What are your thoughts on empathy? Are you an empathetic person? -

[The Lawgiver]

Somehow despite beign an utter sperglord empathy is one thing I've got too much of the the point I avoid doing shit that I think will fuck people over worse in the long term. Saying that's fucking weird because absolute bastards on social media always brag about empathy or whatever dumbass shit to make themselves look better and due to that it feels dumb as hell talking about empathy every time the topic comes up as a result. People scream at me about not having any empathy or "caring about nobody but myself" when they get pissed off at me and shit fucking hurts because every time I'm visibly trying to help I get pushed away and yelled at anyways. Shit's useless, there's less and less people out there that use "empathy" for anything other than a fucking way to hurt people's feelings by screaming at them that they don't have it.

I'm really fucking barely awake and exhausted from this fucking heat right now so this whole post probably came out infinitely more jumbled than it should have.

 

[Shadfan666xxx000]

INTP

I'm capable of being laid thanks.
T. ENTP master race

 

[NoonmanR]

To a point. To be quite honest, empathy goes out the window the moment i think i'm being manipulated. Now more than ever theres, not necessarily autistic people, per se, but sociopaths in general who want nothing more than to exert control over you, as we have seen today.

Theres no sense is give them the benefit lf the doubt.

 

[Cool Username]

I think too many people, especially those who like to claim to be highly empathetic, mistake pity for empathy. That’s why so many woke incontinent empathisers are able to completely switch it off when it's someone they dislike on the receiving end of some dreadful shit. Pity is far more cold and detached than actual empathy which is why it’s so easy to be performative about it and use it for passive-aggressive bullying and virtue grandstanding, you can only do that if you’re not really very empathetic.
Am I capable of empathy? Of course, but I treat it like a fine cognac or strong weed, something to be used sparingly and only when it’s really appropriate. I‘ll be overflowing with the stuff if some poor guy has his dog stolen for instance, but my well is very dry for those whose shitty situation is due to their own stupid life choices. I refuse to be an enabler and I will not be emotionally manipulated.
Pity is a pat on the head and loudly saying ‘Ahhh, poor you, so sad!’ while doing nothing to stop them dancing over the precipice except maybe crowdfunding them some nicer shoes to do it in.
I suspect much of this is down to personality types. If we were to go with the Meyers-Briggs bullshit, many Farmers are probably INTP types, therefore we find it impossible to empathise with what to us is obvious fucking lunacy and huddle away here on the boards, laughing, pointing and autistically analysing.

I didn't understand the last paragraph, but I think your comment is the answer I was looking for.

 

[cuddle striker]

I'm empathetic to a degree. Spending time on here is an exercise in empathy for the victims and families of a variety of awful cows.

I don't have a lot of pity in me, though. Might be something I should strive for.

 

[DicksOutForChauvin]

Empathy is a useful tool for humans. Just remember there is a difference between understanding what someone is going through and deciding that you are responsible/have to help a person. In today's day and age empathetic people are being taken advantage of for nefarious reasons, and I'm not just talking about governments and shit. Your own family has the capacity to do it. They'll see your success and try to guilt-trip you for handouts/assistance while they sit their lazy asses around and do nothing.

 

[Hermann the German]

Whew. Not like I didn't know this was gonna happen, lines up with every other test I've taken. INTJ sociopath masterrace here

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Like any natural resource, my empathy is limited. Therefore I will reserve it for things and people I give a damn about.

 

[SSj_Ness]

I got a 36 on that test people are taking. I guess that's pretty bad but I don't agree with it. I think I'm very empathetic, I'm also just strict about principles. I don't feel bad for criminals or immoral people,

For example, I feel really bad for illegal immigrants and feel their pain up until they illegally cross our border, then they're just sacks of flesh to be rounded up by almost any means necessary. A strong border is absolutely imperative, as is respecting the rule of law (not blindly of course). I don't blame the for trying but they can't blame us for throwing them back over the wall.

 

[Dustlord]

I think its important to separate empathy and sympathy. I can understand someones feelings but its a lot harder for me to become equally emotional with them unless there is a prior connection there.
For example, if someone I don't know dies, I can understand why their family and friends are hurt and try to be supportive or at least not contribute to their unhappiness, but I can't really share that experience and feel especially saddened by the death.

 

[AbyssStarer]

Empathy is obviously important and if you don't ever really feel it then there's probably something very emotionally stunted about you.
I also think that people who have very little empathy (maybe sympathy) would have trouble relating to characters which they are not roleplaying or aren't designed to look and be exactly like them and maybe this is why so many people screech for representative characters rather than characters which are written-well. Is this a problem of empathy though?

HOWEVER, One thing I've been wondering is how the idea of an "empath" and empathy being a super power (like Life is Strange 3's MC) became a thing. I believe it's mostly directed at simple minded women who already believe in garbage such as reiki and wicca to sell silly books to about auras and how to be a smrt empath.

Unfortunately, some of my own family has fallen for this scam, and one told me she thought I was an empath because I said something offhand about how somebody seemed to be feeling.

(I just really like this image so here.)