... People being too nice.
What a horrific challenge you have!
What is it that makes niceness seem inauthentic? Too many episodes of Seinfeld? Too many harsh comedy podcasts? Or maybe that is one's own super ego telling you you're a naughty boy.
Sometimes young women around me will greet each other with high pitched shrieks and squawks. What is the birdlike timbre telling my labrador brain?
Does niceness indicate naivety? If they could see reality as it is would they be crying or walking slump shouldered zombies eyes downcast.
Is the sweetness earned? Do people inherently deserve to be treated pleasantly, or should they earn it? I lean towards meritocracy.
To get Freudian, does the feeling that my mother's kindness towards me hid a demon that would uncoil it's wings and attack me when I least expect it have me permanently on guard waiting for that a hah moment of confirmation? And the times that people I thought were close friends betrayed me...
I strap a lie detector to their arm when they start opening their mouth. Hold on! Before we talk, I must strap this onto your wrist! .... Okay go ahead.
Are these intuitions signals I should follow, or just nonsense stuck in one's mind? Or maybe it's a bit of both, and there I go again overgeneralizing into oblivion.
Depression propaganda has convinced me reality is harsh and ugly, and therefore niceness is a veil of fraudulence. Convinced me that the pleasantries hide what they're not saying. Is there really anything else under there to say at all?
Well, it depends upon whether or not the niceness is genuine or fake. You can see the difference if you pay attention, but it can be subtle.
ReplyDeleteStrap a lie detector to their arm when they start opening their mouth. "Hold on! Before we talk, I must strap this onto your wrist! .... Okay go ahead."
DeleteIt is better to be nice than to be mean to someone especially if they didnt deserve it. Its the basic form of respect which should be commonplace. It is ESPECIALLY important for a father/mother to foster a good relationship with their son/daughter (plus other close relatives) otherwise they will grow old and be alone and have no one to take care of them. Thats where it pays off to ne nice. It also pays off to be nice to strangers and friends because the universe tends to give back what you give. We live in a reciprocating society. If youre a rude ass mofo youre gonna get back rudesness (deservingly so) or youre gonna get downvoted to oblivion on reddit or rated poorly on google reviews for your business
ReplyDeleteTo your point about niceness indicating naivity. Perhaps. Some people see the world as they say ...through rose colored lenses. But thats fine. Its better than being mean/toxic. There should be at least some level of niceness towards each other in order for society to function normally and that is what we default on whether we are naive or not. We dont all have to be super friendly and cutesy towards each other however, as there are people with serious professions like police and lawyers and they have to maintain a level of profession to do their job seriously.
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