Some side-work I do has me dealing with people a bunch, and for as much as we all complain about each other, at least in brief moments my experiences with others have been okay, pleasant even.
Of course, despite that, I can’t shake the idiosyncratic impulse to avoid people much of the time, but regardless. As a bonus: most of those I’m encountering are total strangers to boot, so it’s not even a matter of familiarity.
Not much more of a point to this post than that, really. Thought we could use a little more upbeat stuff around here.
I was explaining on a walk the other day that even if only 5% of people are complete assholes, that means around one to two would be blaring music in the middle of the night, setting off illegal fireworks during a drought, etc, out of all the other houses on the block. And yet, that disruption disproportionately impacts everyone else on the block and makes their lives ever so shittier.
It’s really hard to gauge humanity when it really only takes a few terrible people to ruin things for everyone else.
Using that perspective to recognize the many other alright people I think might be a way for people to encourage one another and feel less wary of calling out bad actors. It’s a funny thing, but the same live and let live tendencies we appreciate from others at times seems to diminish the slight resolve necessary to push back against those negatively affecting many others.
Similarly, I think it’s beneficial to recognize the good as much as the bad, as otherwise we take the former for granted and can grow too jaded and overly cynical.
I try to practice that when I’m driving. It’s easy to road rage, but it’s kind of fun to say “we got this!” to the other people driving normally, using blinkers and being courteous, as we all work our way through traffic.