“Learning to Hate People”

it’s rather interesting how searching for one thing on the internet gives you something completely different from what you want at that moment, but nevertheless is worth your attention…

so looking up images of certain natural destinations in south dakota provides me with this amusing quote, from a forum but quoted at “damn the man“:

When I turned 21, I was a nice guy. I liked nearly everybody. I thought the best of people. I thought the world was a nice place. I thought people would do the right thing if you gave them a chance. I thought that government was evil (see, I wasn’t completely naive), but I also thought you could change the system from the inside (well, okay, maybe I was). I wanted to explain to everyone how maximizing individual freedoms and individual responsibilities is the only hope for a bright future for the human race, and will eventually lead to the ending of poverty and racism and suffering.

On Sunday, I’ll turn 31, and I’ve become a dick. I hate nearly everybody. I think the worst of people. I think the world is a horrible place. I think people will do the right thing only if they know you will kill them if they don’t. I think that government is evil (at least something hasn’t changed), and I think it will only change when the whole system collapses. I want to explain that killing the fuckers that have no concept of the value of individual freedoms and individual responsibilities is the only hope for a bright future for the human race, and will eventually lead to the ending of poverty and racism and suffering for the blessedly few survivors.

Ten years ago, I felt bad when hundreds of people died at some place I’d only seen on a map. Today, if a virus targeted towards killing the stupid were to decimate the ignorant 90% of the world’s population, I’d not morn the losses. At all.

Was there something in particular about the last decade that turned intelligent individuals like myself into bitter cynics? Or is this just part of growing up? What happened to me?

i can sympathize. and i’m certainly not the only one.