A Failure to Grasp the Concept

The indifferent do not seek to impress

Hunchback takes time off from contemplating suicide long enough to demonstrate that he has failed to grasp a few of the basic concepts of the SSH:

Imagine the look a "sigma's" face if you cooly put a shotgun to your head and blow your brains out while he is still busy trying to impress everyone with his meaningless job and model girlfriend no one really wants to have anything to do with.

First, Sigmas aren’t trying to impress anyone, not with their jobs and not with their girlfriends. For some reason, Gammas are absolutely obsessed with the idea that everyone is as concerned with what everyone else thinks as they are; the mere thought of not caring what anyone else thinks is as alien to them as the idea of breathing nitrogen.

Of course, as with all things Gamma, no matter what you do, it is proof that the Secret King is right. Act, and your act is deemed to be proof of seeking approval. Refuse to act, and your inaction is deemed to be proof of caring so much about what other people think that you conspicuously didn’t seek approval just to prove you didn’t want it even though you obviously do.

Ironically, this is one reason I justify my natural indifference to what people think; the vast majority of what they say they think makes absolutely no sense and I can’t ever take anyone at their word anyhow due to all of the contradictory machinations and rationalizations that make up their motivations.

Second, don’t think there is a standard “Sigma” reaction to witnessing extreme violence. I’ve seen a young man stabbed in the throat by a purse-snatcher he tried to stop and twice stopped to help motorcyclists who had been hit by cars. My instinct in all three situations was to try to help; everything seemed to slow down and I don’t recall feeling anything at all, I was far too focused on seeing what, if anything, I could do for the injured individual.

But another Sigma might laugh, a third one might be horrified, and the fourth might well shrug and walk away.

“All the evil in the world, and the only thing you want to kill is yourself? Seriously?”

At no point, however, would any of us be impressed with how “cooly” someone managed to off himself. In fact, I think I can identify what I would feel under those circumstances: annoyance. I mean, with all the evil in the world, even in your death you’re still so self-centered and useless that the only person you can think of is yourself.