Humanity

This isn’t really an uplifting thought, and I want to stray away from negativity, but I think it can be a springboard to positivity.

Growing up, I heard about dehumanizing people: if you dehumanize people, it is easier for atrocities to be committed against them. I heard dehumanization was a tactic to get people to do these horrific things.

Then, a few years ago (or longer perhaps, I’m old and time is what it is), I heard that this was not true, and that people who have atrocities commit against them for the most part are not dehumanized, but if anything super humanized. So we lovely human beings enjoy seeing humans “fuck around and find out”. We are not dehumanizing people who we feel get what coming to them. We are hyper-aware that they are human, and hyper-aware of how what is happening affects them, and we enjoy it, that look on their face and all that… is what was said. I’m not sure if it is true, or if it’s any more or less depressing than the idea of dehumanizing, but it is food for thought. Not at all dinner party, or anything like that though. Maybe online, with other people who are horribly depressing with their potentially deep thoughts.

So anyways, how can this be a springboard to positivity? I think it is perhaps an obvious cliched way, but I am not really sure what is obvious or cliched.

The thing is that we lovely humans should be aware of our horrible areas, and if we are aware them, and disgusted by them, then we can keep them in check. I think I always use the example of the alcoholic. An alcoholic is still an alcoholic if he or she has quit drinking. Because of their alcoholism, they have to approach alcohol a certain way, and perhaps constantly remind themselves that they need to be careful around it. I know very healthy people with depressive tendencies who are very open in saying that they shouldn’t do X because they worry it may put them in a bad headspace. So likewise, us humans with our vile tendencies should be aware that we may get into negative weird ways of thinking, and ensure that we don’t go on X to make us prone to such things.

So let us embrace the hideous imperfections we have, and build defenses against them to be the best possible humans ever.

Or something, I don’t know. Let’s just not be dicks by enjoying human failure, for fuck’s sake.