Friend or Foe?
Why is it that we can enjoy the company of people we don't really like? Even a person who is truly an asshole is fun to provoke. A good argument with a nasty person gives you a little confidence boost. Gee, I'm a pretty good person compared to this guy, huh? The person in question doesn't even have to be that much of an asshole. If they disagree with you on any controversial topic, you have a justified pedestal to project your views from. Or just some practice with the art of rhetoric. Your encounter with an asshole doesn't even have to be active. Sometimes the fun comes from observation. Gawking at the things these people say, the things they've done, the way they live their lives. It's different from socially inappropriate antagonists on television. This is a real person, who wakes up every morning and goes to sleep every night, and in between behaves in ways that make you cringe. You start making a t-chart in your head of the similarities and differences between you and this monster. Wow, I would never drive a car like his and he would never drive a car like mine...but he's in my literature class...I wonder if he's doing the exact same homework as me right now?! Okay, so let's back up a little. What about the people that we don't hate, but we don't particularly like them either? It could be your friend's friend, a co-worker, just anyone you see all the time but not by choice. Would you miss this person if you never saw them again? It's hard to know until you lose them, I guess. Sometimes it's even hard to say what you actually like or dislike about them. They are just a presence. It would be like walking into your living room and feeling like something was missing, only to later find out that it was a tiny little painting on the wall that you thought you hadn't noticed.
Often times these characters fill a specific purpose. You like these people for one reason and one reason only. I mean, who else understands how grumpy your supervisor gets on that late shift better than the girl working it next to you? You two can shoot the shit freely and easily, but only about that one topic. Kinda sad that that's the limit of your relationship with these one-topic friends. But really, it's great. Would you rather it be your best friend next to you? That could be fun, but there's something about people who give you comfort, relief, familiarity, and at the same time, remain a mystery when they clock out of that shift. Basically, if you had your favorite foods and only your favorite foods, you would get pretty sick of them. There is something about those foods that you sort of like to balance out the foods that you love and hate. You always want pizza, you never want brussell sprouts, but sometimes you like pumpkin pie.
Often times these characters fill a specific purpose. You like these people for one reason and one reason only. I mean, who else understands how grumpy your supervisor gets on that late shift better than the girl working it next to you? You two can shoot the shit freely and easily, but only about that one topic. Kinda sad that that's the limit of your relationship with these one-topic friends. But really, it's great. Would you rather it be your best friend next to you? That could be fun, but there's something about people who give you comfort, relief, familiarity, and at the same time, remain a mystery when they clock out of that shift. Basically, if you had your favorite foods and only your favorite foods, you would get pretty sick of them. There is something about those foods that you sort of like to balance out the foods that you love and hate. You always want pizza, you never want brussell sprouts, but sometimes you like pumpkin pie.