June 27, 2007

People I Don't Like

I don't actively dislike many people. Sure, there are PLENTY of people I'm more or less indifferent to, and that may SEEM like dislike, but it's not. It's not even in the same multiverse. When I dislike someone, I feel a visceral reaction, I'm nauseated by their presence, everything they say or do is offensive, I can't bear to look at them directly and I want to leave the vicinity immediately. It doesn't happen very often, which is why it always used to perplex me so much on the rare occasions I experienced it.

It's happened often enough now for me to recognise the cause of the symptoms, but now the dilemma is, what do I do? I'm not tactful or dishonest enough to just pretend to like them. Compared to how I normally interact with people, mere civility seems like aloofness, plus it still means I have to BE around them and contend with the bile rising in my throat at their presence.

But there will always be some poor soul out there whose guts I hate, and it seems like I should have a plan for how to deal with it. Besides my current strategies, which are pretending that I really enjoy 24 hour solitude or severing all contact with them.

Maybe I'm being unrealistic. Maybe there's a reason I feel so strongly repulsed by someone I dislike and maybe my current strategies are sufficient. Maybe it's asking too much for everyone to get along all the time.

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