How cynical are you about human nature? (Be honest.)

[Abort!]

I really hate human nature in general, and that's including my very own. I am not claiming to be above it in any way. We tend to be very phony in a lot of ways.

That's not to say we're all black and white, I genuinely try to give everyone the benefit of doubt on an individualistic scale. There are plenty of people out there whom I admire for their sheer kindness and good nature. I do not, however, believe that true altruism is obtainable without some external reward (i.e. status inflation or other forms of reward.)

Who I tend to hold the most disdain for are self-styled 'virtue warriors'. We all seemingly do it to a certain extent, some more than others. Nobody is without at least one skeleton in their closet. it seems to me that we're far less evolved than we claim to be. This is simply how it appears to me.

 

[Forveleth]

I do give individual people a chance to show me how they really are as I do not think you should judge individuals based on the group. Overall though, I see human nature in a very negative light from a human perspective but from a "we are just part of nature" perspective, it is quite normal. After all, humans are animals and animals will do whatever they need to do to survive, including being "mean/evil" to each other.

 

[Sphinxi]

I am very misanthropic, when I interact with most people, I get frustrated at their imperfections. I can never really be myself around another person, nor can I ever be truly happy. Despite that, I think most people are capable of empathy and altruism, especially in their natural state, which modern society alienates us from.

 

[crowwwz]

i try to still believe in the good in people, even if it is incredibly difficult at times. i think on a collective scale, people are capable of great harm, but individually, people will always want to do good things on some level.

 

[Deepdense]

I believe it's more a sub conscious part of us a majority of the time rather than deliberate. Honestly, it's one of the things I love about people though.

 

[Dejected 55]

I hate people who pretend to be kind but are actually horrible the most. They are trying to sneak that shit on you!

Then I hate horrible people who don't hide their horrible. Obviously, they are horrible so I hate it... but I at least give them credit for being openly horrible so I can not be surprised.

There ought to be some genuinely kind people out there in larger numbers than it often appears... but they are so hard to find.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Make people earn your trust. Never give it otherwise.

Even then, many will still betray you.

But you'll suffer less than if you hand yourself to scumbags or psychopaths without thinking.

All humans are capable of pure evil, and the more suicidal you are, the more they will twist the knife in you.

 

[VoidButterfly]

It's hard for me to answer the question. When I'm doing ok or even just not great I'd vary between 1-3. When things are really bad, like today, we're rocking a 10.

 

[katara]

Because I live in USA 7-9 but if I lived somewhere better 4-6

 

[Abort!]

Make people earn your trust. Never give it otherwise.

Even then, many will still betray you.

But you'll suffer less than if you hand yourself to scumbags or psychopaths without thinking.

All humans are capable of pure evil, and the more suicidal you are, the more they will twist the knife in you.

I've basically held some form or another of this sentiment for a long time. It's a difficult balancing act. The more you've been betrayed, taken advantage of, and used, the more that distrust compounds. The harder it becomes to climb out of the pit. The greasier the uphill slope becomes.

 

[OnMyLast Legs]

I see people as pretty bad and know I'm even worse.

 

[Reishi]

I'm extremely cynical and self cynical to the point that I don't trust anyone and I believe everyone is hiding shit from me.

 

[Dejected 55]

Make people earn your trust. Never give it otherwise.

This is a philosophical argument I always make about trust...

Trust can't be earned, it can only be given. Why? IF I know you will not hurt or betray me, that is fact... not trust. I know from experience that you will not harm me through action or inaction and I can be safe with you. That isn't trust, that is earned safety and comfort.

You can only trust people that you do not know how they will behave. You have to decide when you meet someone knew whether to trust or be skeptical. If you are skeptical but they prove themselves to have been trustworthy, then they have earned your faith and consideration. They are beyond trust now because they proved themselves to you. If, however, you choose to trust a stranger and they hurt you... then you have learned not to trust that person and they can never earn your faith as a result.

If that makes sense.

Basically, I don't have to trust someone I know will do me no harm. I can only trust in someone that I do not know the outcome.

 

[RosebyAnyName]

Everyone is awful. Relationships are only just a matter of whether or not you're willing to tolerate a person's specific type of awful. A moral "society" is one where the humans all die off, because humans are incapable of being moral.

I'm not Christian, but the Christians were right in saying that everyone is a sinner. Nobody deserves to be happy, because happiness is never deserved for worthless, horrible humans.

 

[BillyBob]

All I seem to see now days is overindulgence, greed and a highly consumerism society.
We have people who will do anything to go up the ladder in life to gain the small amount of power they would get then make sure everyone below them can not progress because they power trip.
We have people who we are suppose to trust but in the end they back stab.

I honestly see the world as very cynical and I only want to participate as little as possible in it.

 

[SanagiMezamete]

10 in cynicism at all times. Humans are selfish spiteful animals and any exception to the rule is just that. I feel seething contempt for human nature and humanity in general. Ignorance and domination are humanity's comfort blanket. While I can't blame people for their nature, I still hold their behavior in disdain and don't trust the average person's intentions as far as I can throw them.

Not to say I dislike or mistreat *individuals* when interacting with them, even anonymously online. It's more of a philosophical and strategic mindset. The main reason I dislike people so much in the first place is because of that exact hatred and mistreatment they display to others. I try to be a living example of how you can treat others with respect and kindness, even though most of them do deserve to be treated like shit when they're held to their own standards. (Hypocrites, the lot of them.)

I'm not fundamentally different. I see everything I hate in others in myself. I am self aware so I can do damage control to minimize my selfishness and cruelty, but it's impossible to eliminate it entirely without dying or having never existed.

I haven't burned any bridges in my personal life because I am a human too and I need some level of human interaction, but I am extremely picky about who I let into my life and I'm no longer blindly generous and trusting. I don't owe anything to this fucked up world or to the society and the human body that I'm enslaved within. I'm not exactly rooting for humanity at this point. I care about me and my own, and the select few strangers who I feel a connection with. Spaces like SaSu are one of the only places I feel deserve my time and effort.

 

[whocaresnobodycares]

EVERYTHING IS POLYANNA CHRISTIAN HORSESHIT designed for greedy capitalists to keep you alive to get yr $$$$

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I give away the plot?

 

[jazzcat621]

I think humanity is only one simple step from achieving a culture that values empathy, wellness, humanity, equality, etc, but will probably never make the step. All one has to do is cast out hate from wherever it resides in one's mind. Its not hard to do, but no one wants to do it. Everyone would rather be quick to judge and put hate first.

 

[Abort!]

I think humanity is only one simple step from achieving a culture that values empathy, wellness, humanity, equality, etc, but will probably never make the step. All one has to do is cast out hate from wherever it resides in one's mind. Its not hard to do, but no one wants to do it. Everyone would rather be quick to judge and put hate first.

That's certainly an interesting take, if not a bit idealistic in my opinion. I wish I could agree with you, and I do at least in principle. Although I don't think you're giving enough credence to just how corruptable human nature tends to be in reality. I'm not rejecting empathy as an ideal characteristic of humanity, I'm reacting to how often I've seen it collapse under real pressure.