Do I Really Hate People

I have this sticker on my laptop that says, "I hate people".

That's it. One sticker. No follow up.

I'm not trying to make a statement and I am certainly not trying to be ironic. 

I just want to let people know how I feel. 

As it turns out, hating people isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Actually, it can be a full-time job. You have responsibilities and they inevitably start to pile up. 

First of all, you need to make a commitment to the cause. And make no mistake, it is a cause. 

You have to stay consistent. 

This means no playing favorites. You have to hate everyone with equal vigor. 

We're talking bank tellers, the mailman, your kid's teachers, therapists, co-workers, Rabbis, Pastors, Imams, your grandma and grandpa, swim instructors, crossing guards, cops, firemen, nurses, hairstylists (dog groomers excluded), the kid that shovels your driveway when it snows, the guy that refills the vending machines, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Hendrix, fuck it, all of the Jimmys, CEOs, COOs, CMOs, CFOs and the rest of the C-Suite, your best friend, step-sister, half-brother, second cousin once removed, Bill Murray...

Ad infinitum. 

I know what you're thinking. 

There would be nobody left. 

Not true. 

Most dogs get a free pass. 

My wife always says to me, "You don't really hate people. You're a people person. You just think you hate people."

In all honesty, as much as I have always worn "hating people" as a badge of honor, I think it might be time to cut ties with my self-imposed dogma. 

For all intents and purposes, "I hate people" is mostly just code for "I want to be left alone."

The truth is you can't hate people without loving people.

Hating people is really just hating the bad things that people do. But for every bad thing that a person does, there is a person doing a good thing somewhere else.

It's simple math.

Hating people is more of a mindset and you know what they say, "you can always reset the mindset."

Just kidding. No one says that. 

But I think I'm going to go online and make that into a new sticker.



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Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 20, 2024 at 7:53 PM

    Love this one and love you. People are complex. We don’t need to love every aspect of people. But, we can try and open our hearts to embracing the intricacies.

    ReplyDelete

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