Just a thought I had, like what can a ten year old do(besides mass murder & accidents) that messes up their life so badly that it is unrecoverable?
It has to be something that is self inflicted and not something that is the cause of others around them.
Being born homeless.
You’re never too young to die, so the saying goes.
Being conceived by shitty people is more than enough to have a life arguably ruined permanently before it even began.
So much can happen to ruin a person’s life at any stage, even pre-conception.
Drugs at any age. Sure you can get clean but it takes a very pacific type of person to do that and there are more people who have failed then ones who have succeeded. I made the mistake of using drugs at a young age and it has destroyed my life beyond repair. If there are any young people reading this just remember it’s not worth it. Trust me nobody hates drugs more then drugheads.
I remember as a kid, I met these other kids that would drink from the side of the street. That sewer water was full of nasty including gas and oil runoff from the roads and who knows what else.
I also had an ex that would drink the chemicals under the sink as a tiny kid.
If, when you’re born, you don’t choose to be rich, that messes you up forever.
If you’re not born rich you can become rich (or “comfortable”) later in life. It doesn’t mess you up forever.
No, sorry, we actually just sold out of upward mobility. Our next shipment comes in never though, maybe you can come back then?
Hey now, that sounds like a lot of work that’ll get into the way of my doom scrolling and being a miserable bastard time
I think the changes of that happening are statistically neglible, though (comfortable maaaaybe if you’re really lucky but becoming rich is probably a one digit change, if that).
Socioeconomic mobility over a lifetime in the U.S. has always been dramatically overstated, but in the past 20 years its gradually gotten worse
“In the US only 32% of respondents agreed with the statement that forces beyond their personal control determine their success.”
"According to a 2012 Pew Economic Mobility Project study[24] 43% of children born into the bottom quintile (bottom 20%) remain in that bottom quintile as adults. Similarly, 40% of children raised in the top quintile (top 20%) will remain there as adults. Looking at larger moves, only 4% of those raised in the bottom quintile moved up to the top quintile as adults. Around twice as many (8%) of children born into the top quintile fell to the bottom.[24] 37% of children born into the top quintile will fall below the middle. These findings have led researchers to conclude that “opportunity structures create and determine future generations’ chances for success. Hence, our lot in life is at least partially determined by where we grow up, and this is partially determined by where our parents grew up, and so on.” -Per Wikipedia
2012 was 12 years ago, mind you.
Also found this 2021 Guardian Article that claims
“What about rising from rags to riches? In the US, 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of the income distribution are able to climb to the top 20% as adults, while the figure in Denmark is nearly double at 15%. Equality of opportunity is also much less viable in the US than in other OECD countries…”
Thanks for that! So my hunch seemed to be oretty right, unfortunately (not sure if it should be everybody’s goal to become rich, that seems unsustainable but I wish it would be possible for more people to live a happy life …)
Any significant injury that results in paralysis would be a potential candidate. These become possible as soon as you become old enough to climb things like trees.
A kid in my class put his arm inside a… I don’t remember if it was a lion or tiger cage back on the 70s before safety was a thing. Being armless isn’t the end, but I bet he regretted that decision.
There went all his hopes for an army career. No more pitching for the Mets. No more professional arm wrestling. No more rowing competitions, or stirring huge pots of gruel.
Diving head first into shallow water comes to mind
Also: eating random slug you find on the street.
Nah. You could still be nominated for director of HHS.
yeah. rat lungworm.
Be born a woman in Afghanistan… come out the womb to “And that’s when she knew she had fucked up.”
I’m not certain if this is in the spirit of your question but even a murderer in the US has privileges denied to a lot of other people.
I was watching a Netflix documtary about killers, the guy said he was on drugs by age 9…so pretty sure that messed up his life before the murder. It is debatable on if surroundings or self choices are why you try drugs I guess.
It takes a certain kind of environment to enable that.
Agreed. Also Nancy Reagan told me not to, and I was not in a position to argue.
Well, if Nancy said so, it must be true.
Playing with fireworks, firearms, or chemicals can be a solid way for anyone of any age to ruin their life.
But doesn’t that count as an accident? Kids who play with fireworks don’t cram a steel can full of black powder imagining how cool it would be to loose your fingers and eyes.
Maybe kids are too short sighted to see the risk, but who says they don’t do that? Among the stupid things I did as a kid was try to turn any tube into a gun/cannon/firework mortar, and hold it in my hands to aim and launch. We even had the benefit of my grandfather losing a couple fingers as a cautionary tale, that we completely ignored. If something happened, could you really call that an accident?
Or the time we were playing with fireworks …. In a barn full of dry hay? I don’t know how my grandfather let us live after that one
…… but there’s a threshold of stupidity where you really can’t call it an accident. I’m happy to have survived in one piece all too many bouts of stupidity but the adult me wouldn’t call it an accident if something happened
Depends on what color you were born and what side of the world you were born on. Michael Render put it best, in the west? “Even if you make seven figures, you still…”
Actually, the younger you fuck up, the worse are the consequences. A 13 year old go in a school fight, he is kicked out of school, has to go in another school further away, sleep less, see his grade fall down, and next year he’ll be pushed to start an apprenticeship rather than high school.
A 31 one year old (otherwise a good citizen) does the same. He’ll spend a night in police custody and at worst pays a fine (with a high probability that change are dropped because judges and prosecutor are busy)
I agree with your general point but I don’t agree with your example because apprenticeship can still lead to stable employment and a fulfilling life
what can a ten year old do(besides mass murder & accidents) that messes up their life so badly that it is unrecoverable?
kill their own parents (it’s not technically mass murder until you’ve killed three people).
Whatever the country’s age of criminal conviction (typically 18). It’s hard enough to get a job WITHOUT a criminal record.
Depending on the country and/or crime, a juvenile record will also prevent being able to work in certain jobs/industries.
A ten year old can rush out into the road and become paralyzed for life.
