Surely, many, if not all of us, would concede that strangers are strangers... hence, unknown.
But what about the people that we encounter... face to face?
For how many of us assume that face to face interactions establish incontrovertible facts, about who we are... to one another? Yet... we are no more likely to know more about the people that we meet in the flesh, as... for example, countless public figures and celebrities, about whom we know little, with exactitude.
Indeed, most of us operate under the comfortable and often, erroneous, presumption that we are all, more or less, alike... which, not only populates confoundingly unreliable personality assessments, but also leads to unhesitatingly inaccurate behavioral attributions. For example, someone who is insensitive to prejudice, may fail to perceive prejudice in action... thereby absolving biased treatment of others, through intentional benedictions of blind ignorance. And, someone who is not malicious, may fail to recognize behaviors motivated by malice... thereby excusing disturbingly hostile behaviors, through sterile logic and reason. Finally, someone who is not generous, may fail to acknowledge the existence of unfettered generosity... thereby magnifying imaginary hidden agendas, lurking behind acts of genuine kindness.
Ultimately, we cannot use our selves to form the bases of the truths of others... for not only are some inner landscapes legitimately incoherent and unfathomable, but there is no law of human nature that demands congruence, between the truths of others and our own personal paradigms. Notwithstanding that an unfortunate dichotomy often exists between behavior that we condone, within ourselves, that we protest, within others. For example, many of us who negotiate our social world, vis a vis public guises... paradoxically expect transparency from others (especially during face to face encounters). And, many of us who engage in vacuous social niceties... paradoxically expect sincerity, in return.
How utterly dumbfounding... and humbling.
However, what is more unsettling, is the degree to which our overweening confidence in our perceptivity, renders us infallible with regard to conjecturing emotional or behavioral predictability, regarding those about whom we know little, if anything, with indisputable accuracy. For such confidence is rarely tempered against the truth: that predictive hypotheses are ex post facto conclusions, derived from retrospective and retroactive observations and analyses of known history, events, and behaviors, that may or may not be comprehensive, factual, or unequivocal. Moreover, insofar as there is no irrefutable law of human nature that requires all human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to be comprehensible... the precision of such predictions is also limited by inner landscapes that may be impenetrable and/or inconceivable.
Which isn't to say that it's surprising that some truths of human psychology are mystifying... for all of us, have, at one time or another, discovered inexplicable personal realities, dwelling within our own authentic selves.
But... despite the fact that many of us employ expedient cognitive structures, in order to navigate an inconstant social milieu, including but not limited to reaching wildly unsubstantiated conclusions about everything and everyone, that we encounter online, on social media, around the water cooler, face to face, etc... such processes can and have lead to irreparable harm. For when carelessly flawed intuitions, perceptions, and judgment inform guidance of a professional or expert nature or influence systems of governance or authority... we recklessly collude with one other, to build a house of cards, on a foundation of disintegrating sand.
Addendum:
Inasmuch as this blog is a platform for my personal opinions, it is redundant to include an explicit disclaimer that states such, after every post. However, in the interests of utmost clarity:
The opinions presented herewith are (i) solely my own, (ii) solely for entertainment purposes, and (iii) not written with any express intention to influence the actions of others. Moreover, while the content presented herewith, derive from numerous - direct and indirect - personal and professional - contexts and experiences - any facsimile to any specific person(s) or event(s) is coincidental.
Nevertheless, it is as tempting to jump to conclusions about me and this post... as it is to jump to conclusions about everything and everyone. However, every time that we legitimize such egregious errors of arrogance, in lieu of rigorous precision, we jeopardize our ability to see truths. For, regardless of how often such erroneous missteps lead to remediable misunderstandings, such missteps also lead towards perilous and tragic outcomes.
Unlike cartoon villains... those who flagrantly disregard social contracts with our society, reside within our midst, wearing nothing more sinister than harmless public facades. Lest we fail to acknowledge the unsettling reality of human aberrance... unsuspicious guises can and do camouflage abnormal and/or pathological inner landscapes.
Case in point... here are but two documentaries that expose disturbingly unremarkable, and at times, amenable, public countenances that masked perturbing psychopathologies:
- Dear Zachary (2008): official website & on IMDb (currently viewable on Netflix)
- Talhotblond (2009): on IMDb (currently viewable on Netflix)
Alternatively... those who flagrantly disregard social contracts with our society, wear many facades... including masks of righteousness that legitimize tyranny with zealous vehemence:
- The Reign of -Isms: Having Label Cake and Eating It Too and Greatness Worth Striving For (more The Chip Aisle: Index)
- M.
