streaM Freak
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2024
- Messages
- 211
Hi everyone,
Recovery has been a long road. Mostly the addiction part. The recovery, eerily quiet, but effective. I sort of don't trust that I could not smoke a rock or slam a shard of presented one. But that's probably normal.
Anyway, the title of this thread is my cliche phrase to express how, for those of us who are not super-duper emotionally attached to people, it's sort of a damned if you do, damned of you don't, society.
In the USA, fortunately for those who have an education, suppressing the gift of empathy is actually beneficial to success. I mean shit, do I even need to mention the orange man? 'nuff said.
However, that doesn't mean that society is forgiving of such cut-throat qualities. In fact, there is a strong undercurrent of calling everything that feels icky-wicky, "manipulation".
For example, you make a joke at a party, and I don't feel the laugh coming. I wish I did, you gave it an A+ effort, but I just, unfortunately, don't find it funny. Well, I may be called "rude", "insensitive", or "weirded", "creepy", and all synonyms that taste like sharp cinnamon.
However, if I were to "mirror" (another term with a mostly negative connotation) the groups reactions, then it would be more acceptable (on the surface), but, God forbid someone finds out that I didn't find your joke funny











, I'm being "manipulative".
Yes, a dramatic example, not all that riveting or even problematic, but please look past the simplicity of the example and to the bigger picture.
Now, I am blessed with being an able bodied white male. But in the system, I've came across many home boys and cracker jacks that we're getting bent over by mental health staff who barely speak English for having naturally occuring emotions that just don't fall perfectly in line with societal standards.
Yeah, that part sort of pisses me off, so I'll stop here.
Edit - ayt, I pulled it together for you. Let me end this way, instead - we are not so different, you and I.
Recovery has been a long road. Mostly the addiction part. The recovery, eerily quiet, but effective. I sort of don't trust that I could not smoke a rock or slam a shard of presented one. But that's probably normal.
Anyway, the title of this thread is my cliche phrase to express how, for those of us who are not super-duper emotionally attached to people, it's sort of a damned if you do, damned of you don't, society.
In the USA, fortunately for those who have an education, suppressing the gift of empathy is actually beneficial to success. I mean shit, do I even need to mention the orange man? 'nuff said.
However, that doesn't mean that society is forgiving of such cut-throat qualities. In fact, there is a strong undercurrent of calling everything that feels icky-wicky, "manipulation".
For example, you make a joke at a party, and I don't feel the laugh coming. I wish I did, you gave it an A+ effort, but I just, unfortunately, don't find it funny. Well, I may be called "rude", "insensitive", or "weirded", "creepy", and all synonyms that taste like sharp cinnamon.
However, if I were to "mirror" (another term with a mostly negative connotation) the groups reactions, then it would be more acceptable (on the surface), but, God forbid someone finds out that I didn't find your joke funny













Yes, a dramatic example, not all that riveting or even problematic, but please look past the simplicity of the example and to the bigger picture.
Now, I am blessed with being an able bodied white male. But in the system, I've came across many home boys and cracker jacks that we're getting bent over by mental health staff who barely speak English for having naturally occuring emotions that just don't fall perfectly in line with societal standards.
Yeah, that part sort of pisses me off, so I'll stop here.
Edit - ayt, I pulled it together for you. Let me end this way, instead - we are not so different, you and I.
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