On the Genealogy of Misanthropy

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mustachioed_badass_42

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On the Genealogy of Misanthropy
What causes some humans to come to hate "humans" in general? It sounds counter-intuitive to dislike the group one is part of. Not all people are misanthropes, of course. But, needless to say, some of there are! What causes them to be that way? Perhaps a certain desire for freedom accompanied by the disregard of the views of other people, or perhaps the whips and scorns experienced by the person who, for a rather prolonged portion of his/her life, has been one of the "GOOD HUMANS" (that is to say, anti-misanthropes). I, for the most part of my life, have been one of such "anti-misanthropes", but over the past couple of years, there have been instances which have made me suspicious of humanity, which are...

Base 1: School
Socially, I have been an outcast at school almost ever since I joined. In my life of 15 years, I can say I had but one good friend during my early school years, but even he distanced himself from me as we grew. But I don't have any resentment due to this. The major issue started when I was 13, when school was resuming after two years of online schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One primary way of being accepted socially is 'humour' (or at least it was in my case). However, the major type of humour I encountered during this time was "rape humour". And the difficulty was that I did not understand how the humour my peers cultivated was funny. Most of the lads (and lasses!) at school used to make derogatory jokes about horrible experiences people might have had and laughed a great deal about it, while I was always like "Yeah I know that this thing occurred, but why the f*ck are you laughing?" They would also make jokes about certain groups of people and call it "offensive humour". But it is one thing to satirise overly "politically correct" jargon, and an entirely different thing to advocate for the mass killing of people merely because of some harmless characteristics that are nowhere within their control (that is to say, they are innate characteristics).

Yes, they actually believed that genocide of certain groups of people can be beneficial for society. And they were not even consistent with those beliefs. On one day, they would be praising one group, and the next day, they would be bemoaning it. Furthermore, if someone agreed with their statements, they would act as if they firmly abided by them. But if someone was offended, they would say that it was a joke. However, it does not make matters less worse even if they were joking. The case is that these are serious issues, and the inhumane things that some people have undergone just isn't appropriate for humour. I was often scorned for being unable to laugh at "rape humour". So I could never get along with majorly anyone in my school. Their beliefs were blatantly misanthropic.

Base 2: Romantic Attraction and Friendships
Whenever I have experienced romantic attraction, I have been insulted in return more often than not. I still remember the first time I had a crush on a girl (when I was 13), I told some other boys and girls about it. A lot of them somehow indicated that I was filled with lust. If it were so, that was certainly a fault. But in reality, I never felt "filled with lust". Indeed, I have always been more childish at heart than my peers. When other lads (and lasses!) my age were watching p*rn, I was watching cartoons. I did have a sex drive by that time, but it just wasn't the major focus of my life. Hence, my main lookout was friendliness. Another thing, having a crush is such a commonplace experience, but no one else got told they were "filled with lust". Why me?

In short, my experiences in this field haven't been pretty. I am not writing much about it, since I have talked about it in a previous post. As for friends, I have had a few, and they (mostly) ruined my self-esteem.

Base 3: Social Media
Perhaps I was just surrounded by the wrong people. What will my experience be on social media? It has a vast diversity of people, from a wide range of cultures. Now, at least among my peer group, I am one of the people that mostly abstains from social media (another cause that makes me stand out; a lot of my peers are obsessed with social media). But from what I have experienced on social media, I can say it's... mostly not pretty. There is a lot of bitterness.

Just to give you an example, I came across a post, a news article, that stated that a lesbian was raped by her father. And there were comments like "Based". Another thing I have noticed is the constant gender war. Like, are you toddlers? There are certain mental health spaces that aim to help people. Yet I saw a man making a post about some problems he was facing, and a bunch of women showed up to belittle him and call him a misogynist. How is a man merely expressing his grief "misogynistic"? And the next day, there will be men doing the same thing. And the cycle continues. What astonished me more was the number of upvotes the comments get. It means that it's not just one random arsehole, but there are a large number of people that agree with'em. When I was a child, I thought adults were really wise and thoughtful and knowledgeable. Now I am close to being an adult myself, and, well, they are morons...

This is the only forum wherein I have not seen such behaviour (so far), so, thanks for being good humans I guess? <3

One thing people often say is that people on social media mainly spread hatred, and it is better to engage with people in real life. But I have already mentioned my experience with "real life people". Also, the people on social media are also "real life people", certainly not stones. What reason do I have to not believe that people wear a mask in real-life interactions, and let their real, unfiltered beliefs run free on social media? And I am expected to "love all humans"? Hell, humans can't even love their own selves. They are too busy examining the external, but take to their heels at the mere sight of a mirror.

If you disagree with anything I say here, please say it, because I am NOT seeking validation. Indeed, I LOVE to be invalidated. But more importantly, I want to know about your thoughts and related experiences
 
We're all just space dust brrrother. Hope you're well and having fun.

So you never hated a person before? I don't know what genealogy or misanthropy is. What is that?

Dawg I just realized you're 15 again. You're too smart. Is this homework? You're killing it.

So my context clues gather misanthropy is hating your own people or group right?

Look your peers are dumb as hell. I was a twisted little **** too. But nah they're all focused on fitting in. They don't know what they're saying. And people on the internet with anonymity are called trolls. Who TF knows if that's how they really feel. I think half do feel that way and let their thoughts out like that and walk around all hush like and the other half don't really give a damn and just like the thrill of messing with people. Chaotic sick thrills excite them. We're animals dawg. Hell I like sick music, but that's not what I'm down for.

But nah uh I couldn't disagree with anything here. Um, don't hate your peers. I know you're not saying you do and well if you're this smart try to convince them to be good people. Be a leader.
 
@Draven 'Genealogy' is like an 'origin' of something, and 'misanthropy' means 'the hatred of humans'. So I am trying to say that most people I encounter seem to have this sort of hatred towards people in general (often accompanied by a desire to harm), which makes me feel suspicious. A cynical worldview is often frowned upon, but such a worldview has helped me not fall prey to being mistreated.

And I know that ultimately we are merely animals. But we have a pretty powerful tool at our disposal (that is to say, the power of reason). Shouldn't we try to grow beyond our lowly origin?

And there are perhaps actually kind and empathetic and dissenting (those who don't care about "fitting in") people in the world. But I am yet to encounter them in real life. So where the hell are they?

And hope you're doing well too, pal 🙂. Thanks for replying.
 
most people I encounter seem to have this sort of hatred towards people in general (often accompanied by a desire to harm),
That’s just sad. You must live in a pretty awful place then. I don’t find that at all. People in a public setting do seem less interested in others, perhaps on their guard some, but certainly not displaying outward signs of hatred.
 
It's a good question, I think. What makes for a misanthrope? Rejection perhaps?
What makes for callousness and indifference, sadism, and cruelty? Why do people want to, 'fit in?'

Interesting questions. People young and old, want to fit in, often times.

Historically, being ostracized, could make survival difficult. So, perhaps there is a genetic component, or ancestral memetic component to a common intrinsic desire to remain on good terms with, 'the group.'
 
That’s just sad. You must live in a pretty awful place then. I don’t find that at all. People in a public setting do seem less interested in others, perhaps on their guard some, but certainly not displaying outward signs of hatred.
Talking about my classmates themselves, whenever something bad happens to someone, the way they laugh and brux their teeth in pleasure, it's just really confusing. I'm not trying to act sanctimonious, but I can't get myself to have such a reaction, even if I try.
 
Talking about my classmates themselves, whenever something bad happens to someone, the way they laugh and brux their teeth in pleasure, it's just really confusing. I'm not trying to act sanctimonious, but I can't get myself to have such a reaction, even if I try.
I think that's just high school in general. It's the immaturity, I think. The "everything is about me" mentality. It was like that when I was in school too.
 

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