Rachel Sullivan2 said:🤷
..maybe I’m just being thick.. and don't even get me started on inverse proportionality, because I never understood that math crap anyway☕
: total self-isolation:
I don't totally buy the first part—actually, those people often have a huge range of skills and tons of different interests.
..but man, their spirits are just completely wrecked, stunted, narrow-minded, and greasy,
That’s why you can't freeze them out.
and that's exactly why I look down on them☕
The spark in their eyes—absolutely! We could look at it this way: who are we to steal that spark from anyone? Even from the people who bail us out or despise us. 🤷 Let's just float in some Zen-masochism and play the martyr, offering them a moral compass until they actually grow one. 🤣
😕
🤣
they don't have a moral compass, so just forget about it immediately..
but this whole idea of floating in Zen-masochism and playing the Christian martyr is just too tempting for me😁
*and I'm definitely not touching their spark in their eyes
Regarding negative attention, I think it's more complicated than that. Yeah, I'd love to believe it's still "attention," regardless of the flavor, but if I had the choice, I'd take positive attention any day, thanks. 🙂
you don't get a choice, that's the whole point
plus you're even more exposed in real life, as weirdly paradoxical as that sounds..
so you really have to watch what you type, because at the end of the day, your posts are the signature you leave behind
but then again, the same goes for the crowd we're talking about—every single post they make leaves a little breadcrumb of who they really are, right?😁
I wanted to say, based on my own experiences, that the most insidious people—the most manipulative, the most dishonest players—are often those with sharp intellects who take an interest in subjects more complex than, I don't know, checking the weather app. Sabotage and gossip exist everywhere, I suppose; it’s universal. But true perfidy is characteristic of those who possess the necessary tools and prerequisites (cognition and social networks) plus that inevitable psychological special sauce: vanity. Vanity is an essential part of those "elevated" circles you mention, whether in real life or on a forum. It's essential in the sense that even those who seem far too smart or spiritual to fall for it end up succumbing. The problem with smaller populations, like our American intellectual circles or specific forum groups, is that when just one (just one!) person falls for an ego trip (or something similar), it very easily begins to define the entire dynamic and future of the whole group (groups of people gathering around similar topics, for example). Any confrontation with such a person inevitably carries the risk that, if you don't explicitly state it, you at least imply the psychological background of the issue—and that pulls you into a position where you start shaking the "group" from the inside, even if your primary interest is
the topic rather than the person themselves. That's why I mentioned losing the spark in one's eye—by dragging oneself into debates with these so-called "strong personalities" (people with intense images, decisive stances, and high sensitivity to environmental stimuli), even when you want to discuss the subject and not the individual, you inevitably trigger a process of categorization (for vs. against them), grouping, and confrontation on what is already becoming a somewhat private level. Trying to persist in these discussions can lead to having that "spark in your eye" drained away until you're just exhausted and ready to quit, or the alternative is trying to drain the spark from the other person. The question is whether you actually want that, or if you'll just let the kids play. 😉
..but of an exceptionally destroyed, creaky, narrow-minded, and greasy spirit,
Wow. And who might that be, if I may ask? 😁
you can't choose, that's just how it is
and even there, you're more exposed, as paradoxical as that sounds in real life..
so you really have to watch what you write, because posts are ultimately what remain as your signature
but then again, it's also true that the crowd we're talking about leaves little bits of information about themselves with every single post, just like they do with their interests, right? 😁
You can choose your company. Or you can move to other platforms.🙂
And why would you be more exposed here than you are in real life—I’d actually be quite curious to hear your thoughts on that?
To be honest, what I find most fascinating—and it really is the core of this whole discussion—is how things differ between this space and the world outside. Is it perhaps because, in an online setting, you don't always know who is on the other side of the screen? You might inadvertently step on someone's toes without even realizing it, since you can't see them.
