The Purple People Needers

Many people in the real world have a problem with the fact that I'm a loner. They throw pity at me, try to set me up with others and tell me that being a loner is a sign of depression.

Why? What are they afraid of?

Are they being influenced by the media's depiction of the John Hinckleys of the world as “psychotic loners”? Have they watched Silence of the Lambs too many times and bought the fantasy as reality?

Why is it wrong to go to the movies alone? Or to ask for “a table for one” in a restaurant?




The predominant social paradigm seems to be “bright/outgoing/happy/shining” - granted, they're the majority, at least on their surfaces. So that alone will put me outside of the clubhouse. But the constant fear and attempts at “reforming” me have put me not only out of the clubhouse, but over the fence as well. The more they seek to change me, the more I walk away.

Nietzsche once said:

”…these modern creatures wish rather to be hunted down, wounded and torn to shreds, than to live alone with themselves in solitary calm. Alone with oneself! - this thought terrifies the modern soul; it is his one anxiety, his own ghastly fear.”

…I think he hit the nail on the head.

I enjoy being alone, and tolerate crowds only insofar as I absolutely need to. The flock of sheeple around me seek body warmth among themselves, moving en mass with cellphones at their ears and visions of materialistic Nirvana clouding their eyes.

I think loners make others uncomfortable because we are unafraid of our own intelligence. We have the ability to judge an activity, a religion, a scholastic program etc. on its merits, not because everyone else likes it. This makes most people shake in their boots. We were never the kind to go to the pep rallies at school or the malt shop after the big game; we never painted our faces and our cars in team colors; we never screamed until we were hoarse.

But 99% of the population DID, so the loners became the outcasts.