Sunday, December 8, 2013 The Politics of Trying to be Nice.

So, I was in GAF as always tonight, and yet again, a relationship topic came up. This time OP was trying to make his bestest gal pal in the world realize how much she was being used and abused by her boyfriend. The basic response from myself and everyone else was simply to let the train wreck. Let the forest burn. She was too busy being buried in her BF, so she should deal with the pain. Not your problem. He did basically agree, especially when she had told him moments later that she was now "just friends" with the guy, but the whole exchange did get me thinking, when it comes to the social relations you have with peeps, especially with those of the opposite sex, is it too much to rely on that old adage of helping one another? Have we become so broken down to where we would rather burn the forest than simply catch the bandit? I dunno. I do generally feel that I have to be on eggshells a lot with ladies and gents nowanddays, especially within the nerd/geek circles that I frequent, as multiple incidents of rape, assault, bullying, and harassment within our community have seemingly turned most folks against each other to where everyone is blocked off within their own A.T. Fields, and the online advent has made folks complete shutins, to where physical interaction is reviled as it forces folks to have to face each other and talk, and you can't shoosh or ignore someone if they're standing right in front of you. A while back ago, if you wanted to be show empathy towards someone having a bad time, they would be appreciative for the solidarity, now, you're pretty much looking at being called a stalker/creep/rapist from the female side, while begin regarded as Not Alpha Enough on the male end of the spectrum. On a personal level, this has become really fucking aggrevating, as I was raised to help others as much as I helped myself, and it's kinda hard to abide by that moral code when you can't even keep a friend for a month. That being said, can you go the other route? Become so burned off by humanity that you simply think it's easier to revel in other people's personal suffering? I've met and seen folks who do just that. It's pretty easy. Oh you got raped? Well, you should've gone out wearing that hot dress. Drug Problems? Have fun with that life sentence, more $$ for me. You basically get the jest, it's like we've become so desensitized to simply treating each other like decent human beings and instead we hope that other person fails, kinda makes me disheartened at times. The older you get, the more cynical, and with every passing generation the need to consume and give into wanton bloodlust is alarming. I think the above thoughts are why I still volunteer at conventions and participate in projects like Angel Tree. For one, it allows me an outlet to be egoless and dedicate time to something other than myself, and for two, it's all for the small pints. When I am running around at a con or working my posts, I notice the kids running around with each other, not a care in the world, not having to worry about being fucked with, not wanting to demonize each other, nope, it's all about being the best Ninja or Shinigami or Pirate that they can be. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from the kids, before we fuck up their social lives just as we've fucked up ours.