perpetual disappointment

[letters_in_sand]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how there's this lovely, kind, G-rated version of the world that they present to you when you're a kid. And, impressionable kid that I was, I totally bought into it

Comments

[gifted]

omg I could have written this post myself. It still sends me reeling too, almost every time -- even when I half expect it (it's worse).

Argh! Humanity.

[elenbarathi]

It's a GOOD thing to have had the world presented as lovely, kind and G-rated when one is a kid. Far better that, than to have grown up expecting the world to be ugly, cruel, violent and exploitative because that's all one has ever known. Surely you would rather to be shocked and horrified by wrong action, than to be indifferent to it, or entertained by it? Desensitization is a trauma symptom, not a healthy adaptation.

Many aspects of the world truly are lovely, kind and uplifting. Many people sincerely do work at holding themselves to a higher than common standard. Many people are both sensitive and compassionate, and are not okay with listening to anybody being hurt or humiliated. That is 'how it is' just as much as the opposite. The world isn't all one way - in any aspect - and no individual person is all one way either

[0mniscient]

Early 30's, hell. That would imply willing blindess throughout the 20's. (And before. When you get past the polish, most peoples behaviors are reminiscent of nothing so much as high school antics.)

The trick is to know what's really going on. Gossip is all about social warfare. Act clueless enough to not be a worthwhile ally, watch people give up their silliness out of sheer exasperation.

[infryq]

In the words of an old high school friend, "Screw those jerks. Let's move to the moon