# People **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296 "2016-09-07T19:43:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/61 "2016-09-09T16:35:21Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > As I said, I regard animals as having a sort of innocence (unlike humans). As such they seem to be more worthy of ones empathy and compassion than other humans. Even the [necrophiliac-juvenile-rapist-murderer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter#Reproduction_and_lifecycle) animals? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/62 "2016-09-09T16:54:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I repeat the question: why are you here? If you have such disdain and so little use for other people, why are you interacting with them on a message board? > > You’re either wrong about people, wrong about yourself, or not dealing with us straightforwardly (or some permutation of these). I don’t know, the “other people are non-player characters” angle is revealing. He’s just playing a game with us. I suggest one of us rig up a glowing yellow exclamation point hovering over our head and giving him a quest. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/63 "2016-09-09T19:11:27Z")
I’m pretty much a misanthrope. I was treated like shit by young and old, including my own family, when I was young due to an undiagnosed developmental condition. That pretty much put me off people. I have developed a “business face” that I put on when I have to deal with others and that gets me by in pretty much all situations. But generally people are shits. As long as they can be in a large group with others just like them they can generally be trusted to not be asses. But if they ever encounter “the other” they go ape shit. I’m sure there are exceptions but there is no real way to find them except the old “kissing a lot of frogs” method. Everything seems to work out though, if I keep to myself then I don’t set them off with my otherness and I don’t have to deal with their nonsense. Everybody wins. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/64 "2016-09-09T19:45:39Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Like cats who will torture and kill another animal for “fun” and leave the carcass uneaten? Like dogs who are the very embodiment of “might makes right”? Like lions, grey langurs, polar bears and others that will kill infants fathered by others of their own species so they can pass on their own genes? Innocent like that? > > Just remember, if you argue that animals don’t know better, are acting on instinct alone or don’t have the capacity to know right from wrong then you invalidate your own observations below. > > I think your view of both humans and other animals are due to some pretty thick filters. No, that still makes them more worthy of empathy than humans, especially when they suffer needlessly at human hands. They just live their lives. There is no right and wrong, there just “is”. They don’t try to justify their actions. There is no morality for them, which is a bit respectable. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/65 "2016-09-09T19:46:43Z")
Humans on the other hand aren’t worth the headspace. They dig their own graves and drag everything else with them. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/66 "2016-09-09T19:57:12Z")
Are you Ted Cruz? :dubious: Dude, you’re Human. Accept it, accept that other Humans are people as well, with their own individual hopes, dreams and ideas. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/67 "2016-09-09T20:00:24Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > It’s that after all my interactions with people, they don’t live up to the hype everyone makes for them. Animals seem more interesting and impressive. > > I also think people are greatly overstating human “complexity”. Could be a couple of things here: 1 - Humans are about the only animals in the world who have the desire and ability to remove risk and unpredictability from their lives. Many choose to do that, so our lives look boring and predictable. 2 - We really do tend to ignore other people if they aren’t important to us. Some say “I love people”, but really? Every single one that you see everyday? Even that guy selling hotdogs who you’re never going to talk to because you’re a vegetarian? Sure, individually, they’re probably amazing people with amazing talents, but experienced as a group, you’re never going to bother to find that out. 3 - Could be the OP is simply a psychopath, a possiblity worth considering since he’s essentially telling us as much. People as unimportant objects - check. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/68 "2016-09-09T20:04:52Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > There is no morality for them, which is a bit respectable. You contradict yourself - if there’s no morality, there’s no innocence. Rocks have no morality, but rocks aren’t innocent. Same-same with animals. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/69 "2016-09-09T23:11:41Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Are you Ted Cruz? :dubious: > > Dude, you’re Human. Accept it, accept that other Humans are people as well, with their own individual hopes, dreams and ideas. I don’t. They are at best a means to an end. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/70 "2016-09-09T23:14:43Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Could be a couple of things here: > > 1 - Humans are about the only animals in the world who have the desire and ability to remove risk and unpredictability from their lives. Many choose to do that, so our lives look boring and predictable. > > 2 - We really do tend to ignore other people if they aren’t important to us. Some say “I love people”, but really? Every single one that you see everyday? Even that guy selling hotdogs who you’re never going to talk to because you’re a vegetarian? Sure, individually, they’re probably amazing people with amazing talents, but experienced as a group, you’re never going to bother to find that out. > > 3 - Could be the OP is simply a psychopath, a possiblity worth considering since he’s essentially telling us as much. People as unimportant objects - check. I find that humans as individuals tend to overstate their good qualities and believe themselves to be amazing. But they aren’t. Even among those who don’t choose to live predictably are still quite so. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/71 "2016-09-09T23:19:17Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > I don’t. They are at best a means to an end. > [@Machinaforce](#): > > I find that humans as individuals tend to overstate their good qualities and believe themselves to be amazing. But they aren’t. > > Even among those who don’t choose to live predictably are still quite so. I would hope that you were joking, because these are bad ideas and need to be corrected. If you believe people are predictable…well, you ought to be rich. What are next year’s fashions going to be? Which fast food or soft drink franchise is going to be a big hit? Or, as individuals: that guy, over there, at the bus stop. Is he going home, or shopping? More seriously, people truly are amazing. There is a poet in every soul. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/72 "2016-09-09T23:19:17Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > I don’t. They are at best a means to an end. The last man I knew who refused to accept that he was human died on his kitchen floor of a stroke. The man had actually told people that the greatest insult he’d ever experienced was when I told him he was as human as the rest of us. Your statement shows clear psychopathy. I hope you do not harm those around you in pursuit of your ends. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/73 "2016-09-09T23:31:26Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The last man I knew who refused to accept that he was human died on his kitchen floor of a stroke. > > The man had actually told people that the greatest insult he’d ever experienced was when I told him he was as human as the rest of us. > > Your statement shows clear psychopathy. I hope you do not harm those around you in pursuit of your ends. No, but if they expect some kind of emotional understanding or whatever then they are out of luck. People just aren’t interesting enough to be anything but tools. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/74 "2016-09-09T23:33:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I would hope that you were joking, because these are bad ideas and need to be corrected. If you believe people are predictable…well, you ought to be rich. What are next year’s fashions going to be? Which fast food or soft drink franchise is going to be a big hit? > > Or, as individuals: that guy, over there, at the bus stop. Is he going home, or shopping? > > More seriously, people truly are amazing. There is a poet in every soul. It doesn’t mean I care about any of that. People aren’t amazing, they are obvious. Poets most of all are annoying, anyone who can put pen to paper and write about some kind of emotional nonsense is a poet. Hardly what one would call amazing. But people eat it up ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/75 "2016-09-10T05:09:45Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > It doesn’t mean I care about any of that. So, what do you care about? Other than animals. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/76 "2016-09-10T05:22:04Z")
1. **Machinaforce** : Human beings are terrible creatures. 2. \*\*Machinaforce \*\*is a human. Therefore… ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/77 "2016-09-10T05:27:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > 1. **Machinaforce** : Human beings are terrible creatures. > 2. \*\*Machinaforce \*\*is a human. > > Therefore… Well, he said he’s not particularly happy. I wouldn’t be either, if I thought myself a terrible creature. (Well, I often do think that. And I can attest, it’s not so conducive to happiness.) ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/78 "2016-09-10T06:01:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > More seriously, people truly are amazing. There is a poet in every soul. What a crock of shit. Most people in the world are worthless. They will accomplish nothing, make nothing, and die without anyone remembering they lived in the first place. And the worst part is we have evolved this bullshit idea that everyone is special, that weakness is virtue, and strength is evil. I’m so sick of living in a world that tolerates stupid fuckups instead of punishing them. It drives me nuts. How about we try celebrating strength and punishing weakness, and then humanity might actually accomplish something? Instead of catering to the weak and the stupid, how about we start demanding that they improve themselves? Instead we see people who just want to waste our resources on the most useless people the world has to offer, and thereby perpetuate a culture of failure and mediocrity. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/79 "2016-09-10T06:04:37Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I don’t know, the “other people are non-player characters” angle is revealing. > > He’s just playing a game with us. I suggest one of us rig up a glowing yellow exclamation point hovering over our head and giving him a quest. Not necessarily - I’ve known a few people who tend to categorise people as either “friends” or “NPCs”. They don’t actually think the NPCs aren’t humans, but their interaction with them is limited to things that you’d find in an RPG videogame - eg, they’re aware the barista at their local cafe has a life and a family, but that’s outside the scope of any interactions they’re ever likely to have with them. They only see the “I would like one of a coffee please” element; namely the barista is there to take their order and provide them with a beverage in return; that’s basically the extent of their involvement of the main quest that is that person’s life. In that respect, the barista is no different from the barkeep in an inn or a potion-maker or any other NPC whose purpose in the game is to facilitate the main character doing stuff. So when I hear someone say “people I don’t know are NPCs” I don’t automatically think they’re a sociopath; but I play a _lot_ of computer games so I appreciate it’s also not necessarily a distinction a lot of other people can or are prepared to make. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/80 "2016-09-10T06:09:25Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > How about we try celebrating strength and punishing weakness What do you think the Olympics, professional sports, a small astronaut corps, and low admission rates to Harvard are? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296.md?page=5)