"Positive" People: Their Unrealistic and Condescending Disposition

Marvel's Mister Negative.

It’s been a while since I’ve worn the social critic hat. This may become a series of blogs concerning things that has been on my mind, but I never got around to writing it. Look, I get it. I really do. You don’t want to be a person or around people who are “negative.” I understand it can be draining to be around a person or people like that. Personally, being a proponent of being careful what you feed your mind as well as what you feed your body, I try to be careful of the type of social media that I take in because it can create negative energy.

Take YouTube for example. I’ve come to the point where there’s videos I either avoid or I’ll choose to watch another time because with some content creators it’s almost always something negative. Sometimes, I’ll look for something that’s funny— which you have to be careful because too much of that is not good— or definitely something that’s uplifting in a mentally productive way. For instance, a motivational video, or something that will enlighten me. To be fair, there are some who touch on topics and issues that need to be addressed, so it’s not so much that they’re being “negative,” just they’re being honest and calling it how they see it.

But again, too much consumption of it can have a negative influence on you and your day, if you’re not careful. To a degree, I understand the whole “positive” thing. Think positive, talk positive, etc. However, there is this: you still should be aware of the world that’s going on around you, and it’s not all “positive.” Take the plight of “black” folks, for example. Thinking and talking positively alone is not going to change the dire mess we’re in, or make it go away. I suggest being positive about taking action to change our situation. Being positive is great, but some people have their heads in the clouds.

Some "positive" people have no compassion for what others are going through. Before I go further, a quick disclaimer: I'm not saying to feel sorry for them or coddle them. That's not where I'm going with this, but kicking them while they're down doesn't help, either.

 They're not dealing with what others are dealing with, their situation may be a little or perhaps a lot better, so they look down on or talk down to them. When in conversation, they will listen to respond versus listening to understand. They will say things like: "talk about something more positive," or "just think positive thoughts," as if doing that alone will change the situation or in some cases, they will tell you that bullshit in an attempt to get you to change the subject. After all, they don't have any of those problems, their life is a breeze-- until they until end up in your situation or similar.

It's easy to tell people that when they're not the ones going through it, but all it takes is one pink slip or in the case of a percentage of black women, their white daddy (i.e. the government) to pull the rug from under them— a subject for another blog— to be in the same situation as the person or people they chose to kick while he, she, or they were down.

So I’m thinking: I don’t want to ruin folks’ “good vibrations” with my so-called negativity, so continue to fly around the room and float on your cloud nine. Let Calgon take you away. FOH. People like that need to keep in mind that seasons change; remember that if/when their situation takes a turn for the worst.

I get that you don’t want to be a person who is doom and gloom or be as the accusation of me I described a few paragraphs above, but at the same time, why can’t people be honest about their thoughts and feelings or what they’re dealing with at that particular time in their lives? What are they supposed say, I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it? What do you want them to do, lie?

I can’t reiterate this enough. You don’t want to be a person or be around a person who is always down in the dumps, always complaining, and always have something negative to say. I understand a person like that can be a pain and draining to be around. You can be dealing with things or going through a hard time and still remain optimistic. Granted, that’s easier said than done, but it can be done. So yes, being “positive” is great, but you also want to be realistic.