Egotism: Drop It

Let's face it: people are arseholes. There exists not a soul out there who isn't out for self; all we have are those people who make a strong effort to ditch their inner arsehole. The internet is, at times, little more than a tool people can use to shovel shit on an international scale. We all think we're better, we all think we're stronger, and we all think we're entitled to more and more; I think we've got a problem here. You can probably think of multiple instances where you have either been subjected to blatant vanity, or have been the vain one yourself. We see superiority when we see something different to what we are, have, or believe in, as we instantly focus on the (supposed) positives of our own ways while emphasising the negatives of whatever the other person is, has or thinks. It's this kind of selective and exclusionary thinking that abuses the exposition as a form of expression, because we only pick what will support our case rather than what will support, simply, a resolution. We think the goal of arguing is to prove that we're right, not that someone is right, and when people don't back down when they're beat, that's when all hell breaks loose.

This has been going on since humanity started: one group thinks and acts one way, another group thinks and acts another way, then both groups set up armies, meet in the middle and try to wipe each other out. You just have to look to Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Israel & Palestine, advertising, celebrities and the school yard to see this in practise. The country I live in wouldn't exist as it does if the British hadn't have thought so highly of themselves! The only reason they're here is because they ran out of room in their own country to store prisoners - if you stole so much as a loaf of bread, and you were caught, that was yo' ass - and so they stole procured an entire continent to deal with the overreaction decline of human morals in their country. The indigenous peoples of this country had been here for about 50,000 years before colonisation, and the British ran in to and killed plenty as they developed this country in to what it is today, under the reasoning that the land was "terra nullius," or the "land of no one." That, ladies and gentlemen, is pure and unadulterated egotism: "we think we're better than you, so much so that we don't think you qualify as human. We're now going to do with your land what we please. Cheerio!"

The internet is, of course, full of it too. Just today, I was reading my YouTube comments and came across an astoundingly pompous individual who commented on the Windows: LBP Edition video I uploaded at the end of last year. This is one of the most viewed, if not the most viewed, recording of a LittleBigPlanet 2 BETA level, and for good reason: it shocked people with just how far people were taking the level editor. See, I'm just as bad: I just had to mention that it's the "most viewed" video, rather than just saying it got lots of views (which, after looking at the hit count for my other videos, is true :P) As I was saying, it got lots of attention, and with that attention came a lot of praise. People were spreading it because they thought it was good and that others should see it; it was a technical achievement no on saw coming. Then this guy comes along and says "Not actually that amazing!" going on to describe an e-mail system he supposedly made in the original LittleBigPlanet. In a 2nd comment, he took what he said back (which is pathetic in itself,) but claimed that in a few months, he "shall be your competitor!" "your" referring to the authors of the level.

... what is this I don't even... seriously, what the fuck? It's LittleBigPlanet! You make levels... for fun... to share! Why is this douche turning it in to a competition? I mean, he was outdone for starters: creating an e-mail system is nothing compared to creating an entire operating system! E-mail systems go inside operating systems; his level would have been a mere feature in the acclaimed creation! But, to then go ahead and say "I'll fight you!" in an aspect of the game that has no outright competitive purpose is ridiculous! It doesn't surprise me after looking at the username, though: it had "1999" on the end, which means I can safely assume he's only 11-12 years old, and 11-12 year-olds are really, really big arseholes simply by nature. I saw some other kid claiming he cleared Chimpanzee's "Pegged" level with 3 balls remaining... and? What do I care? What does anyone care?

Sometimes, you have to be egotistical! It's part of the task at hand! Writing a resume or CV is the perfect example: how do you write one without being a totally self important twat? You can't! The whole point of a CV or resume is to make yourself look better than all the other people writing CV's and resumes! You're advertising yourself, slowly becoming nothing more than a product that can write its achievements on paper. It's hard to write them, too! For some reason, when you go to write one... you stop being an arsehole! You actually stop to consider the other four or five poor bastards whose livelihoods and families you could destroy by going through with this! It's the worst time for it to happen. Sometimes other people are egotistical for you! They announce something "wonderful" or "terrific" that you've done and make you look like an even bigger arsehole! And, if it's in the workplace, you've already had to show your CV or resume, and now they've been told this! Now, you're the biggest arsehole in the building!

Yeah... we're just a big bunch of arseholes... it's the ones with their pants down that get to me :P