I'm over fifty. I'd say more about myself, but I don't like talking about myself.
Florence King was an American author and columnist known for her wit and sharp social commentary. Her view was that a true misanthrope isn't simply a grumpy or antisocial person. She defined misanthropy as a principled, consistent, and intellectually honest position — a considered rejection of humanity based on clear-eyed observation of human nature, rather than mere bitterness or disappointment.
Some key elements of her definition and perspective:
It's not the same as shyness or introversion — a misanthrope doesn't dislike people because they're awkward around them, but because they've thought carefully about humanity and don't much like it.
It's not bitterness — bitterness comes from failed expectations; a misanthrope, in her view, never had illusions about people to begin with.
It's a philosophical stance — she framed it as a form of integrity, a refusal to pretend that people are better than they are.
Selective vs. universal — she noted that misanthropes can love individuals while still despising humanity as a whole.
Here I am in Second Life, where it is easy to ignore unpleasant people and to be friends with a few very special humans.
