you want pathos?

[rone]

Oprah's latest book club selection seems to not deserve its non-fiction billing.

I wonder how Oprah will react to this information, not because i give a crap about Oprah, but because i wonder if she thinks it matters enough to make a fuss about it.

Comments

Re: There's a difference between "I was one of the people..."

[mouseworks.livejournal.com]

Um, understood. I still feel I dumped some stuff on friends that should have been between me and my secular confessor (not over the thing you're talking about but a later post).

Empathy leeches, perhaps, might be a better term for what you're talking about. If a reasonable person in a bad spot needs some mindless support, it's generally over in fairly short while as the person gets some distance and perspective on the bad thing. The empathy leech won't take advice and can't put what happened in perspective or use it to build bonds between people who've had something like that happen to them, much less forgive anyone or understand anyone who has wronged them.

It's fairly obviously either a way to get a good outrage going (that appears to be addictive to some people) or to get attention, or both.

A friend of mine said something about how much goes in both directions -- is the other person as much there for her as she is for the other person. I've found out I helped her when I wasn't even particularly trying, just telling her what worked for me in a similar situation. And she helped almost effortlessly when I had to deal with some things in my life. She has an empathy leech in her life and really appreciates people who aren't.

Empathy leeches don't have to be that melodramatic about it, they can be. Maybe those people are empathy vampires.