with me at all with how lucky we are compared to the rest of the world. I try not to dwell on it, but it's good to be aware of our past and most importantly be a good person and grateful for what we have.

Developed worlds are doing much better in terms of economy, but that means very little in terms of living standards.
people in the first world also have a bit of charity fatigue when it comes to the developing world. we do give a ton of money to these countries out of the goodness of our hearts, but it just gets distributed so poorly due to the political turmoil in those places. The only way to ensure the people in the countries get what they need, is to intervene in their political processes. Then comes the question, is that our responsibility? I don't think it is.

That just seems like a recipe for constantly feeling shame. No one has the resources to help EVERYONE, and everyone COULD have done a little more (like Schindler in that famous movie). People help out as much as they're willing to help out, and people should learn to be okay with how much they're willing to help out. If I'm going to the movie theater with just enough money to see the movie, and a bum stops me and asks me for a buck so that he can eat that night, then I don't feel the least bit ashamed in telling that bum that I'm not gonna help him. If I had more money on me, maybe I would have helped him. If he'd asked me on a night when I had extra cash maybe I would have helped him. But I work hard, I earn my money, and I should be able to occasionally unwind on luxuries such as movies sometimes. If I'm gonna start feeling shame that I'm spending my money on luxuries instead of some humanitarian cause, then where does it end? That means f*** videogames entirely. The money that I buiy on new clothes would be a cause of shame: I could have bought my clothes from a thrift shop and then used the extra money to give to bums. Why eat out at a nice restaurant when McDonalds sells perfectly filling meals for $3? Why own a car when I could take the bus all the time? And so on and so on. I'm all for helping people, but I'm against the whole idea that people should feel shame for not being more charitable. Just because you're more advantaged than someone else doesn't mean you should have to feel ashamed for actually enjoying some of those advantages.