I feel like I have lost all empathy and sympathy

[Anonymous]

The climate that we are in has made me feel like I (and everyone else) has lost all empathy and sympathy. I see natural disasters and instead of immediately thinking how I can help and how bad I feel for these people instead I think - well that sucks. Too bad there isn't FEMA to help you and most likely you voted for that.

When I see people whose health insurance premiums have been raised 100% I don't feel empathy I just think - well you should get a job that gives you good health insurance.

Basically I have become a Republican who thinks everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and figure it out themselves". I can't force any sympathy or empathy anymore for people who vote for this to happen to themselves. Its hard to think good Christian thoughts for people who are fake Christians.

[Anonymous]

Sure, that’s reasonable. Plenty of people getting exactly what they voted for, and actively cheering policies harmful to black and brown people. They can rot.

But so much collateral damage to those who didn’t vote for any of this. Lots of sympathy for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure, that’s reasonable. Plenty of people getting exactly what they voted for, and actively cheering policies harmful to black and brown people. They can rot.

But so much collateral damage to those who didn’t vote for any of this. Lots of sympathy for them.

That's where I am. I feel bad for those that got stuck in the collateral damage of other's stupid decisions, but it's getting harder and harder to feel sympathy for those that brought these situations on themselves. A family member and his wife are raging MAGAs. I don't mind people being Republican and have friends who are, but they were so far gone we stopped seeing them. She was a SAHM, he was a fed worker who lost his job. I didn't feel bad for him. I felt bad for the kids though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The climate that we are in has made me feel like I (and everyone else) has lost all empathy and sympathy. I see natural disasters and instead of immediately thinking how I can help and how bad I feel for these people instead I think - well that sucks. Too bad there isn't FEMA to help you and most likely you voted for that.

When I see people whose health insurance premiums have been raised 100% I don't feel empathy I just think - well you should get a job that gives you good health insurance.

Basically I have become a Republican who thinks everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and figure it out themselves". I can't force any sympathy or empathy anymore for people who vote for this to happen to themselves. Its hard to think good Christian thoughts for people who are fake Christians.

Honestly, nobody cares. You aren't important enough for anyone to care what you think or how you feel. Sympathy and empathy from you are as useless as your announcement here.

[Anonymous]

Same OP. I'm surprising myself almost daily on these feelings. I don't know if I'm getting older or because I have kids now but I'm getting hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The climate that we are in has made me feel like I (and everyone else) has lost all empathy and sympathy. I see natural disasters and instead of immediately thinking how I can help and how bad I feel for these people instead I think - well that sucks. Too bad there isn't FEMA to help you and most likely you voted for that.

When I see people whose health insurance premiums have been raised 100% I don't feel empathy I just think - well you should get a job that gives you good health insurance.

Basically I have become a Republican who thinks everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and figure it out themselves". I can't force any sympathy or empathy anymore for people who vote for this to happen to themselves. Its hard to think good Christian thoughts for people who are fake Christians.

Honestly, nobody cares. You aren't important enough for anyone to care what you think or how you feel. Sympathy and empathy from you are as useless as your announcement here.

I care

[Anonymous]

We have maga relatives who are having all types o problems as they age - both with money and health - and I’m enjoying the irony a little bit. But I know they won’t change and they will still vote.

[Anonymous]

It’s life. People make poor decisions and consequences go with those poor decisions.

[Anonymous]

Ah, the daily beating of Republicans. Feel better?

[Anonymous]

DH is veering into this territory, and I call him out all the time. People are struggling. I’m an empath and do feel overwhelmed, but stepping back for a week does wonders. We have to talk about our shared values to restore this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The climate that we are in has made me feel like I (and everyone else) has lost all empathy and sympathy. I see natural disasters and instead of immediately thinking how I can help and how bad I feel for these people instead I think - well that sucks. Too bad there isn't FEMA to help you and most likely you voted for that.

When I see people whose health insurance premiums have been raised 100% I don't feel empathy I just think - well you should get a job that gives you good health insurance.

Basically I have become a Republican who thinks everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and figure it out themselves". I can't force any sympathy or empathy anymore for people who vote for this to happen to themselves. Its hard to think good Christian thoughts for people who are fake Christians.

Honestly, nobody cares. You aren't important enough for anyone to care what you think or how you feel. Sympathy and empathy from you are as useless as your announcement here.

Another triggered magat snowflake.

[Anonymous]

FEMA isn’t that great anyway.

Maybe you were never nice to begin with. But it doesn’t matter, as another PP said.

Im sorry you see everything through the lens of left vs. right. Not a fun way to live.

[Anonymous]

OP - I have always been very much an empath. I volunteered to help in developing countries for 3 years. We give to charities, go to mass, try and help those less fortunate than us.

But at this point I feel like nothing I do will help. The system is broken. So now I just need to look out for myself and my family. We are doing fine. High HHI, big trust fund, etc. So I guess let them eat cake? What I do won't help. And a lot of those who need help don't want help or at least voted for the system that won't help them when they need the help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The climate that we are in has made me feel like I (and everyone else) has lost all empathy and sympathy. I see natural disasters and instead of immediately thinking how I can help and how bad I feel for these people instead I think - well that sucks. Too bad there isn't FEMA to help you and most likely you voted for that.

When I see people whose health insurance premiums have been raised 100% I don't feel empathy I just think - well you should get a job that gives you good health insurance.

Basically I have become a Republican who thinks everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and figure it out themselves". I can't force any sympathy or empathy anymore for people who vote for this to happen to themselves. Its hard to think good Christian thoughts for people who are fake Christians.

Honestly, nobody cares. You aren't important enough for anyone to care what you think or how you feel. Sympathy and empathy from you are as useless as your announcement here.

So basically you are very similar to OP.

[Anonymous]

I feel like you are confusing a bunch of different things.

Progressive policies like the healthcare subsidies don't exist because we all feel really sorry for people who don't have health insurance.

They exist because from a policy standpoint, uninsured people are a drag on society and result in a more expensive healthcare system than if everyone had access to health insurance. Uninsured people tend to avoid preventative care, because they can't afford it, and then show up in ERs with expensive medical crises they also can't afford, but it is inhumane to just let them die so hospitals fulfill their hippocratic oath and help them.

Politicians often engage in performative empathy to justify policies based on logic or the priorities. Think of when the Bush administration argued the war in Afghanistan had been undertaken to liberate people, especially women and girls, from the Taliban. BS. That war was a bunch of Neo-cons taking advantage of the connection between the Taliban and al Qaeda to seize foreign policy after 9-11. There might have been a bit of a savior complex at play, but the war was not undertaken for humanitarian reasons.

Forget empathy. Trump policies suck because they will drive this country into recession or depression, make us less safe by alienating our allies, and increase income disparity by squeezing people out of the middle class and into poverty. I oppose those policies not because I have some special empathy for people losing their healthcare subsidies right now, but because it's an idiotic and illogical way to run a country. The GOP doesn't even agree with this plan -- Trump always said they wanted to "repeal and replace" Obamacare with something better, because even the idiot kleptocrats in Trumpworld understand that having a bunch of uninsured people isn't going to work out great. But they are lazy and stupid, so they've just gone with trying to strip Obamacare of any teeth and then giving the cost savings to billionaires.

I don't care if you are empathetic or not. Most people are not. But please don't be stupid. I just want to live in a country where people are not stupid.