Poll: Do you feel empathy for people you do not know?

[lucky_sharm]

Everyone deserves some empathy. Which is not to say that you should arrive to the funeral of every single person that dies, no, but to be empathatic is just to be considerate of what someone else may be going through and not be judgemental towards others.

 

[Ladette]

I could care less about people outside of my immediate sphere of influence. I don't wish bad things on people, I just don't care.

 

[Kortney]

I couldn't care less. What's it changed in my life exactly?

This, ultimately is all it comes down to. Some people don't feel the need to care about something that doesn't directly effect them - others do.

That's really all that needs to be said.

As far as my personality goes, then yes, I do feel empathy for people I don't know and I too was really upset by people in that particular thread simply not caring about any one that isn't them or their close relations. I believe that if everyone thought like that, the world would be a much lesser place.

 

[JSDodd]

I've kind of got a reverse stalin thing going on. The death of an individual or small group (be it in the news or friends of friends) doesn't realy bother me at all whereas suffering/death on a large scale tends to make me feel sad and want to take action.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I feel empathy, but mostly don't bother to act on it.

 

[darth gditch]

I actually feel more empathy for people I don't know at all, as opposed to people I sort of know. If I know a person, but they're not my friend, I tend to start thinking of that person as an NPC, who has programed responses, acts the same way, is predictable ect. It's hard to feel empathy for people you know enough to know what they act like, but not well enough to know who they really are.

When you don't know someone at all, they're a blank slate, for all intents and purposes, and you can project.

 

[Light 086]

I know I don't. Life can suck for everyone in it's own right. Besides friends and family no one really cares for me, so why should I for them? I'm sure many feel this way, look out after your own right?

 

[spartan231490]

I do, just not much. When I heard about it, this is my literal response. "OH MY GOD. THAT POOR BASTARD." 20 seconds later "The media is going to lynch the gaming community with this aren't they." 20 seconds more later. "Anyone want to go to arbys." It's a shame, and I do feel bad for the kid, but bad shit happens to good people, and I move on with my life.

 

[iLikeHippos]

Well, I have less empathy with Aspergers, but I think about people far across the globe just as much as they think about me.

Which is near to 0.
Didn't even cry when my grandpa died. But he was a mean son of a *****... :/

 

[Elec0]

Nope. Thousands of people die each day, and I see no point in caring for people you will never meet.

 

[ExileNZ]

I remember going to a funeral for a person I didn't know. Got pretty teary quite a few times, even for someone I'd never met.

Whether you call it feeling empathy for them, I don't know, but I certainly felt for the people who lived to talk about it.

 

[iblis666]

i feel so much fucking empathy that i have to trick my self into thinking i dont just to get through the day or id be sobbing in a corner non stop

 

[Meestor Pickle]

I really dont care unless it affects me in some way. While of course I dont wish harm on people I wont meet.

 

[Eldarion]

The people that post things like "It didn't effect me, lol more vids of people falling over" are just dicks trying to look cool, ignore them.

 

[MasterOfWorlds]

I voted other because I do feel empathy, but if what's happened to you was brought on by your own actions, I don't feel bad. People need to take responsibility.