this post was submitted on 29 May 2026
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Greentext

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This is a place to share greentexts and witness the confounding life of Anon. If you're new to the Greentext community, think of it as a sort of zoo with Anon as the main attraction.

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If you find yourself getting angry (or god forbid, agreeing) with something Anon has said, you might be doing it wrong.

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[–] Artaca@lemdro.id 76 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Lost one of my boys a little over a year ago. Still get crippled with grief from time to time - maybe every other day now instead of multiple times a day. It gets easier, but never easy. In the process of getting a ring with some of his ashes built into them and I think that'll be pretty special to get to bring him everywhere I go.

Not looking for condolences, just wanted to put this perspective out there in a sea of folks who seemed to have bad relationships with their parents. To those: I'm sorry. I can't imagine.

[–] Furbag@pawb.social 2 points 1 day ago

Thank you for sharing. My coworker just lost her daughter to suicide and she has been understandably inconsolable. She's had an outpouring of sympathy, but I wanted to give her something more than just words from a childless adult who could never possibly relate to what she is going through. I will suggest the ring made with some ashes. I think that will help bring her some comfort.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 17 points 3 days ago

Thank you for sharing your experience. As someone who doesn't have kids to begin with I can't even begin to imagine

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[–] Bombastic@sopuli.xyz 99 points 3 days ago (33 children)

Does everyone in this comment section have a horrible relationship with their father??

What the hell, am I the only one here NOT hating my parents??

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 46 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I think it's survivorship bias. People with functional relationships with their parents (myself included) probably don't feel much need to weigh in.

People's families are complicated, and sometimes they need to vent. I (generally) don't see a problem with giving them space to do so.

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[–] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 3 days ago

Cherish that fact.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 29 points 3 days ago

People rarely feel the need to talk about how good their relationship with their dad is. Well except for one friend of mine, but to be fair to her her dad sounds exceptionally good.

But yeah, my father and I haven't been on speaking terms in a decade.

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Count yourself lucky

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[–] NGC2346@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I think its what i fear the most with my son. He's a toddler, but life goes by fast and one day he'll be grown with his own problems to solve. I just give him everything i can, from love to time to entertainment, and i wish i'll do a good enough job for him to come seek refuge to me rather than with the tool to end his life.

I love him so much, just sharing because this anon shook me with this story.

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

I don't have kids. But in pondering questions like this, I would take some solace that people have always been having children. ALWAYS. Pick the most horrific events and eras in history; there were people having kids and trying to find the most happiness they could for them and their children. The Black Death? The Bronze Age Collapse? The sacking of entire cities by Mongol hoards? People living in literal death camps in the Holocaust? There were people there having children. And when they did, they did their best to give their children as good a life as they could, same as you do now.

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[–] applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 163 points 3 days ago (5 children)

im not staying alive for their fucking feelings. if they cared that much they could have treated me like a human being when i was a kid. im staying alive for my cats. and yeah it means i love them more than my shitty parents.

[–] Seleni@lemmy.world 81 points 3 days ago

Hey, staying alive to snuggle cats and spite your parents works too.

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 29 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Me n you both. cept I have my plants lol

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 42 points 3 days ago (6 children)

FUCK I need to water my plants.

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[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 57 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

My dad was a drunk and made sure I learned every racist term in the book before I was 12. I'm sure he'd be devastated if I managed to kill myself, without ever realizing how much he contributed to the desire in the first place.

My life has only gotten better since he died. Rest in piss old man, I'm glad you're dead.

Edits: also, single moms rule — I'd fight a T-Rex for my mom. I'd lose, but god damnit I'd try.

[–] w24@sh.itjust.works 18 points 3 days ago

I'd be willing to help you train to fight the T-Rex. You don't have to lose.

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[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 45 points 3 days ago (3 children)

As an old and retired paramedic myself, there are definitely parts of me, as a human being, that will never grow back. And I worked in a rural area where you work on neighbors, family, and friends mostly. It was never easy to explain to the family that might be present that not me or god could fix what was wrong. I also did a few suicides over the years. Never easy and they leave a mark that won't grow back by morning.

The worst thing about any of it, was meeting a family member in a cafe or store in our small town. And they would invariably come up to me and give me a hug and tell me how grateful they were that I was there for them. Despite the fact I couldn't do shit for the dead person beyond calling dispatch and telling them to send law enforcement to come and do their paperwork and secure the scene until the funeral home got there to haul the body away.

[–] scutiger@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

I think often just being there makes a big difference, even if there's nothing that can be done.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 16 points 3 days ago

I'm sorry, that sounds so hard. Handling logistics in a traumatic situation is such a hugely important task. Definitely don't sell yourself short. Even is you didn't do anything you're "holding space"

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It ruined that scene in the The Princess Bride for me.

Do you hear that, Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when Rugen slaughtered my father.

I've heard it to varying degrees, but the worst was the kid that shot themself by accident because dad got drunk and left his handgun out. Mom made it to the hospital and was obviously distraught ... then she saw the body.

The noise she made is indescribable. An overcrowded, chaotic Emergency Department full of hardened nurses and doctors dropped into 5 seconds of complete silence and inactivity. Even other patients screaming in pain stopped.

It triggers some primal response in your brain you didn't know exists until you hear it. It will stay with you for the rest of your life. The sound a mother makes she she sees her dead child is inarguably the worst sound in the world.

[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yeah, only once have I heard the whole ER seemingly go silent. It was when we brought in a young trauma victim, (car accident). The pandemonium of a 6 people working all at once, the voices calm but tense and a bit louder, and the er Doc standing in the corner watching and directing the action. We worked the code for maybe 5 or 6 minutes before the Doctor called it. Everything just stopped. People froze from what they were doing. And the whole ER was dead silent for what seemed like hours, but was only a few seconds before everything came back to real time.

Only twice have I had to hear the agony of a mother. Once when I did a drowning. We were searching for the husband/father. I found him in about 6 feet of water. (my big toe went into his mouth-- a feeling I will never forget). My partner and I got him shallow water along the shore. And I did the math and estimated he'd been down 25 to 45 minutes. So we agreed to call it. So I started walking to the house, all soaking wet, to deliver the news. I can still hear her wail right now as I told her and her young son that daddy was never coming home again.

The other time was when we were paged out to a 4-wheeler accident. And an 11-year-old boy somehow drove too close to a drainage ditch and rolled in about 20 feet down. I went down with a rope and found him pinned under the 4-wheeler face down in about 3 or 4 inches of water. He had been dead long enough to be beyond anybodies help. I climbed back up the ditch and explained to the mother her 11-year old son was gone. To this day I pray to whatever gods there are that he was dead before he drowned pinned face down under that 4-wheeler.

The worst part of ALL of those moments was when you were done and driving away from the scene, and you still had that pager on, and you needed to get your shit back in a row and fast. The next call was going to happen at some point. You needed to be ready to 100% focus on that call with no time, or too much time, to process what had happened.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

A large part of my younger self wanted to be a paramedic. But I quickly realized I didn't have the emotional resilience to be one.

I remember watching Nic Cage in "Bringing out the Dead" (Excellent film by the way) and that movie putting the big ol' nope on that plan once and for all in the early 2000's.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 9 points 2 days ago

My uncle was a paramedic. It really messed him up.

[–] TwoBeeSan@lemmy.world 94 points 3 days ago

Wait til they're dead like the considerate son/daughter you are.

My dad killed himself so he beat me to it.

I held his jacket and was glad I didn't see his body honestly. Good on that paramedic

[–] k0e3@lemmy.ca 29 points 3 days ago

A similar experience I had was when I saw my mom cry and pay respects to my grandpa for the last time as he was sent to be cremated.

I respected my grandfather but as we lived half way across the world, I wasn't emotionally attached to him and didn't feel very sad. But seeing my mom, usually a very silly lady and a very strong, loving grandma herself, turn into a daughter saying goodbye to her dad in tears for that split second broke my heart.

I have suffered from suicidal thoughts and depression for longer than I can remember, my life has been sad and my family keep making it worse. Honestly I don't want to think about how much they would miss me when my own mother has told me she would consider me dead if I became non religious.

I am alive because I am simply too angry to die and I will keep living on even if the pain keeps tearing me down

[–] MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works 60 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I don't think I could handle being a paramedic for this reason. The memories just build and they get so many.

I've witnessed death myself upclose as family members died. Their final moments burned in forever.

Those memories never fade, you just distract yourself from it. But the memory is always waiting for when you recall a time together with them. There is that fucking final moment again, like a punctuation on a good thought.

To have that be part of a job, even if they are not related has to weigh heavily. They don't get paid nearly enough for that burden.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I was homeless for a while.

... I know I couldn't handle being a real paramedic.

Made my way as a make shift paramedic, treating various injuries and wounds that people would... appear with, at or near an encampment or something. Usually just field dressing a laceration, jerry rigging a makeshift splint.

Occasionally a gunshot wound.

I always begged people who needed more care than I could provide to go to a hospital.

Sometimss they did, sometimes they or their friends would refuse.

Fentanyl... zombies is actually pretty close to an accurate description.

I've seen more necrotic flesh, gray tissue and pus where either a stab wound or injection site once was... than I want to remember.

Your body can't naturally heal when it's ... hooked on the blues. The stuff was all crushed blue tablets where I was, everybody just called em 'blues'.

Successfully stabilized a few ODs ... not all of them.

Also happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time: drive by shooting.

The streets are basically like a warzone, if you're in them too long.

Fuck, I'm two years out of homelessness now, and I'm still doing PT to recover from my own injuries.

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[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 29 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I saw my dad lose his best friend to suicide in my teens. I've struggled with suicidal ideation since before even that. I'm not close to my dad, I have lots of issues with the man, but I can never put him through that again, no matter what.

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[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Meta comment, but I like that Lemmy can have these threads, and it’s probably mostly real.

It’s some human 4chan anon, whether they’re making it up or not.

Maybe the majority of comments here are legit.


Meanwhile, when I stumble into a Reddit thread like this (mostly when I miss old.reddit.com and get bombarded with weird engagement bait), it’s… mostly bots?

It’s either obvious, or very suspicious and likely engagement bait.

And if it's a Tweet OP is referencing, well, that's probably fake or bait too.


I’m sure this place will get flooded with bots, eventually, so we remake it again. The cycle continues.

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 50 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Boots on the ground

They'll cut you off at the ankles

And throw the rest away

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[–] Katrisia@lemmy.today 6 points 2 days ago

My grandparents both lost children. It sounds weird to specify, but they were children from different marriages. They shared this coincidence. My grandmother had this sort of incident with the body; I think my grandfather only received the news. Both developed illnesses now suspected to be caused or worsened by stress: cancer and Alzheimer's. They were sad people after their losses, very sad people. I do believe it slowly killed them. Just anecdotal evidence of the damage of losing a child...

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 43 points 3 days ago

A classic. This one hit me hard when it was first written

[–] Ryanmiller70@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So do it after Dad dies is what I'm reading.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 16 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Dad, Mom, sibs, close friends, person who's nice to you at the bus stop, and of course the person you hate most in the world

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