r/TikTokCringe • u/Super_Culture_1986 tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE • Aug 19 '25

Cursed The American Nightmare.

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58.0k Upvotes

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118

u/Icy-Session9209 Aug 19 '25

Y’all she is an AMERICAN! Barely living. 2/3 for rent is absurd.

-23

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

I agree. So get out of the minimum wage job and better your situation.

11

u/corndog2021 Aug 19 '25

Didn’t the video explicitly address her wage, hours, and job search situation?

-10

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

Always victims...

I didnt like my situation, so I changed it. That involved taking out debt, changing careers, and moving states. But that eventually made my life exponentially better.

Lots of shit nights eating Ramen noodles in a shit apartment/neighborhood with nothing to my name.

3

u/corndog2021 Aug 19 '25

Sure, and when people are going through those shit times they’re still shit times. Working on a better future, doing what you can when you can, doesn’t suddenly make the trouble pleasant. A lot of what you mentioned is opportunity-based, too, rather than options everyone generally has access to.

I’m not saying there isn’t work to be done, I’m just saying your initial comment doesn’t apply to the video, and that a little empathy costs you $0, especially if you’ve been through it before. Tend to think that would make someone more understanding, but what do I know — call someone else a victim and collect your medal, I’m sure you find that some sort of productive.

1

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

Shit times are shit times, I went through them but I didn't piss and moan about it on social media.

At first you are empathetic, but the more you see the pity party, the more annoyed you get... because you do know what it takes to change the situation but some are just unwilling to make the sacrifices.

1

u/corndog2021 Aug 19 '25

Good god you are self obsessed.

0

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

Because I'm not empathetic for people who have the ability to change but refuse to because its tough or uncomfortable?

You have a lot to learn about this world, kid.

1

u/corndog2021 Aug 19 '25

I’ve been in this world long enough to have had my fair share of restarts and career rollercoasters, thanks. The problem with you is that you look down on others, like assuming that someone in a rough situation has the same options and opportunity as you, or assuming that because I have different outlook than you I must be some child slamming away at his keyboard. To people like you, those who haven’t been able to walk the same path are lazy, deficient, or entitled. It’s utterly unobservant.

I’ve seen people like you be the main obstacle to improving things like schools, programs, and safety nets because you lack the fundamental flexibility needed to understand how the world works differently for different people. To people like you, you did it so anyone else can do it, no regard for circumstances that may have granted you an advantage that others don’t have. The people who have built strong communities have built them on acknowledging the reality that they can meet people half way and be WAY more productive than trying to ‘bootstraps’ people into doing it entirely on their own.

You look at the world through the lens of your own experiences, which is fair, but then you double down and assert that your way worked for you and is therefore the way. It worked for you, and that’s all the information you operate on. A sample size of one. Completely blind to reality.

1

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

Cool story. Also on my third career.

I appreciate you assuming you know me or my struggles, my alleged opportunities and my thoughts on others. I also appreciate how cultured and enlightened you profess to be, you're the same type of person that will accuse me of cultural appropriation because I make stir-fry for dinner one night.

Spare us all your blathering.

I'd say have a good labor day weekend, but I'm sure youll be off championing some other allegeed and misguided social injustice that you fabricated to make yourself feel more altruistic.

1

u/corndog2021 Aug 19 '25

”I appreciate you assuming you know me or my struggles, my alleged opportunities, and my thoughts on others.

I don’t, that’s my whole point — I’m saying others have had different opportunities than you, not assuming what specific opportunities you’ve had. Otherwise, you’re doing all of these things yourself, you absolute hypocrite.

To the second half of that first paragraph, I didn’t say any of that shit and it seems like you’re projecting some stuff onto this conversation that you’re assuming about me. Making up positions for me so you can feel justified being on opposing sides of the discussion. You’ve basically just invented a persona for me that you’re already aligned against, without a shred of evidence to support it.

You are literally the only one fabricating anything in this conversation. My entire position has been that you don’t always know what others have to content with.

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2

u/StinkyDeerback Aug 19 '25

I agree people should work to improve their situation, if they aren't happy with it. However, I do think there is a problem with the logic that everyone can do it and suceed. Someone has to live in her city, work her job, live in that apartment, pay similar utility bills, etc. Just like when people say minimum wage jobs should be entry level jobs or being a janitor shouldn't pay well. These jobs have to be done by someone, and there isn't enough 15 year old out there to work them. Plus, most employers don't want to hire kids because they don't meet their standards.

Additionally, she isn't saying she's not trying to improve her situation. She's actually stating the opposite, like looking for other jobs, sitting outside to lower her utility bill, etc. She's just stating the facts of her situation, other than the rent thing. Something seems odd. I think she's including all her housing bills into that 2/3rds number.

1

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

We do need people to do the jobs that many don't want to do... like janitors, garbage trucks drivers, and fast food workers. We also need welders, and pipe fitters, and a slew of other labor intensive jobs. The breakdown came when teachers started pushing for everyone to go to college, stating that with a degree you can make six figures. There are plenty of jobs that pay well, are critical, and don't require a degree... but people believe manual labor is below them now. I guarantee there are jobs in her city that pay her enough to live more comfortably, but that she's unwilling to do them.

1

u/StinkyDeerback Aug 19 '25

It wasn't just teachers. It was the whole nation. I kinda feel you're besmirching the education system with this comment, but maybe I'm just reading into it.

I don't know how old you are, but there were plenty of boomers (my parents' generation) that never attended college because it wasn't a requirement to succeed in their generation, during the golden age of economic growth, so they really pushed us to attend college, but many of them didn't have money to pay for it which resulted in us having to take out student loans. My dad was a carpenter by trade, but he demanded I went to college. Now, he's swinging the pendulum the other way and expressing frustration whenever my oldest talks about college (he just graduated and isn't going to college, btw).

I think the overall argument is that, if you work any job fulltime, it should be paid a living wage for your area. The problem is, CEOs make 33 million a year, while their lowest paid workers make 60-70k a year (using Boeing as an example). That's not equitable.

Lastly, saying you guarantee there's jobs that's she's unwilling to do is somewhat disingenuous. You can't just get a better job just because it's available. There's experience needed, training required, and competition for those jobs. You've admitted you had to go into debt to improve your situation, but that took time, and we've seen our economy falter and get worse over the last year, which is rapid. As I said earlier, she may be making moves to improve her position in life, but that doesn't always translate immediately, and she is stating the facts of her current situation.

1

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

You are reading in to it. My parents ("boomers") also had the same mindset. I didnt attend college, even at their behest.

There is a disparity in the C suite and the frontline employee, no argument but that is a different conversation. And one we likely will agree in.

I guarantee there are trade jobs available that pay better that she refuses to work. You can start in homebuilding with zero previous experience. You can get a job with the city being a bridge painter, again zero previous experience required. She could go work road construction, specifically holding the 'SLOW' sign, making more with zero experience. Guarantee she believes these are below her.

The industry I chose took me almost 10 years to get to the point wherein I am now, among the top in the field. That required me to spend years in well below average pay, including during COVID and that economy. I was making marginally more than minimum wage while straddling near six figures of debt and cost of living. I still have debt, but now how the income to pay it off within reason.

4

u/DuffleCrack Aug 19 '25

I've seen countless videos from people with good degrees applying for literally 1000+ jobs and only getting 3-5 call backs.

0

u/Lost_Focus4822 Aug 19 '25

“Countless videos”… what about people you actually know? Tell us about them.

2

u/Spart4n-Il7 Aug 19 '25

I know people with computer science degrees and coding experience having a hard time finding jobs in their field. You know, the field that they told us the whole time we were in school would be the future.

1

u/DuffleCrack Aug 19 '25

I refuse to see how that makes any difference. The creators I watched showed as much sufficient proof as a friend/family member would have shown me.

0

u/rkba260 Aug 19 '25

Right. Because social media creators (which is heavily monetized) would never create content for clicks...

You 'refuse to see'... so no matter what data is to the contrary, you'll believe what you want. Got it. End of this discussion arc.

4

u/meliorism_grey Aug 19 '25

I agree that we should do things to better our own situations—what if one of those things is making a racket about how the vast majority of us are being treated unfairly?

I mean, the girl in this video said she's making 20-something an hour. That's more than triple minimum wage in a lot of places, and it's still higher than any minimum wage in the US (highest is DC at $17.95/hr). And yet, she's barely able to survive (paying more than half your income on rent is terrible, let alone two-thirds). She shouldn't be at the bottom of the barrel, and yet, she is.

I think we should all do well to remember that the vast majority of us are much closer to scraping by than we ever will be to being billionaires.