Have you ever been defamed and misconstrued to the point where you became a pariah? - Lemmy.World
Have you ever been defamed and misconstrued to the point where you became a pariah? - Lemmy.World
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Yup. In high school. I now have a well crafted and honed mask that I wear.
I'm so sorry.
Much appreciated. High school was quite the education. People definitely treat you differently no matter what, but moreso if they know.
But people change after high school, right?
They do but not in the ways that you would expect. People have natural built-in software or maybe even hardware that makes them perform, for lack of a better term, othering. Anyone that's different than you anyone that seems strange anyone that's not like someone that you've met before or who is like someone that you didn't like that you met before, they will be categorized and othered. This is just how the human brain processes information, finds similarities, and understands patterns.
So in that sense, the people have not changed at all. They still sense the otherness the difference but the difference is how they react and how they treat people.
Partially, they have changed because I've decided to show less of myself.
The other change that I see is that people are better able to mask their own distaste for people so if you for example weird someone out, there may be subtle signs and indications just by how they treat you how they address you and in general how they relate to you but those signs will be harder to see. Not a lot of people in high school have that kind of masking really well developed.
So, if what you're getting at is that maybe it would be different if I unmasked to people right now given that I'm a fully grown adult and all that, yes it would be but the result, I fear, in fact I'm fairly certain, would be similar.
Other than family there are four people who know and only 2 who know the whole story.
Edit: I'll tell my kids once they are old enough to keep a secret.