Thursday, 21 June 2007 03:19 pm
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deckardcanineIn the last few days, I've noticed something about reaction predictions:
When somebody says something to the effect of "You'll either love it or hate it" or "You'll either laugh or not get it at all," I usually do neither. It doesn't bother me to avoid pigeonholing like that. In fact, it rather amuses me.
When somebody says, "You can't help but laugh," and I hardly even smile on the inside, I feel the slightest trace of annoyance at not sharing the allegedly universal joy, but it's no big deal.
But when somebody says, "You can't help but cry," and I don't come close to crying, I feel like there's something wrong with me. Senses of humor may vary wildly, but differences in compassion are harder to tolerate. Am I callous? Aloof? Simply tough against tears? (I sure don't see myself as a man's man.)
People, please refrain from universalizing specific reactions. A faulty binary choice I can take, but let that be the worst.
In case you're wondering, I read the phrase on crying the other day in reference to the last scene of Brokeback Mountain.
When somebody says something to the effect of "You'll either love it or hate it" or "You'll either laugh or not get it at all," I usually do neither. It doesn't bother me to avoid pigeonholing like that. In fact, it rather amuses me.
When somebody says, "You can't help but laugh," and I hardly even smile on the inside, I feel the slightest trace of annoyance at not sharing the allegedly universal joy, but it's no big deal.
But when somebody says, "You can't help but cry," and I don't come close to crying, I feel like there's something wrong with me. Senses of humor may vary wildly, but differences in compassion are harder to tolerate. Am I callous? Aloof? Simply tough against tears? (I sure don't see myself as a man's man.)
People, please refrain from universalizing specific reactions. A faulty binary choice I can take, but let that be the worst.
In case you're wondering, I read the phrase on crying the other day in reference to the last scene of Brokeback Mountain.
