"I'm alright, Jack" is the bit of honest humanity that it's socially unacceptable to embrace, for some reason.
While it's useful to cooperate socially, we do it for our own means, and thus empathy is useful to encourage this, but to claim you feel for the McCanns, or that Lady Diana's death affected you personally smacks of posturing.

Yes Awesome Rape is a sick thing to post on your profile, but to be morally outraged? Shock news - idiots say idiot things.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 11:25, 1 reply)

Lady Di's death did affect me personally. I frequently had to drive past Althorp on my way to Northampton, and the traffic was terrible.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 12:04, closed)

In which case, I am sorry for you.
Actually - bollocks - I've never met you. I don't care. Sorry.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 12:17, closed)

Hehehe
It's easy to make nasty jokes about people you don't know, but it also works in reverse too eg;

*turns on news*

"....and other news tonight was the passing of Jade Goody. A normal mother who became a nation's favourite finally lost her battle to cancer this morning..."

Firstly, never met the girl. Secondly I never will meet the girl. Thirdly, I never really wanted to meet the girl.

So thankyou Mr Reporter for trying to make us all publicly mourn the passing of this Nation's Treasure. Yeah, dying and leaving kids is a bad thing, don't get me wrong, but if the same situation happened to a family in the same suburb as us the reporters wouldn't give two fucks about it.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 12:34, closed)

However, then it goes full circle.
There is/was an awful underground "magazine" in the punk and anarchist community called "Class War", which pretty well did exactly as it said on the tin - full of articles written by idiots about how they were at war with ... well - everything, especially those they perceived to be middle class, because ... well ... they were fucking middle class, innit. Why? No real idea (these people generally don't) but there it was and that was that.

They used to feature a Page Three Dead Copper Of The Month.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 12:44, closed)

Dear God, Vag.
If I didn't know better, I'd think you were some kind of cynic!
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 12:50, closed)

I used to be a cynic, but I grew up.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 13:00, closed)

I used to be a doe-eyed idealist, but I grew up.
Discuss.
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 13:29, closed)

We all do, sadly.
Except me.

I have An Agreement.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 15:22, closed)

You can't have it both ways
...as the debutante said to the Colonel.
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 16:10, closed)

Racist

( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Mon 26 Jul 2010, 13:48, closed)