I feel sorry for you.

[Boneasse]

So I was watching the telly earlier, as you do, and I tuned in on a one of those blasted Animal Rescue shows on Animal Planet. I'm not saying the show is bad, I'm just saying that watching the show can be a bit depressing, with all those herendous acts of animal cruelty. And that's when it struck me;

I felt, genuinely, honestly, completely, and from the bottom of my heart, sorry for all those poor animals. At which point I realised; It was actually a long time since I had felt that way, as I tend not to watch a lot of TV and such, and the internet (where I spend a lot of my time) is filled with... Well... Stupid people (The Escapist excluded... Naturally... I think).

SO! That got me wondering; Dear Escapist, when was the last time you felt genuinely sorry for, well, anything? Could be a person, animal, an act or a certain event.

Do you tend to feel pity towards others, if you are in a situation that for them, is difficult? Or how do you tackle such situations?

In other words; are you someone who shows a lot of empathy?

 

[Wadders]

I always get tears come to my eyes when the news and documentaries have interviews with the friends and familiers of soldiers killed in action. They've lost someone they love, in a foregin country and my heart always goes out to them.

I always feel bad seeing tramps and homeless dudes too.

 

[Leg End]

Kittens.
Stories of children being killed by their parents.
Certain posts on 99chan(related to above).
The save the animals commercial that I am seeing right now on TV. Son of a *****.
The twin daughters of that one dipshit that killed them.
ect. without grossing people out.

 

[SimuLord]

I don't deal in pity. I expect none for my own misfortune and give none at the misfortune of others. Empathy, yes. Assistance, where I can provide it. But pity, never.

 

[Blitzwarp]

I always get tears come to my eyes when the news and documentaries have interviews with the friends and familiers of soldiers killed in action. They've lost someone they love, in a foregin country and my heart always goes out to them.

I always feel bad seeing tramps and homeless dudes too.

This would be my answer. I live in Wootton Bassett in the UK, the town the British dead come through, and it's just so sad - it somehow makes it worse that the streets are always crowded with those who wish to pay their respects, as it shows the strength of human compassion. (The few interlopers who show up hoping to be on television are quickly disposed of. -.-)

 

[SomeLameStuff]

I usually don't feel sorry for people. Though sometimes I slip up, like when WBC decided to picket that girl's funeral.

 

[Brandon237]

I have a strong sense of empathy, so the pity rolls in pretty easily. I often for bad for people/ animals... especially with all the cruelty in the world.

The one I remember most starkly was hearing about a woman on an ambulance where the paramedics weren't paying attention. The didn't watch anything and they had forgotten to close the back doors. The woman fell out the back of the ambulance and died. If I met the paramedic... I'd have some pretty harsh words with them... and make sure that whatever hard object was closest did the talking.

 

[Something Amyss]

I DON'T NEED YER DAMN SYMPATHY!

Oh, wait....

Do you tend to feel pity towards others, if you are in a situation that for them, is difficult? Or how do you tackle such situations?

In other words; are you someone who shows a lot of empathy?

I tend to empathise a lot, but I don't outright pity people often.

 

[Hosker]

Why do you semi-colons where you should use colons?

I don't have much empathy at all. Only for the people I care about do I have any.

 

[Hiraeth]

The people in Queensland. Massive flooding, I think the death toll has hit 15? It's a goddamn tragedy to see so much damage. God forbid I ever lose my home, I really feel for those folks.

Yeah it's pretty lame here right now to be honest.

Don't feel too bad about the death toll though, most of it is idiots jumping off bridges into the floods for fun, or swimming or boarding. Seriously, listening over the police scanner (friends a journo) even some of the emergency services are pissed off at how stupid some people are.

I wasn't really feeling anything for the flood victims until I read this earlier today:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/how-jordan-died-to-save-his-brother-20110112-19obf.html
Poor kid. He drowned because he asked the guy who was rescuing him to save his brother, then they didn't have time to get to him and his mum.

 

[Verp]

I show empathy the way I have learned from other people, but I generally am unable to feel empathy.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I don't deal in pity. I expect none for my own misfortune and give none at the misfortune of others. Empathy, yes. Assistance, where I can provide it. But pity, never.

Wise words, you could teach a lot to the kids of our generation

I felt sorry for my friend who came out to her parents and they just kicked her out the house. I felt sorry for her not because there wasn't anything I could (because there was and I did do it) but how painful it is to not be accepted by your parents by something so trvial

 

[Lerxst]

Wait, you're asking a person who spent the past 7 years working directly in Animal Rescue. I feel genuine sorrow for any of them that were brought to those conditions by humans. I feel even worse for the wild ones who have been impacted by humans in some way - deer being hunted, rabbits being hit by cars, hawks flying into electrical lines, etc.

I feel the worst for the wild animals forced to live with people against their will; even bred into captivity despite their wild instincts. I feel the worst for parrots... tearing their feathers off, ripping their skin out and screaming all day while they live decades of their lives confined to a cage all because someone thought they were cute and funny when they were babies in a pet store. Yeah, people are selfish pricks.

 

[DarkShadow144]

yeah...most people these days dont give a damn about other people but show them one of those animal rescue/adoption commercials and they will either burst into tears or be forced to change to channel

 

[Koroviev]

I'm generally not affected by tragedies circulating the news, but I've been following Congresswoman Giffords progress very closely. I hope she turns out all right.

 

[GeorgW]

I can feel empathy, I just don't care. Especially not about humans. Maybe if I know someone I'll feel bad if something really bad happened to them. But otherwise, when the news say that 10'000 has been killed, they might as well have said 2 flies, that's how little I care.

 

[shadyh8er]

I'm the kind of person who dwells on things long after they're over. Like on my way to school this morning I say a guy with a backpack trudging through the snow. I'm still thinking to myself "did he reach where he was going safely?"

 

[Random berk]

I remember a story a while back, where some guy on a bus in London stood up to some guys who were insulting his girlfriend. He wasn't even getting angry, he stayed calm, but the bastards mobbed him and stabbed him several times with their switchblades, then simply walked off the bus at the next stop. No one made an attempt to stem the bleeding or call an ambulance. He died on the bus surrounded by people who wanted to see the blood. His girlfriend asked one guy who was standing over him to give her his coat so she could cover him up, and the guy just said no. These kind of stories do invoke some pity in me, but it quickly becomes overwhelmed by rage at the people who would do these kinds of things. Christ, I'd like to think in that position I'd at least try to help keep the kid alive, rather than just stand idly by and watch.

 

[FamoFunk]

When I see old people sitting or eating alone. It puts a lump in my troat, I just want to hug them.

 

[Hader]

Empathy, yes. But pity, no. Those few people that I ever shown pity for in my life (at least people I know personally) have since slipped out of my life. I do not like to feel pity for someone, it is never a desired emotion. And I do my best to avoid it.

I plan on becoming a volunteer, part-time EMT sometime in the near future, which I think will help me empathize with more people (maybe). That is a blurry concept of the job to me now. But I do wish tp help people, and I have always been told I hold some good skills for being an EMT, so I think that's a good start at least.

When I see old people sitting or eating alone. It puts a lump in my troat, I just want to hug them.

Heh, I have a friend that usually does in that situation

It's amusing. In a good way of course.