Traditionally, the media has been known to equate loners with mentally ill psychotics who go on murderous rampages.
And while, yes, sure, there are some disturbed ‘loners’ out there, the reality is that …
most loners are totally normal people!
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If you find yourself alone and without friends or family to rely on, I want to assure you that you’re actually in good company.
In the age of social media, global pandemics, and increasing disconnection, being a loner is becoming more common.
But there is a deeper meaning behind this solitude.
And I’ll explore that in this post.
Table of contents
9 Signs You’re a Loner
Being a loner sounds self-explanatory. But for clarity sake, here’s a list of signs that you’re a loner:
- You enjoy spending time alone more than with other people.
- You can’t connect with (or don’t have any) family members.
- You can’t connect with (or don’t have any) friends.
- You’re introspective and tend to be an introvert.
- You like to take life slowly, and the world can feel overwhelming.
- You’re a free spirit who loves independence.
- You tend to have interesting quirks.
- You have the strong desire to walk your own path as a lone wolf.
- You’re the black sheep of the family.
We also have a loner test that you can take if you’re still unsure.
Myths About Loners
Here are some common myths about loners:
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- “Loners hate people”
- “All loners lack social skills”
- “Loners are secretly plotting your death”
- “Loners are lonely people”
- “Loners are creepy”
- “Loners are all mentally ill”
Sure, while some loners might possess some of these qualities, these are not blanket statements or truths that apply to all loners.
Why Being a Loner Can Be Empowering
It’s true that as a species, we require some level of social connectedness.
Don’t worry, that will come with time!
Sometimes we’re in a space in life where we just need to retreat from the world. We need to process our thoughts and feelings, and figure out our ‘true north.’
So to counteract the previous section (those myths are widely spread and can make lonesome people feel horrible), here are some ways being a loner actually helps you:
- Being a loner helps you to develop more self-awareness
- Being a loner supports you in finding the meaning of life
- Being a loner helps you to recover from social overwhelm
- Being a loner gives you space and perspective
- Being a loner helps you to figure out your passions and interests
- Being a loner helps you to develop more independence and self-reliance
- Being a loner makes you a deeper and more interesting person
- Being a loner helps you to find your self-worth within
Can you think of any more ways that being a loner is empowering? Share in the comments!
The Deeper Meaning Behind Being a Loner
There’s a reason why this website is called ‘lonerwolf’ – it has a deeper meaning that is directly related to being a loner. And that is …
At some point in life, we must all leave the herd and find our own paths.
We must become lone wolves.
We must listen to the calling to reconnect with our Souls.
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The world can be a busy, overwhelming, pressuring, and confusing place. For those who feel a deeper spiritual calling emerge within their being, solitude is natural and needed.
In many cases, loners are empaths and old souls who are on the soul searching path. Being alone is, quite simply, a crucial part of their life path.
So in a nutshell, that is the deeper meaning behind being a loner: it’s a sign that you’re on the spiritual journey and you need the space to figure out who you are and what you want out of life.
***
If you’d like to read more about inner growth, walking your own path, and spiritual evolution, keep digging into this website. There are so many free resources and guides for you to benefit from. One related article you might enjoy is our introvert article.
Tell me, why are you a loner? What is the deeper meaning for you?
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I’ve read most of the comments and I want to add my religious perspective as a muslim. I think solitude is the main way of becoming mature and taking responsibility. Human beings are meant to become self sufficient emotionally in the end where they start their journey as a completely dependent baby. Our holy book Quran says that on the judgment day all bonds of relativity and social connectedness will disappear and every person will be held responsible for his life alone. For a person to become honestly close to god he needs solitude so that he will not be distracted. They say prophet Mohammad started to withdraw from humans and usually go to a mountain to think when he was reaching his forties before he started having the revelations.
The loneliness meant here is not a selfish loneliness but a responsible, compassionate loneliness. The ones who overrate being social or socialism as an ideology (like a commenter’s joke) are usually the ones who benefit from it materially or mentally. Without social influence you can not have power in this world unless of course you are a tyrant who uses force to make people do what he wants.
I personally would not have any problem with long periods of no social interaction if only I had a compatible spouse but that’s another story. I still feel lacking though for being a loner but this feeling is out of my control. The two writers of this website seem to be rather comfortable with who they are and I envy that. I do not want to fall into the mistake of labeling myself but being a loner is a big part of my personality. I just wanted to share my ideas and thank you.
Hello Umut, I appreciate your perspectives, which are rather unique to this blog.
In many religions, Solitude is indeed highly valued as a way to grow closer to a God or gods. This can also be taken metaphorically; becoming closer to your higher and diviner self. Only by understanding, and growing deep bonds with ourselves can we hope to grow deep bonds with others.
Your feeling of lacking is common, so don’t despair. Labeling yourself as a loner is not a mistake, as it allows you to grow in greater acceptance of who you are. Only when you accept yourself, and your perceived faults, flaws and quirks, can you hope to develop some level of self-respect and self-love.
Many thanks once again for reading,
-Luna
You got that right, ma’am.
Reading over the comments, you all seem like such lovely people! I am in high school myself, and I’m a loner. I really hate how much negativity there is towards loners, especially in high school and college, but throughout life. I like being my own person and going against the social norm, and I really wish my teachers would see that. There’s so much of a “if you’re not going to parties and getting drunk with friends all the time, you must be a loser” vibe from other students, and it’s complete bs.
Loved this article so much, thanks for taking the time to write it.
-Laura
You sound like a very level-headed person Sarah, and I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed reading this article. I do hope that you continue to value the person you are, and to not give way to the immature garbage that often corrupts younger people.
Many thanks for reading and commenting!
-L
I like how you support her just as I’m glad that you’re aware of and avoid the immature garbage that corrupts younger people. Take the Disney Channel, for example. In the 1900s, it was a family-oriented channel and much better in terms of content than it was today. But during this decade and millenium, it’s worse because of its overabundance of teenage stereotypes and bad humor.
I know you feel, my fellow loner.
Dang! I forgot to put “how” between “know” and “feel.” My mistake.
Love what you wrote…thank you. I am in my mid forties, single, no children and female. I have a corporate job and outside of that do mostly creative work including modeling. I find people look at my images and see something I am not, or that is an aspect of me. I prefer to be with my pets, do artwork, spend time by myself and once in awhile with a friend. Sometimes it is lonely and one day I want a partner. For the most part I really enjoy time with myself.
Hello Tracey.
It’s refreshing to hear that you are mostly comfortable being alone, and that you don’t desperately need other people in your life to make you happy and whole – although it is natural to desire a partner and someone to share your thoughts and experiences with.
I had a look at your creative modeling work, and I must complement you on your pictures.
All the best, L
Greetings.
I have often wondered if there is something “abnormal” about me, and I’m convinced I am a true loner.
In high school, I was popular, the prom queen, homecoming queen candidate, cheerleader, scholarship in music, and partied with friends all the time…had to be out every night at a club…all the way into my 30s. I lived in Orlando then.
I was married three times by the time I was 30. I was tall, tan, and considered beautiful in my youth. People wanted to be with me.
I moved home from Orlando to a small Midwestern state, into my home town of 1400, bought a house, and at 50 decided I would get to have the one thing I’d wanted all my life…a horse, my passion.
Since I’ve moved home, I’ve been alone for 20 years. I dated a few times, got bored, loved my dogs and horse more and found them to be more fun. My family was small, mom an only child, dad with a brother and sister and one child between them, and my brother was killed when he was 22 and I was 24. My mother passed away seven years ago, so now, I truly am all alone.
I like being alone. I am glad that I don’t have in-laws with whom to deal, no kids that make me crazy. I research a lot of things on the internet, love to look into every thing from cloning Wooly Mammoths to try to figure out why I’m enjoying my life so much more now than I ever have. I like being with me more than anyone else. I like me.
I don’t follow style, I see no need. I gave away all my dresses and skirts and now like to be comfortable. I mostly wear blazers and jeans and clogs when I go out of town. Most of the time, I’m in the house. There’s so much to do in here.
On holidays, people invite to their celebrations. I want to be at home during holidays. I love being at home. I love learning. I’m not a girlie-girl and don’t giggle and act silly.
Why has this life-style been so comfortable for me. I really enjoy being a “loner.” I’ve been in the newspaper business for years, even published my own paper until they became extinct, and now I work at home for a chiropractor, processing claims and managing his two offices. I will go back to work, probably this summer after I have a hip replacement, but I’m really enjoying my time at home, too.
The only answer I can come up with for the way I enjoy living is that I simply enjoy being with me more than anyone else. I am a homebody. I don’t need anyone to make me complete…I am already complete.
I am fiercely independent and enjoy challenges such as fixing the faucet myself, working on my house i.e. painting, sanding, whatever… I will try to fix things myself. I once painted my house and people offered to help, but I said, no, I just want to do this by myself. It was my project and I wanted to do it. Is that selfish. I felt great satisfaction when it was done.
So, why am I so content and happy being really alone?
BTW, I am now 64, still tall, not so tan, but look good.
So, anybody find anything wrong about this? I don’t. Other people don’t quite get it, especially that, since the age of 16, I knew I didn’t want to have children. Some women are maternal, I am not. I don’t like to cook, haven’t had a stove for more than 10 years, but I do have a commercial microwave!
I just simply live my life the way I want to live it.
Blessings to all you loners,
Karen
Hi there Karen.
Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed reading the progression of your life from a popular, social young person, to a comfortable solitary person. Such an amazing transformation!
I especially love this part of your comment: “I am a homebody. I don’t need anyone to make me complete…I am already complete.” This is completely motivational poster worthy!
Many thanks for your inspiring and supportive words!
-Luna
If you really are an introvert, why do you care what other people think about you? Also, humans are naturally social beings, so of course it is considered abnormal when one is not social. You should talk to a psychologist about this, honestly, they would explain it better than I in regards to why society considers loners outsiders.
John, I’m not sure quite what you mean?
Even introverts/loners struggle with self-acceptance, which is the reason why I wrote this article.
Society fears what it fails to understand, and I do believe that there are always exceptions to the rule you stated of humans being social beings.
-L
What I am saying is: moving to a country where there is a smaller population and thus an increased percentage of people that describe themselves as loners won’t solve the problem of being judged by others. Furthermore, Humans are naturally social creatures. Whether we like it or not it is in our Darwinian background. We are naturally social and tend to try to be with others – traveling in packs for an example. Wolves, dingoes, hyenas, bison, and rats tend to live in groups. The reason that in a darwinian/evolutionary context that we are naturally social, and other animals in this case “social” is to help promote safety, a large herd tends to not lose a population to a predator. Then there is another reason for animals living in groups, they do it to raise their young. Another reason is greater success in finding, killing, or defending prey. While wolves are more successful while hunting alone, they can’t defend their food alone – thus making it better for wolves to hunt in groups in order to ensure each gets his share of food. Also, groups tend to help with mating.
Why am I explaining the biologist’s outlook on animals forming groups? Because I wanted to show you that humans, like dingoes and other types of apes, are naturally social and why being a loner is considered abnormal by our species. It is because our species itself is not biologically reclusive. Though people do not think of the scientific reasons for the view that being a loner is abnormal, it is extremely scientific.
I do not think we are debating here, but I thought I would quote a professor of Physical Anthropology: “Cooperation isn’t just a byproduct of competition, or something done only because both parties receive some benefit from the partnership,” says Sussman, professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences. “Rather, altruism and cooperation are inherent in primates, including humans.”
Scientists go further into detail about this situation, shown by a quote from Robert Cloninger, a Psychiatrist and geneticist:
“Prosocial behavior is an essential component of health and happiness in human beings. Selfish and uncooperative behavior, on the other hand, is a sign of mental dysfunction because it is strongly associated with life dissatisfaction and ill health.”
I hope this gives some insight on why loners are viewed as abnormal, and why just moving does not change this view.
Hey John,
Thank you for your interesting response.
We are naturally social, and evolution has proved this … yet in nature we observe that there are solitary animals who thrive perfectly well alone as well. A list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solitary_animals So if there are exceptions in nature, surely there are exceptions in humanity? How can evolution explain the tendencies of these solitary creatures?
As I stated above, people who challenge the validity and “naturalness” of being a loner are often fundamentally ignorant, confused and many times afraid of the unknown world of loners. Also, you perpetuate the stereotype of the loner being “selfish and uncooperative” in your quote from the psychiatrist Cloninger. Who ever said that the behavior of loners was self-centered and uncooperative? This is a further demonstration of the lack of understanding and hostility shown towards those who prefer to spend their time solo.
-Luna
We are an advanced species and the days of needing the protection of being in a group are becoming less necessary. As our species evolves further it may even be more likely that there is a increase in loners as many will find they don’t really need the pack for survivability.
You’re pretty biased, John. Who gives you the right to be judgmental to loners? Not all people are social. If they aren’t, leave them alone. Otherwise, you end up being one of those prejudiced jerks who think that all lone wolves are villains who need to be exterminated.
When I was in high school I liked being the loner. I had very few friends and intended for it to be that way. I liked that I was unique from everyone.That all changed when I got to college because I started to feel a lot of pressure to become that stereotypical, socially active college student. I couldn’t live up to others expectations of how life was supposed to be and I felt inadequate and awkward. After that I lost all the self esteem I had been building up. So now I hate being alone simply because others see it as unhappy and want me to be different.
Hi Regina. If you want to live up to other people’s expectations of you, that is your decision to make. After all, we are all each responsible for the way in which we react to the external world, and if we react by mistreating ourselves, we deal with the consequences. So although it’s unfair that this has happened to you, the only person who can improve your life is yourself. Personally, I dropped out of university and found that it was the best decision I ever made. Such a waste of time and money, and for what? A bit extra money, a flimsy paper degree? I decided to get an apprenticeship instead, and it was the best decision I made. Perhaps this could be a good route for you? Nevertheless, I hope you are able to regain your enjoyment of solitude. There is no point in being someone you are not in the end. Very few people can keep up the façade unfortunately.
HIYA I dont really know why i live in solitary,but ive a rough idea,i lost 6 of my closest friends that i loved so much through tragedy,i never had a warm loving family but these became my family,first time i was really accepted,loved&protected,i also got very ill&im bi-polar&have suffered extreme depression for the past 4yrs just wanting to be dead really but recently ive been told my hosp that my health is on the up&feeling so much better,i was a social butterfly once,always out there,very popular,partying&friends in tow all the time,ive moved around constantly,that might not help?my partner died 10yrs ago,love of my life the signs were showing then it was a tragic death&i withdrew&found grief was easier to handle if i was on my own,i felt more comfortable&at ease&i would feel his spirit around me,im sure i felt he would come if i was alone?anyway i thought its ok to be alone,its wot i need?10yrs later im still pushing ppl away,backing out of stuff,not wanting to answer phone or door,i want a life,but ppl fail me or annoy me,ive noticed ppl are not to be trusted no more&anytime i let someone in i get burnt?so yep it kind of puts me off&i mean its every single time i kick myself up the ass to be social i see or hear something i really dont like&go away with the attitude you better off at home alone?trust me ive been through some crap over the years,but then i think of ppl like “Enya”in Ireland who lives in a castle on her own?many,mant ppl live a hermit lifestyle in Ireland esp if in countryside&its not classed as weird,but coz Enya lives in populated wexford or wherever i forget sorry?ppl think shes some kind of nut? lots of ppl rich or poor famous or not?family or not?choose to live alone,i love ppl but i rather only see ppl for short periods of time,like at moment ive someone who comes to my house&talks at me for 4-6hrs thats a long time&vey irritating,can you see why i want to be left alone¬ answer my door coz i get this kind of extremism?i find unbearable but i cant say at my door its ok you can come in but ive only an hour to spare?thats rude so i choose to ignore door,then mobiles?omg!im thinking of throwing mine in bin all it is is a tracking device for ppl who want tyo see you or be with you or stalk etc?ive started ignoring my phone or id get hastled where r you?when can i see you?right im on my way,damn it!im on my own,im sorry ppl dont know why but am?most ppl irritate the hell out of me ppl have gotten nasty,spiteful¬ trustworthy,im sorry i feel that way when ppl know wot i go through they do undestand but im sik of explaining to ppl wots wot?so solitude it is!…..
Nessa, it seems as though all the grief you have suffered in life, and the losses you have experienced have contributed to your desire to live alone. Life is unpredictable, chaotic, and that’s scary, especially when it takes the people you love away from you. Life gives and life takes. Solitude in a way is a protective mechanism to shield you from anymore loss or grief. If you’re alone, you don’t have much to lose do you, or much to grieve? But the more people you love, the more you open yourself up to bereavement. I hope these thoughts make sense.
some people are just meant to be alone and its not their fault! If nobody invites you anywhere
you can’t force yourself on people for christ sake. I ve been a loner my whole life. If nobody wants to be with me then the HELL with them! funny how bullies have a lot of friends…
If your nice, people don’t like you… You have to be an A-hole to fit in with the world..
Thanks for your perspectives James. It’s interesting observing the world. I’ve noticed that after leaving high school and university, every other social setting (work, meetings, seminars etc.) revolves around a certain social hierarchy. Usually the most charming, social, but also the most ruthless and sly make it to the top, while the quieter, less charming ones drift down to the bottom. In the end you really have to find your own niche and stick to it. If you’re a loner by nature, there’s no need to react to the people who criticize, because then you place importance into what they have to say. Indifference is the best tool, one that will allow you to go on with your life, and your passions as you desire.
Yes, I’m American and I live in America, unfortunately… It seems that every year Americans take one more step towards insanity–and don’t even realize it…
I live in Northern New Jersey which, is itself, a rather maligned state… First, we have this appaulingly stinking urban garbage ghetto city called Newark (which is in itself a colony of NYC) which houses Newark Airport (I think they recently renamed it to something idiotic) so any passengers coming and going assume that all of NJ is one big stinking cement hole of smog and pollution… In reality NJ is known as The Garden State because much of it is trees and Pine Barrens… If that’s not enough though we’ve got two horrible shows which make it look like a garbage state: Jersey Shore and the infamous The Sopranos… They are but tiny fractions of the state and, of course, these shows are populated by actors not real people… Though Chris Christie who is NJ’s governor is looking to run for the presidency (and He Is a Mafia man!)… But here I go again, babbling!
In many ways, Texas is The Model for America’s future… Then again, Texas is pretty much the Republican Party’s capital state and if you’ve followed American politics, the Right Wing have really gone off the deep end in the past decade or two… The Religious Right Own the Republican Party, and that includes these Televangelist preachers who think 9/11 and the various tornadoes and catastrophes which have hit America are God’s Punishment for taking prayer out of schools, giving rights to gays, allowing abortions, and all that other funky stuff… They are in fact the descendants of the Civil War losers who had the joy of slavery taken away from their plantations… The concept of a “smart Negro” in the White House is insane and irrational to them… Prior to the previous election they put out a propaganda film knocking Obama (“2016”), and starting all sorts of irrational slander attacks (“Birthers” being one, Obama being the Anti-Christ being another)…
Yes, these people are very ignorant, Anti-Science, and are basically the American equivalent of the Taliban… They also have a lot of power and wealth to get their job done, which when it comes down to it means replacing America’s constitutional democracy with a kind of oligarchic fascist theocracy (“One Nation Under Christ”) in accordance with what’s known as Dominionism… Most Americans don’t see it this way though because the two political parties superficially look the same from a distance–and Americans only understand things Superficially from a distance!
I miss the past when I was young and had fewer worries, or worries which appear trivial to me today… Today, this country is just so full of Hate, Ignorance, and Discrimination… But it beats living in an Islamic country where Atheists like myself would be Beheaded!
People have always painted me as a loser, for all reasons I’ve stated… I can’t find a soul mate or a friend here… I’d really like to find an intelligent person I can have deep discussions with, but I fear it’s impossible (unless maybe I become a millionaire and “connections” materialize with the top brains of this country–but that’s not me, either!)…
Everything here is now so superficial! You are judged by how Outgoing you are and your number of friends… You are judged by your wealth (or more precisely how much of it you let hang out, as in luxury cars and those ugly boxes-on-wheels called SUVs!)… You are judged by what brand name items you carry around with you and flaunt… Those who don’t play this game are considered inferiors and are rejected, and from there they may be considered bums or unsophisticated or backwards, or just plain Mental!
I find myself alienated and terribly misunderstood by everyone…
I feel your pain.
I think that in America for exampe, they have so many mass shootings because theirs is a culture that nurtures a fearful, negative attitude towards anything that isn’t go-getting and extroverted.
It ends up being that that kind of society creates what it fears: that by ostracizing a type of person on the basis of suspicion that they are crazy and dangerous, they end up pushing always some of those people into becoming just that. Gun control cannot be the real reason (though I hate to back up the NRA with that); the real reason is the social exclusion of certain people – introverted people, shy persons and any people dealing with a mental illness.
For all the loners who go out and shoot people, there are surely dozens (if not more) who commit suicide because they have been given the message that they are second or third class, if not even worthless. …so, while much ado is made of the physical violence by these one in a thousand (if not more) “loners” (and there have hot to be plenty more loners who never act out against others), who is soeaking up for the long sufferring schizophrenic who, whilst never posing any threat to anybody, endures daily voices that put her down constantly, only to be almost utterly abandoned by all of her old friends and even put down by her own family …who speaks up for the subtle psychological violence done to society’s most vulnerable.
And it isn’t JUST a fear of the mentally ill or the loner type acting violently, it is in fact a limited lack of appreciation for difference – and associated wrong ideas and judgments about being a certain way.
Just as you write: it’s this wrong idea that a person alone could ONLY ever be lonely. That they are peobably also depressed. That introversion is mental illness. ….it’s telling that psychiatrists in the US were recently considering making Introversion a listed mental illness in their DSM, diagnostic manual.
Actually, again it is kind of self perpetuating, since apparently they say that shyness is on the rise in the US. – So, introversion is almoat outlawed, the mentally ill are practically considered sub-human (you have to admire Hitler at least for being consistent, as opposed to full of crap) and people are increasingly coming down with anxiety problems and struggling with shyness.
Pressure to conform to just one way of being. The world, at least in the West (though I think other countries are getting Americanized) is just out of balance.
If you read Elaine Aron’s book or he book ” Quiet”, I think they talk about how the quieter more reflective souls have been ignored for a while now amd that the world is paying for it with economic hardship and environmental disaster.
Ironic that in Eastern cultures like India, the Priest class was considered right at the top. Now, the quiet, gentle, loner type is seen as disturbed and non-competitive with all the outgoing extroverts, and therefore, is passed over or neglected.
….excuse me if I ranted a bit. A little frustrated… (I seem stuck in a vicious circle of social exclusion – from being harassed for not being feminine enough, to the struggling in work because of a developed phobia, to then being passed over years later, even after four years of working for any new jobs based on my past lack of experience. …how much fighting does a person have to do? …like Leonard Cohen sings in “Everybody Knows”: ‘the poor stay poor, the rich get rich. That’s how it goes. Everybody knows.” and: “Everybody knows the deal is rotten, old black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton for you ribbons and bows. Everybody knows.”
Well, at least in my particular case, it comes down to Alienation…
My hometown was raped by super-Conservative Bush-kissers; the guys who basically became millionaires by backing G.W. Bush’s war efforts…
These showy, Alpha Male jerkoffs are the exact Opposte of me. All they do is
spend-spend-spend on looking big, powerful, elitist… Conspicuous Consumption and Waste is their way of life… A once agricultural, working class town they’re raped–now most of the forests are gone, replaced with wall-to-wall McMansions… SUVs everywhere, luxury cars everywhere… Every new McMansion is bigger than the previous… Why do families of 4 require
nearly a dozen bathrooms? How many oversized SUVs does each family need? We’ve got a reservoir here put in back in the 1960s to provide drinking water–it’s not good enough for these people who think tap water is “poison” and will only drink bottled water, and do in fact have it delivered to their homes! Massive driveways composed of hand-laid stone or brick (which is
hand-cut on the spot and completed like a jigsaw puzzle) flown in from Europe is the latest craze… When one neighbor has it, the others have to have it… The battle of the assholes (or keeping up with the Joneses) all around… One spotlight on a house isn’t enough, they have to have over a dozen–and leave them on all night so I can’t get any sleep with them blazing through my bedroom windows! One gets an olympic-sized swimming pool, the others have to have one just as big… And don’t get me started on their oh-so-green-and-precious genetically-engineered sod lawns which need weekly attendence by landscape workers… The old neighbors used to cut their own lawns–for these guys, that’s Peasant work! Besides, these
contractors have huge gas-guzzling, fumes-spewing contraptions to make plenty of noise and attract plenty of attention… And all those wonderful poisionous fertilizers and crap they lay down does a nice job on killing the local wildlife, too… I’ve got natural ground covering around my house, and it doesn’t need anything but me to take care of it… They have 4 or 5 garages
but they’re always empty… Why? Hiding your luxury car behind a garage door defeats the purpose of owning a luxury car, that’s why.. They have these huge wrap-around driveways which take up the front of their McMansions and they are used a literal Showcases for their vehicles… A Lexus parked here, a BMW there, a Mercedes there, and of course a huge SUV (to prove their
manhood) over there… Waste waste waste, all for show.. They feed on Attention… Greed and showiness everywhere… Basically my neighbors are Mafia or Mafia-like or Mafia-wannabees!They are arrogant and pranoid to no end. ADT security trucks come and go to ensure they are “protected” 24/7 with the latest and greatest security suites… One is like this, they are all like
this throughout town… The other year, a minority man stopped his car in front of one of the schools, rolled his window down to (presumably) ask directions or something… A kid ran for his teachers screaming about this strange minority guy who drove off… The next thing you know there are Wanted posters complete with an artist’s conception of the perpetrator all over town for the “suspected child lurer”… All the store windows had them! (Because if just One store doesn’t put it up it obviously means that owner Doesn’t Care for the well-being of our neighborhood’s children, right?). The police force here is very bored because there aren’t any real crimes for them to sink their teeth into, so I think they have to make some up, including
harassing people when they get bored… A guy like me who Doesn’t drive a new, luxury car gets pulled over for no reason… They do what they want, speed, whatever, when they want with impunity… I guess that’s why bullies become cops… These guys make 6-figure salaries, too… I’m the guy who believes in global warming and Evolution. I’m the guy who recycles everything, unplugs or turns off appliances to save electricity, cares about wildlife and the environment, saves and consumes the bare minimum, cries when some new jackass has another tree removed for no other reason than to make his mansion more visible, makes uses of what resources are available, and above all lives below his means… And because I don’t play their game in my 50-year old, puny one-bathroom home, they despise
me… I’m a blemish on their perfect world… If they knew I was a Democrat and not a Republican, an Atheist not a Roman Catholic…I’m convinced they’d pay some hoodlims to destroy this “secular socialist bum”..
Sorry for the ranting!
Is your hometown Texas? My brother was there for work and said that they drive massive cars, no body walks and in some places there is no side walk and they don’t believe in recycling and they love Bush.
I do get your frustration. …the worst is when said people view you as a hippy greenie just because you take seriously issues like the unnecessary abuse of animals for greed. …my parents are like this.
Evenrhough they have grandchildren they won’t bother to look into changing basic habits like buying food that is sustainable or considering not using plastic bags. – Too inconvenient.
I live in Australia and we recently had an election and the Greens (Environmental) party used the fact that the State emblem, a possum, of Victoria is facing extinction (yet, there are NO laws to stop logging the only areas where these possums still exist) …and on a late night tv program they used footage of Greens politicians talking about this possum to send them up and they got a good laugh out of the whole audience.
Meanwhike, I am at home gobsmacked because I can’t believe how callous people are about such a thing. Endangered species are not a smsll matter – it is a MASSIVE matter. It is, essentially, humans looking their own death in the eye and fooling themselves.
Us sensitive types get written off in various ways. Often seen perhaps as airy fairy if not emotionally disturbed. But at least this brand of insanity could, if it were more the norm, see animals and people survive the next couple of hundred years.
But how can a person fight callous indifference, where if you care you are seen as ridiculously over sensitive -?!
I come to the conclusion that there is no changing some people. In fact, the majority of people when it comes down to it.
I actually wrote down the names of good books about surviving global warming and hiw to accept catastrophe bravely and with realism. …i intend on reading them someday.
On the bright side I believe the Northern Hemisphere is better placed to survive global warming. Australia will pretty much be a goner – in flames or flooded out. Our species are going extinct the fastest anywhere. …but hey, apparently this is a joke and not worth making any proper policies about.
So I guess the human race deserves to meet its doom. Collectively we are a bunch of morons. Best to accept it and go into damage control. Try and save some species and wilderness. Enjoy what there is while it is still there (e.g. The Great Barrier Reef will become barren like the reefs in the Carribean within 5 years, so I intend on seeing it in the next year.)
Hello Elisa, many thanks for your interesting insights. I could have not said what you’ve written any better. Fear, after all, is at the polar extreme of love. Love joins, fear divides, and the more fearful a person, the more fearful a country, the more issues, the more sicknesses, the more paranoia. This is why acceptance (which springs from love) is a revolutionary thing. The more accepting a person, and the more accepting a nation, the less problems, the less suicides, deaths, strife, depression, fear. Compare accepting and peaceful countries like Holland for instance. They allow you to practice any religion you like, they accept abortion, they accept marijuana, they value the virtues that come with introversion, and are tolerant of extroversion. What the world needs is acceptance. If we were to only be aware of the fear that motivates us to do and say atrocious things, our lives, and the lives of others, would change significantly. Thank you once again for contributing your thoughts to this page. All the very best! -L