INDIFFERENCE, ANGER AND HATRED

Recently I read Albert Camus’ The Outsider. I have to say that I am not a big fan of existentialism, but the book did raise some interesting questions and was much better than The Myth of Sisyphus. I particularly found the last few lines interesting:

"I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world. And finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realised that I’d been happy, and that I was still happy. For the final consummation and for me to feel less lonely, my last wish was that there should be a crowd of spectators at my execution and that they should greet me with cries of hatred."

Now one thing I am not is indifferent; I am constantly angry with the suffering in the world that could so easily be averted, and as such am rarely what one would call happy.

However I do believe that for the most part the world and many people in it are indifferent to the suffering around them. And this makes me even angrier, and as a result I often feel the need to confront people with what I see as their indifference; family, friends, complete strangers. Most people (understandably) don’t take too kindly to this.

However even at times when I am more reasoned with people (being an extremely emotional person this doesn’t happen as often as it should) I rarely (though not always) see a change in people’s view of the suffering around them.

That’s why there is this part of me that if I was to be executed would also wish to that there would be a crowds of spectators greeting me with cries of hatred.

Who should this crowd be? People who I have communicated with about the suffering that goes on that they could try and stop, but who haven’t listened.

Why would I want them to be greeting me with hatred? Because I have made them feel guilty about their indifference.

I’m a complex individual folks.