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> under the skin of people so desperate to pretend they're at the top of the moral totem pole I never understood this kind of thinking, and have always found i

> under the skin of people so desperate to pretend they're at the top of the moral totem pole I never understood this kind of thinking, and have always found it particularly heartless & puzzling, until one day I stumbled upon something I myself had no visceral reaction to but other people clearly did. It looked like they were being fake about it, either completely, or just in an exaggerating way. Turned out no, I was just not in the headspace required. Which makes sense cause I mean, let's be honest: what do you think is more likely? The majority of people secretly and intentionally all just messing with you, or rather them just actually saying what they think, and then you just not being able to relate to it?

kulahan 1y ago
Nothing I’m saying implies I don’t think they’re speaking how they truly feel. I absolutely believe they genuinely believe them when they say he’s some kind of monster because he didn’t get chemo (???) and was rude to people and took up handicapped parking spaces. I’m saying it’s unrealistic to target him specifically for being a dick when something like 50% of CEOs already show psychopathic traits.
- perching_aix 1y ago
  > Nothing I’m saying implies I don’t think they’re speaking how they truly feel. Then how am I supposed to interpret "people so desperate to pretend they're at the top of the moral totem pole"? You literally say people are pretending. > when they say he’s some kind of monster because he didn’t get chemo (???) and was rude to people and took up handicapped parking spaces I would 100% say he was "some kind of monster" for power abuse (verbal harassment), as well as for denying and neglecting his child, yes. The scrambling for an organ donor after his drug-addled delusions fell through thing doesn't sound too hot either. Judgements are subjective. Usually people operate under shared assumptions, so one would just expect that their judgement would be widely shared - but this doesn't make them some universal truth. This is how and why you end up in a circle when people describe things he's a bad person for, and then you just say "well I don't find those things to be bad". Great, we already know he's not a bad person for you, you said as much. People just disagree and see it different, and list things off for you to try and relate. And so you list off counterpoints to make them try and relate. > I’m saying it’s unrealistic to target him specifically for being a dick Yes, well, being extremely "well known", along with his personality, despite never having met 99.999% of the people who "know" about him is pretty unrealistic / unnatural to begin with. This includes me of course.
  - kulahan 1y ago
    I’m saying they’re pretending that they’re more moral than him. They aren’t, of course. Hell, for a tell-all book, it was extremely benign. Flouting minor laws, not taking care of his health, and being mean? Ahh! And I’m not surprised that you think he’s some kinda monster. That’s the insane world we live in today, and why it’s such an obnoxious one. You’ve got nothing to balance any bad act on, besides “everything must be done with perfect kindness”, so even something as minor as being rude comes across as “some kind of monster”. You’ve artificially moved your Overton window to such a falsely soft world, you can no longer reasonably judge regular people.
    - perching_aix 1y ago
      If it's any consolation, I find today's world incredibly obnoxious as well. Although mostly from the exact opposite perspective, as you may imagine (though not quite the overdramatized way you describe). Tried my best to be persuasive, but this is all I had in me. Let's see where our opinions take this world.

kulahan 1y ago

Nothing I’m saying implies I don’t think they’re speaking how they truly feel. I absolutely believe they genuinely believe them when they say he’s some kind of monster because he didn’t get chemo (???) and was rude to people and took up handicapped parking spaces. I’m saying it’s unrealistic to target him specifically for being a dick when something like 50% of CEOs already show psychopathic traits.

perching_aix 1y ago
> Nothing I’m saying implies I don’t think they’re speaking how they truly feel. Then how am I supposed to interpret "people so desperate to pretend they're at the top of the moral totem pole"? You literally say people are pretending. > when they say he’s some kind of monster because he didn’t get chemo (???) and was rude to people and took up handicapped parking spaces I would 100% say he was "some kind of monster" for power abuse (verbal harassment), as well as for denying and neglecting his child, yes. The scrambling for an organ donor after his drug-addled delusions fell through thing doesn't sound too hot either. Judgements are subjective. Usually people operate under shared assumptions, so one would just expect that their judgement would be widely shared - but this doesn't make them some universal truth. This is how and why you end up in a circle when people describe things he's a bad person for, and then you just say "well I don't find those things to be bad". Great, we already know he's not a bad person for you, you said as much. People just disagree and see it different, and list things off for you to try and relate. And so you list off counterpoints to make them try and relate. > I’m saying it’s unrealistic to target him specifically for being a dick Yes, well, being extremely "well known", along with his personality, despite never having met 99.999% of the people who "know" about him is pretty unrealistic / unnatural to begin with. This includes me of course.
- kulahan 1y ago
  I’m saying they’re pretending that they’re more moral than him. They aren’t, of course. Hell, for a tell-all book, it was extremely benign. Flouting minor laws, not taking care of his health, and being mean? Ahh! And I’m not surprised that you think he’s some kinda monster. That’s the insane world we live in today, and why it’s such an obnoxious one. You’ve got nothing to balance any bad act on, besides “everything must be done with perfect kindness”, so even something as minor as being rude comes across as “some kind of monster”. You’ve artificially moved your Overton window to such a falsely soft world, you can no longer reasonably judge regular people.
  - perching_aix 1y ago
    If it's any consolation, I find today's world incredibly obnoxious as well. Although mostly from the exact opposite perspective, as you may imagine (though not quite the overdramatized way you describe). Tried my best to be persuasive, but this is all I had in me. Let's see where our opinions take this world.