Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Using People

I've seen these survey's on the internet that people fill out. And some of them ask the question, "Have you ever used somebody?" And everybody always says "no". What type of bullshit is this. I mean, do people just not realize what they're doing as they use people? Do they lie to themselves as well as the world. Because obviously everybody uses people. So I'm letting everybody know that I use you. But that should be okay because I know that you use me too.

Por ejemplo. This weekend I am going to use Will. I've already discussed it with him and he seems okay with it. You see it is Superbowl Weekend and Will owns a big screen high definition television. I do not own such a quality piece of electronics. So, I am going to go to Will's apartment on Superbowl Sunday and watch the game. Now he lives in a small apartment with extremely limited seating, so he is going to use the fact that I have four foldable chairs. You see it is a give and take. I use him, he uses me. We both end up happy.

Now that may be a bit of a simplification, so I'll give another example. Someone breaks up with you and you're all "Woe is me, woe is me, I feel like crap and I need to do something to make myself feel better" (I actually do feel sympathy for both sides of a break-up, but that totally clashes with the tone of this piece, so let the sarcasm reign). And so you go out and find that hot little something to comfort you for a while until your self-esteem is back to its normal level where you can be okay with being single. You're totally using that person. And do you know what, that's okay, because most people let that person know. They don't usually just come right out and say, "I'm only going ot be doing this for a little while so enjoy it while you can," but they say it in code. You know, "I just went through a really tough break-up" or "I'm not quite over my ex yet." People drop those hints, and people know that it is like someone flashing a big fat warning sign saying, "At the end of this you are going to be hurt because I don't like YOU, I just like how you make me feel right now." At the same time it isn't like the "victim" isn't having a great time. The guilt free sex, the seemingly never-ending honeymoon period where your love feels like something out of a Hollywood romance. I mean, you're using the other person too.

So my point is that everybody is constantly using everyone else for their own reasons. And this is okay, and I think everybody should be conscious of the various ways that they are using people. Because it is when people become truly careless, or maybe callous, that people begin to get really hurt by being used. It's okay to call up a friend that you know doesn't mind being the designated driver, but you should probably call them other times as well. It's alright to use your friend's big screen TV, just make sure that you let them use your chairs. It;s alright to use someone to make yourself feel better, just don't be too angry when someone does it to you. And always remember the time that you're the most dangerous is when you think that you aren't using someone at all.

1 Comments:

At 9:34 AM, Blogger Miss Marjie said...

I am using you and your writing for entertainment.

also, pushing the buttons on the moving shelves in the library is great fun.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home