Current Events > How can you tell if someone actually has empathy or is faking it?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've always assumed the only person that has actual empathy for you is your family. Friends come and go, therefore it's hard to assess if their concern for you is only conditional. I'm at this age point in my life where I need to be more discerning of whom I interact with. But lately I can't seem to tell the difference between someone that's faking "niceness" vs someone that genuinely cares.

I'm asking for too much right? It's better to assume human beings are intrinsically evil.

If they work in customer service

At this point, I'll accept a fake empathy than apathy

Family doesnt always have empathy for you and friends dont always go. Seems like your assessment is askew due to your shitty outlook on life in general.

Tenlaar posted...

Family doesnt always have empathy for you and friends dont always go. Seems like your assessment is askew due to your shitty outlook on life in general.

Very much this.

My family are, by and large, shitbags with no empathy for anybody. However, theres no shortage of decent people in the world.

You don't have to be close to someone, or even know them at all, to experience empathy.

Eh even if they are faking it the fact they thought enough to try and fake it still means they care about you.

I fake it most the time but it's more to do with me being unable to express genuine emotions in social settings than me actually not caring.

I guess what I really wanted to ask was: How can you tell if someone is a good person vs a dirt bag degenerate?

https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/023/180/notsurprisedkirk.jpg

Iamdepressed posted...

I guess what I really wanted to ask was: How can you tell if someone is a good person vs a dirt bag degenerate?

No foolproof way. Even your own presumptions can make a real good person looks like a dirtbag.
Simply judge them by what they did. If a scumbag doing the good things then it's enough.

Iamdepressed posted...

I guess what I really wanted to ask was: How can you tell if someone is a good person vs a dirt bag degenerate?

Which do they behave like, particularly when they can behave how they want to? Thats your answer.

most people have some empathy, it's easier to tell who have none at all.

Iamdepressed posted...

It's better to assume human beings are intrinsically evil.

Username seem fairly accurate, but iamanedgelord might have been better.

Iamdepressed posted...

I guess what I really wanted to ask was: How can you tell if someone is a good person vs a dirt bag degenerate?

Most people are both those things at some point in their lives, and spend large parts of it occupying the middle ground.

If they are doing good things, or treating a person well, they can't be all bad.