I have, on occasion, been accused of being a misanthrope. No reason, really, other than the occasional observation that people are idiots, or that the human race is long over-due for extinction. Or that, in my stories and novels, anything with a pulse has a tendency to die horribly.
But I don’t hate people, I really don’t. Sure, I get frustrated by them very often, I rarely want to spend any time with them, and once in awhile I’ll even get the overwhelming urge to start breaking noses. But that doesn’t mean I HATE them. In fact, I quite LIKE people.
Let me put that another way: I EMPATHIZE with people. I’m sympathetic to the pain and suffering that seems to be our lot here on this mortal coil. It distresses me to see another human being in pain, physical or psychological.
Honestly, I don’t think you can be a good writer and actually HATE other people (and of course there are bound to be exceptions to that rule-- I just thought of Patricia Highsmith, a misanthrope if ever one existed, and there are probably others I’m not thinking of, but…).
To write effectively about human beings, you gotta understand them, yeah? And it’s impossible to hate something that you understand.
Yeah, people are still idiots, and still over-due for extinction. But you know what? The dinosaurs were idiots also, and their extinction was a long time coming.
That doesn’t mean I HATE dinosaurs, does it?
I feel you. Sometimes I am under the impression that all I do is bitch & moan. I think the important is to judge people the less possible. Some people deserve judgment or at least put their neck on the stump, but some people are just trying to get through the day as idiots.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, try to make everyone understand that.
Hi! Heath Lowrance...
ReplyDeleteHeath Lowrance said,"I have, on occasion, been accused of being a misanthrope."
You have? that not the feeling that I get from your online persona...I remember posting on your blog for the first-time...I was somewhat "apprehensive" you, on the other hand, was kind and didn't give me the feeling Of not wanting to communicate with me or your readers. (Fellowman/woman)
"But I don’t hate people, I really don’t. Sure, I get frustrated by them very often..."
Who don't? you, wouldn't be human or at best honest...Because I think that all people share that feeling at sometime or other in their life.(lives)
"I rarely want to spend any time with them, and once in awhile I’ll even get the overwhelming urge to start breaking noses."
(Laughter)...I pride myself on being a very gentle person, but I must admit that I felt like that once...since I started blogging.
From this sentence here...
"But I don’t hate people, I really don’t."
Up until your question here...
That doesn’t mean I HATE dinosaurs, does it?
I understand what you are saying and I quite agree with you, and your feelings about "some" people behavior on this earth that we inhabit. Believe me I have encountered them online and offline too!
Thanks, for sharing your thoughts with your readers.
Cont...
Heath Lowrance said,"I just thought of Patricia Highsmith, a misanthrope if ever one existed, and there are probably others I’m not thinking of, but…").
ReplyDeleteThe Misanthrope written by Molière.(Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux) deals with misanthropy.
No?
I have also been told that both writers John S.Gilbert and Jonathan Swift were accused Of being misanthrope(s)...
[Even though I'am not familiar with the former, but the latter...]
DeeDee ;-D
Thanks for your comments, DeeDee-- because of people like you, I'm actually much nicer now than I used to be!
ReplyDeleteBen, yeah. I just try to remember that most of us are idiots about most things, most of the time... perspective, right?
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, but being a self-aware idiot is cool with me. I mean. Simple people who want simple things, I'm down with them. It's the idiots that think they reinvented the wheel that I loathe.
ReplyDeleteI think you can be a misanthrope and a good writer if you are able to view people with a larger lens or imagine what made them the way they are. There are not too many people to admire and yet there are not so many to hate. Most days.
ReplyDelete