Zombie Cliche Lookout: Mutual Need
We don’t live in the zombie apocalypse now, and most of the readers here, myself included, live extremely comfortable lives. We don’t really want for anything of substance, nor do we have to make too big of compromises to get the things we need. However, I learned a pretty important lesson from our latest economic downturn: all that can change with no warning. My wife and I were fortunate enough to weather the financial storm without any substantial troubles. Neither of us lost our jobs, were forced to take pay cuts, or were in any danger of losing our home. That was not the case with a lot of people we know. I saw a lot of honest, hard-working people get hammered by economy through no fault of their own, and I like to think that it gave me some perspective.
So what does all this have to do with zombies? Well, I think it’s important to realize that we live a charmed life. We’re able, by and large, to get everything we need with relative ease, and don’t need to put ourselves at risk or deal with dangerous, unstable people just to get by.
About this Episode:
After all the back and forth between Russell and Cheryl, I thought it was important to give things a little bit of perspective. No, we don’t necessarily trust Michael or Joy yet, but what must they think of the rest of the group?
Discussion Question: Empathy Challenge
It’s very easy to dismiss people with whom we disagree. It’s hard to see things from their perspective, especially in emotionally heated situations. That said, it’s also an invaluable skill, and something that helps us work better with other people. That makes me curious about how the readers of Bricks of the Dead approach empathizing with others. Is this something you struggle with? Something you can’t see the value in? Something you excel at?
Like some of the other subjects we’ve discussed, this is something that I’ve gotten better at as I’ve gotten older and more experienced. I’m guessing a lot of you have had similar experience, but I’m definitely curious.
Well, this is a nice change! No typos for today’s episode! 😀
+1 for Dave! 😉
Horray!
It’s pretty obvious that they might need the group’s help, but with what, and will they be allowed to join this group? Making a small group a little bigger is easy, but it’s also easy for a group to progressively get larger to the point where it either starts breaking apart or self-destructs.
I am, however, rather curious as to what Michael and Joy need help with! 😀 The fact that they’ve left the gun on the table is a good sign, well, at least for now … 😉
I’m glad you noticed the gun. That might be coming up soon.
My work is sometimes a lot about empathizing when people who come to me have problems and have no idea how to deal with them mostly because its their 1st time facing those problems.
It may happen that for some situations there is nothing I or my company can do and you have to be empathizing but straight and fair at the same time, people always try to bring the emotional part when they already tried everything. It’s often hard to keep a good balance between fairness and emphasis, I guess it also depends on the person you are dealing with.
So I’d say it is really a challenge because your “emphasis level” may vary with the people in front of you.
Excellent point, Pi3rK. What do you do for a living?
I work in an insurance company.
Ah, very cool.
Empathy is a weird thing for me, I tend swing back and forth between extremes and I dont always understand the “trigger” involved. In some cases I empathize so strongly with a person that I forgo my better judgement and knowingly allow myself to get “used” and sometimes I have to force myself not to be an absolute douche to people who really could use a break.
That’s really interesting Damage, and I suspect a lot of us do that.
Do you know if there’s a specific type of person that you react to one way or the other?
Good question for a rainy kind of introspective sort of day.
First I have to say that I’m turbo sensitive to any kind of attempt at manipulation. If I feel that someone is making or has made an attempt in the past to manipulate me (big difference between manipulate and influence) then they will never see a drop of empathy from me. Its not like I just wont go out of my way to HELP that person, but Ill go out of my way to AVOID helping that person. (I hope that I would stop short of actually sabotaging that individual, but I cant say for sure that I would)
Second I would have to say mean kids. The kid may come from a broken and abusive home life, he might have had to watch his drunken father drown his new puppy in the bathtub because it piddled on the carpet….but if I know that kid is mean and bullying to other kids I cant empathize with him at all. The kid might desperately need my sympathy and understanding, but I just cant muster any feeling other than loathing. (I mean that kinda scary isn’t it? were talking about a child)
Very interesting. I can definitely see that first one. I’ve been manipulated a time or two, and it’s something I become deeply resentful of.
The mean kids thing? I haven’t seen much of it yet, but with my son starting kindergarten in a few weeks, I think that’s going to change really soon.