What Happened to Compassion? by Paige Sumowski

What happened to compassion?

I understand teenage years are selfish years, and that right now a lot of people our age are consumed by their grades or their extracurriculars or building their resume or working a job or friendships or more-than-friendships or whatever may be going on in your personal life. I get it. I do the same thing. 

But, at least from what I've seen, we don't have a lot of empathy for people around us. 

I recently heard a story that made my heart sink, my eyes tear up, and my fists clench. Someone went through something awful, something no one should have to experience. Ever. I'm not going to tell everyone reading this what it was, because it's not my story to tell, and I don't know if he would be comfortable with that. Let's just say it was incredibly dehumanizing. And it happened in this school. 

However, I told some people this story, people I didn't expect to react much (although I hoped they would), and people I thought would be as indignant as I was. The biggest reaction I received, the biggest empathetic reaction I received, was a "that sucks" and a shrug.

What the hell happened to compassion? 

I get that people aren't as generally angry about things as I am. (I have a bit of a rage issue... whoops.) I don't expect people to be as angry or upset as I am about certain things. 

But I do expect empathy. 

Hostility is what causes these issues. Indifference is what preserves them. 

I can't make you care about anything, and I guess you can't control that either. We can't care about everything. That would be incredibly emotionally draining. But next time you talk to someone about something they're concerned about, or you see something you know isn't right (even if you can't relate), or you hear about someone's experiences, put yourself in their shoes. Imagine what they're going through. And take five minutes, just five minutes, and think about them. 

This doesn't mean you aren't allowed to think about yourself, or that it's not good. It's important to consider our own worries and lives. Just remember that it's important to think about other people too. 

I think it's important to understand that if someone is telling you something, they're opening up to you. They're making themselves vulnerable, and no one wants to be vulnerable. It's not a comfortable feeling. So if they tell you something, don't walk away. Don't give a "that sucks" and move on. Listen to what they have to say. Most of the time, all you have to do is listen. 

Don't be this dude.