Most of the time, I’m pretty cheerful. I swan about the world with nary a care. My heart leaps at the smallest things, like a flock of geese flying overhead in a V honking away like it matters.
Other times, and this usually gets triggered by some interaction with somebody who has pissed me off in some way, I get almost overwhelmed by a powerful wave of pure hatred for the whole of humanity.
This isn’t directed at the person who was the trigger except insofar as they are also human, it’s directed at everybody. It can also be triggered by other things such as something in the news or seeing how groups of people act when they’re in a mob.
It doesn’t last very long and wears off quite quickly but when it’s there I despise all people with a furious passion, and even to some extent myself for being a person.
Only vaguely. I like people individually and find our species fascinating but don’t really have much love or trust of humanity as a whole, and don’t believe we’re all that much better than the other great apes.
Yep. People as a group are horrible. Witness traffic. I go nuts waiting for the idiots trying to make a left turn from the wrong lane. It causes my faith in the human race to plummet.
People individually are (usually) great. I some really close friends, and am always willing to help out anyone I know.
But, holy crap, masses of people are irritating; bars full of college students, crowds at amusement parks…give me an RPG!
Yes. Most every one who has encountered me IRL thinks I’m a cheerful, kindhearted, understanding, caring sweetheart. Those who get to know me (and y’all here, where I vent) know I’m a surly bitch who does not like 99% of the humans on this planet, who would just love to smack almost everyone upside the head with a magic clue-by-four that would render them, and all existing progeny, instantly sterile.
But I’m polite. Being better than everyone is no excuse for rudeness.
ETA: Where is this new spellcheck? I can’t find it, nor can I spell.
I don’t think I hate a single person… I fall in love with every girl I meet, every guy I meet is instantly my best friend (especially when alcohol is involved), but I hate people. If it has an individual face, I have no problem, even with people that probably shouldn’t mesh with my personality, but if it’s a huge mass of people (traffic, concert crowds, everybody I work with, etc), I go nuts. I thoroughly enjoy meeting a person, but people (in the faceless mass sense) are frustrating as hell.
So maybe the term you’re looking for would be “transient misanthrope”?
Traffic tends to do it to me, as do the various power structures of office work. The social song and dance when people “go out” drives my into a deeper fury than the rest of them, though. I the artificial enthusiasm that we’re expected to have all the time. It dilutes down the genuine joys.
I had the symptoms you describe just last week. I call it being fed up. My tolerance for general BS is pretty good, but the psychic weight of it adds up over time. I’m quite patient and slow to lose my temper, but once I’ve had enough–no more Mr. Nice Guy.
The cure for me is to get away and be alone for awhile. Thus my roadtrip to the Eastern Sierra beginning next Tuesday.
It is quite in line with the definition of misanthrope (as opposed to sociopath) that the person has a general dislike for people in general while maintaining the ability to feel differently about individual people.
I was asked at a job interview “Are you a people person?” and I responded “No, but I fake it very well, which is really more important.” I got the job, in part because the boss (cool woman, she were) knew exactly what I meant and was the same way.
I’ve always had a strong misanthropic streak in the sense of “I think most people are naturally stupid or so in need of simple answers they’re effectively stupid”, but I at the same point genuinely care about most people I know. Some who know me from the message board only may not believe me when I say I am always and unfailingly polite to people (unless they’ve given me what almost anyone would consider good reason not to be). So I honestly don’t know if that makes me a misanthrope or not; depends on definition I guess.
Humans are just hairless shit flinging monkeys as far as I’m concerned. I can fling shit with the best of them on the worst days of my life. Lately things are so far below ideal that I wonder why the hell I was so happy with my life just one year ago. What’s changed? Nothing, which is probably why I’m so pissed off! Blah, stupid life. Soon enough I’ll take some steps to improve it.
I must say I do have my moments where I just KNOW that me and a couple large explosive devices could make a positive change in the evolution of our species…
The urge passes quickly.
Busy shopping malls are fastest to inspire this…I avoid them…
The perfect place for my primary post! Misanthrope? Why, yes I am. Our species disgusts me in general. Wild animals display better behavior than humans. If I could afford it, I’d live on a private island (with many cats).
