In high school one of our teachers had us read about John B Calhoun's experiments. Yeah, that is a B. for Bumpass. I was enthralled because his experiments seemed to validate a sense I'd had since childhood that this country had already become too overcrowded for my taste. I spent a lot of time with my folks in remote national parks as a child and embraced that as my frame of reference. It was one of the reasons I decided against having children, thought he "biological urge" for babies certainly struck at 30.
To date I rarely bother to think about other reasons for the obvious decline of mankind, incells, or other details. I do notice exceptions, like in a place like Finland people just enjoy hanging out and talking. It's definitely not overcrowded there.
Yep, and I think it extends into the digital realm. We never get a break from each other. We deal with people all day, then we go online and deal with them all night.
I bumped into this bit of information that feeds a larger vision of how the experiments of John B Calhoun have helped guide human understanding of changes in global conditions. It may interest you.
"The phrase “rat people” (老鼠人) began gaining traction in early 2025. It evolved from an earlier internet meme, “rat literature” (鼠鼠文学), a buzzword that first emerged in early 2023. In modern Chinese, the word “literature” is often used to mean “-ism.”
The “rat-ism” phrase started life in online communities in China. It plays on the phrase, “Uncle, I…” (叔叔我呀” shūshu wǒ ya) — a self-deprecating slang phrase mimicking the tone of a weary elder.
The character for “rat” (鼠鼠) replaces “uncle” (叔叔), which sounds similar, turning it into “Rat, I…” (鼠鼠我呀 shǔshǔ wǒ ya).
People used it to joke about their failings in life — low-paid jobs, no partner, no money. For example:
“I’m almost thirty, haven’t achieved a thing, got nothing I want, lived all these years for nothing.”
“鼠鼠我啊，快三十了，一事无成，要啥没啥，白活了”
shǔ shǔ wǒ a, kuài sānshí le, yí shì wú chéng, yào shá méi shá, bái huó le.
This “rat” persona became a metaphor for those struggling at the bottom of the social ladder. Many described themselves as “sewer dwellers,” capturing the pressure and disappointment young people feel in education, work, and family. The tone was bleak but playful.
By 2025, a related phrase emerged on social media: “low-energy rat people” (低能量老鼠人). It was first popularized by Chinese students in the UK, enduring long, dark winters in isolation. Hiding from the sun and avoiding contact, they began calling themselves “rat people.” Vlogs tagged "A day in the life of a low-energy rat person" (低能量老鼠人的一天) spread across Chinese platforms and soon caught on back home.
Today, the term describes a growing number of mostly young people caught in a cycle of low motivation, poor sleep, endless scrolling, and minimal social or physical activity. It captures a mood of burnout and quiet defiance — a spiritual cousin of the “lie flat” (躺平) movement, rejecting the constant pressure to strive and succeed.
What began as a self-mocking joke and coping mechanism has gone viral, racking up over two billion views on social media. It gives people a way to laugh at their shared challenges and find solidarity in it.
Could this become a larger movement?
There are early signs it could be: the Baidu page for “rat person” is no longer available, and at the time of writing, WeChat searches for the term seemed to be restricted — often a sign that something is resonating widely."
I'm sure anyone working in front line customer service these days can confirm your beliefs, Jessica. Over the years I worked in the airlines (1979-2000), us "long timers" remarked on the devolution of the public's manners and politeness to each other over the years. I'd never want to work in one of those jobs these days. I swear that at least once a week, I help a worker decompress a bit after the person ahead of me treated them like an ass. Just a random act of kindness, I guess.
As always an on topic analysis of the human condition Jessica.Your posting perfectly summarized what I've observed more and more in our society, nearly everyone being angry with EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE for no tangible reason other than that's the overall zeitgeist that's pretty much all over the place.
Going off topic somewhat I can say with a fair amount of accuracy that I'm pretty much immune to such circumstances because due to a nasty ‘ole hemorrhagic stroke I had almost nine years ago I pretty much obliterated my left Basal Ganglia and Thalamus and as such I'm on an antidepressant…but I'm taking it for anxiety which I have in spades… bottom line it now appears that I have a blunted effect. Not only due to the brain damage from the stroke, but curiously enough also due to the SSRI (escitalopram) I take so I walk around in a perpetual state of “What, me worry” and I wouldn't treat it or trade such a feeling for all the tea in China
PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT EVER AGAIN. IF ANY ONE HONKS AT YOU AGAIN, GET OUT OF THEIR WAY.
A YOUNG WOMAN WAS MURDERED CAUSE SHE DID NOT GET OUT OF THE MURDERERS WAY.
I follow some true crime, and this crime was horrendous.
And on the random acts of kindness, it’s my mo.
I have given women walking or standing in the rain, rides to wherever they needed to go. Gave one young woman my coat, all the cash I had. She was waiting for a very late bus in an ice storm. I picked her up and took her to work. She lived with her mom and 5 younger siblings.
I give Umbrellas to strangers (I keep extras in my car).
I put a $20 bill in a car seat it a very tired old car.
Give $5-$20 tips to the car drive up delivery people.
Always tip 25%.
Back in the days when I counted every $$, I worked so of market in San Francisco and rode Bart, I kept quarters in my pockets…and gave them generously.
I live better than 90% of the people in the world, I can be kind, gracious, compassionate, it costs me so little.
I am actually going into a different mindset. I am in the boonies, so that is a positive, just had some Mexican food, positive, am going to watch Lost in Space, the 60 series, positive and while the politics, wars, economy is going sideways I can not do a thing about any of it. I can hug people, they really seem to need it and speak of quiet things to calm them down. We then look at the problems and pretend we are eating an elephant, one bite at a time.
A lot of people can talk about mindfulness. Doesn’t mean they practice it.
I’ve met too many who think if they can describe the benefits or quote a podcast, that makes them mindful. It doesn’t.
Real practice shows up in how you move through boredom, conflict, grief. Not in how well you explain it after the fact. If someone’s really done the work, you feel it before they say a word. If you have to be told they’re “into mindfulness,” they’re probably not.
Here here. I've had my share of tantrums over the years, but now, on a good day, when someone acts like an asshole, I can think - wow they must be having a bad day. The sympathy helps - we've all been there.
Thank you for weaving this together so succinctly. I’m sure many are sending it but not able to really pinpoint it. This is becoming possibly the most important part of the next phase that there is.
In high school one of our teachers had us read about John B Calhoun's experiments. Yeah, that is a B. for Bumpass. I was enthralled because his experiments seemed to validate a sense I'd had since childhood that this country had already become too overcrowded for my taste. I spent a lot of time with my folks in remote national parks as a child and embraced that as my frame of reference. It was one of the reasons I decided against having children, thought he "biological urge" for babies certainly struck at 30.
To date I rarely bother to think about other reasons for the obvious decline of mankind, incells, or other details. I do notice exceptions, like in a place like Finland people just enjoy hanging out and talking. It's definitely not overcrowded there.
Yep, and I think it extends into the digital realm. We never get a break from each other. We deal with people all day, then we go online and deal with them all night.
I bumped into this bit of information that feeds a larger vision of how the experiments of John B Calhoun have helped guide human understanding of changes in global conditions. It may interest you.
"The phrase “rat people” (老鼠人) began gaining traction in early 2025. It evolved from an earlier internet meme, “rat literature” (鼠鼠文学), a buzzword that first emerged in early 2023. In modern Chinese, the word “literature” is often used to mean “-ism.”
The “rat-ism” phrase started life in online communities in China. It plays on the phrase, “Uncle, I…” (叔叔我呀” shūshu wǒ ya) — a self-deprecating slang phrase mimicking the tone of a weary elder.
The character for “rat” (鼠鼠) replaces “uncle” (叔叔), which sounds similar, turning it into “Rat, I…” (鼠鼠我呀 shǔshǔ wǒ ya).
People used it to joke about their failings in life — low-paid jobs, no partner, no money. For example:
“I’m almost thirty, haven’t achieved a thing, got nothing I want, lived all these years for nothing.”
“鼠鼠我啊，快三十了，一事无成，要啥没啥，白活了”
shǔ shǔ wǒ a, kuài sānshí le, yí shì wú chéng, yào shá méi shá, bái huó le.
This “rat” persona became a metaphor for those struggling at the bottom of the social ladder. Many described themselves as “sewer dwellers,” capturing the pressure and disappointment young people feel in education, work, and family. The tone was bleak but playful.
By 2025, a related phrase emerged on social media: “low-energy rat people” (低能量老鼠人). It was first popularized by Chinese students in the UK, enduring long, dark winters in isolation. Hiding from the sun and avoiding contact, they began calling themselves “rat people.” Vlogs tagged "A day in the life of a low-energy rat person" (低能量老鼠人的一天) spread across Chinese platforms and soon caught on back home.
Today, the term describes a growing number of mostly young people caught in a cycle of low motivation, poor sleep, endless scrolling, and minimal social or physical activity. It captures a mood of burnout and quiet defiance — a spiritual cousin of the “lie flat” (躺平) movement, rejecting the constant pressure to strive and succeed.
What began as a self-mocking joke and coping mechanism has gone viral, racking up over two billion views on social media. It gives people a way to laugh at their shared challenges and find solidarity in it.
Could this become a larger movement?
There are early signs it could be: the Baidu page for “rat person” is no longer available, and at the time of writing, WeChat searches for the term seemed to be restricted — often a sign that something is resonating widely."
*from
https://www.sinicapodcast.com/p/rat-people-phrase-of-the-week?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2079154&post_id=169977889&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=53w5l&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I'm sure anyone working in front line customer service these days can confirm your beliefs, Jessica. Over the years I worked in the airlines (1979-2000), us "long timers" remarked on the devolution of the public's manners and politeness to each other over the years. I'd never want to work in one of those jobs these days. I swear that at least once a week, I help a worker decompress a bit after the person ahead of me treated them like an ass. Just a random act of kindness, I guess.
As always an on topic analysis of the human condition Jessica.Your posting perfectly summarized what I've observed more and more in our society, nearly everyone being angry with EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE for no tangible reason other than that's the overall zeitgeist that's pretty much all over the place.
Going off topic somewhat I can say with a fair amount of accuracy that I'm pretty much immune to such circumstances because due to a nasty ‘ole hemorrhagic stroke I had almost nine years ago I pretty much obliterated my left Basal Ganglia and Thalamus and as such I'm on an antidepressant…but I'm taking it for anxiety which I have in spades… bottom line it now appears that I have a blunted effect. Not only due to the brain damage from the stroke, but curiously enough also due to the SSRI (escitalopram) I take so I walk around in a perpetual state of “What, me worry” and I wouldn't treat it or trade such a feeling for all the tea in China
Something like "Chance" in "Being There"? (1979 Movie)
PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT EVER AGAIN. IF ANY ONE HONKS AT YOU AGAIN, GET OUT OF THEIR WAY.
A YOUNG WOMAN WAS MURDERED CAUSE SHE DID NOT GET OUT OF THE MURDERERS WAY.
I follow some true crime, and this crime was horrendous.
And on the random acts of kindness, it’s my mo.
I have given women walking or standing in the rain, rides to wherever they needed to go. Gave one young woman my coat, all the cash I had. She was waiting for a very late bus in an ice storm. I picked her up and took her to work. She lived with her mom and 5 younger siblings.
I give Umbrellas to strangers (I keep extras in my car).
I put a $20 bill in a car seat it a very tired old car.
Give $5-$20 tips to the car drive up delivery people.
Always tip 25%.
Back in the days when I counted every $$, I worked so of market in San Francisco and rode Bart, I kept quarters in my pockets…and gave them generously.
I live better than 90% of the people in the world, I can be kind, gracious, compassionate, it costs me so little.
I am actually going into a different mindset. I am in the boonies, so that is a positive, just had some Mexican food, positive, am going to watch Lost in Space, the 60 series, positive and while the politics, wars, economy is going sideways I can not do a thing about any of it. I can hug people, they really seem to need it and speak of quiet things to calm them down. We then look at the problems and pretend we are eating an elephant, one bite at a time.
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/megans-way-out-family-of-woman-killed-in-drive-thru-lane-of-stow-restaurant-working-to-change-laws
Megan was 25 yrs old. A stranger to the man who killed her.
A lot of people can talk about mindfulness. Doesn’t mean they practice it.
I’ve met too many who think if they can describe the benefits or quote a podcast, that makes them mindful. It doesn’t.
Real practice shows up in how you move through boredom, conflict, grief. Not in how well you explain it after the fact. If someone’s really done the work, you feel it before they say a word. If you have to be told they’re “into mindfulness,” they’re probably not.
I like to do random acts of kindness and tried, when still working, to get others to do the same. It is a great way to calm your own issues down.
Totally gratuitous cruelty. Do not turn away.
Here here. I've had my share of tantrums over the years, but now, on a good day, when someone acts like an asshole, I can think - wow they must be having a bad day. The sympathy helps - we've all been there.
Thank you for weaving this together so succinctly. I’m sure many are sending it but not able to really pinpoint it. This is becoming possibly the most important part of the next phase that there is.
And then, there is this too: https://substack.com/@theminorityreport1/note/c-140694250?r=9fg4z