You’re a straight-talker.
Lies? Have nothing on your bullshit radar. Bullshit? You see through it all. Transparent people? They’re beneath you.
And damn anyone who belittles your pride in that fact.
Unfortunately, the world is full of idiots, and the collective idiocy of some naturally extends to hating you. The realist. The common sensicalist. And often, out of necessity, the cynic.
Hence, you hide your true nature. You wouldn’t want to be labelled a manic-depressive (amongst less sensationalist terms bandied about such as ‘asshat’ or ‘neener’). Would you?
You’re a goddamn traitor.
Being ‘true’ is better than being ‘liked’
Or for those of you who prefer keeping your family, friends and job … it’s okay to reject sheep-dom.
Before you assume that those who snicker their unfettered disdain for anything disagreeable to themselves are merely losers who reject the norm in order to label themselves as special (where remaining a freak in the real world would suffice, though probably without lending them the kind of ‘special’ status they aspire to), consider this.
P1: Oh, look! We Have Extreme Close-ups Of Penises And Vaginas For Half Of This Film And Sex Scenes For The Other Half Which Are So Great Because You Need Us To Find Porno Humour In Your Mundane Life. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow!
P2: I don’t know … their movies seem pretty tired now.
P1: Don’t be so cynical, asshat.
P2: Feh.
[soon after the movie]
P1: How could you talk me into seeing that piece of shit?
P2: Fu…eh.
In rejecting the train of thought more travelled, you may come off as a fun-killer, but guess what? If playing along results in the negative outcome you stifled yourself from opining anyway, you’ll still be looked down upon.
Human nature dictates that people will always try to position themselves as superior to others. Drowning your cynical self won’t change that.
Having perspective is better than being able to fake a smile
This is simple. Common sense.
Why not allow others to admire your unwillingness to kowtow to the popular belief of the day, rather than kneeling and exposing your sheep-dom when that belief falls in on itself?
Negativity is not the same as cynicism
No doubt, the cynic gets the worst rap for being the most utterly depressing individual in the room.
This is wrong.
Sarcastic irony aside, it can be easy to confuse the negativist and cynic. The best way to think of the difference between the two is thus: cynicism is not about being too negative, but about not being too optimistic.
Negativist: I’m going to be hit by a bus today.
Cynic: Crossing this ten-lane motorway seems risky. I can’t say I won’t get hit by a bus or something, because that tends to happen when people act like retards.
Cynicism has a purpose. Negativity has an affinity for those who prefer to be a useless pain in the ass.
In the last part of this series, you’ll see how to differentiate between the type you should be a little more affectionate towards, and the type you should drop kick into the sun.
