I think I often develop a fondness for things just because they are underappreciated by most others.
I am a fan of Windows Phone. I really like it, but I think I set out to do so.
I like moths much more than butterflies. I appreciate lichens and fungi more than flowers.
When I hear that someone didn’t like something, I want to give it a try. When things get popular, I tend to lose interest in them.
I drove, and loved, a Citroën 2CV for years. It pleased me that the vehicle was nonconformist and impractical (or practical in not-terribly-useful contexts).
You know that thing you like? It sucks. You know that thing you despise? It’s my favourite. Or it soon will be.
If I follow this logic to its bitter end, I think I must conclude that supermarkets are full of the things you like.
You would absolutely love my singing voice.
mmm
“For sparrows? Nobody builds birdhouses just for sparrows, Charlie Brown!”
“I do! I always stick up for the underbird!”
Following logic to the bitter end sounds a bit mainstream for my liking…
I find myself, on some subconscious level, often rooting for prisoners who break out of prison and are being hunted by authorities.
I understand perfectly well that these are people who have been convicted of murder or all kinds of violent crimes and yet there just is something about a prisoner who has, against all odds, managed to break out of prison, and is desperately trying his absolute best not to be found, and who is being pursued by the vast arm of the law, and who has nothing to look forward to but decades or life behind bars if caught, and who will only get this one and only chance in life to live in the world outside of prison again - a game of hide-and-seek with grave consequences - that triggers empathy on a rather powerful level.
There are numerous TV shows or movies centered around this empathy, of course - Shawshank Redemption, Prison Break, etc., so clearly it’s either a pretty common sentiment, or at least people have this fascination with whether someone who breaks out of jail will actually make it or not.
So I’m wondering how common this sentiment is in society. When some criminal breaks out of prison, do you think around, say, 70% of the American population is secretly rooting for him/her to succeed in the escape and not be found? How many people in society are sympathetic to such escaping crooks as opposed to the law authorities? And obviously some criminals are more sympathetic than others.
Again, obviously, not condoning the crimes committed by such crooks, such as murder, arson, robbery, etc. Just wondering how many people are sympathetic to the guy trying to flee and hide vs. the authorities trying to catch him or her.
To escape from prison is a biggie. Yeah, I root for them. Just because of the odds. The police have lots of resources to win this game.
Hopefully, they never get caught and end up living as a great contributor to society.
But then, I am a dreamer.
I root for the underdog. I take the path less traveled. I also go out into all the space between the paths. When everybody else is going one direction I want to go the other. I’d rather be different than the same.
I’m a dedicated BlackBerry user. 'Nuff said.
ETA. In fact, I still use a Palm Pilot.
Would that it were, my friend, would that it were…
I like American Pit Bull Terriers…literal underdogs.
Please send me your no longer needed Golden State Warriors hats and jerseys now, thank you.
I root for Simon Bar Sinister.