The greatest misconception of MBTI: Cynicism

[Quinlan]

I think the second form (the bitter cynicism) is the most common and has nothing to do with T or F and has more to do with how much someone has been hurt/betrayed in the past. Te and Fe are probably more likely to be hurt/failed by one person or thing and then apply that as a rule to all other persons and things. So basically I think that kind of cynicism is related to Je.

 

[cafe]

And then there's the other kind of cynicism, the less common one. People don't seem to recognize the difference between this kind of cynicism and the former kind all that well. That doesn't change the fact that there're a few F's (admittedly, a MINORITY of F's, the kind of F that I always see getting mistyped as a T) who believe in it, though. It's a bitter kind of cynicism. An angry kind of cynicism. It's the kind of cynicism that is born when an F lives their life believing in an ideal (perhaps it's true love, perhaps it's eternal peace... it could be anything), and then one day experiences something that completely shatters that belief. When something like that happens it can piss off a feeler so badly to the point that said feeler goes in the complete opposite direction and learns to hate life. He/she looks at everything they see and learns to bitterly say "Fuck it. It can't be real. It can't mean anything like I used to think it did."

I'm this kind in a sort of controlled way. I believe in true love and that has worked out pretty well for me so far.

It's the religious stuff that has really brought the bitterness/cynicism most for me. And it was many incidents, not just one. One could be an anomaly. What I've seen is no anomaly.

I still believe in the ideal and in the principles. Somehow I got through the crisis that was Bible college with my faith in God in tact. But it's a transformed kind of faith. Deeper and more resilient, is the best way I can describe it.

My faith in religious people and institutions is what is mostly shot. And people and institutions in general. Good people are the exception, not the rule, in church and outside church, with no discernible difference in concentration. The main difference is that church people like to hide their self-serving behavior behind a bunch of pretty lies a bit more than the others.

And yet, I'm still trying to find a church I don't hate. Last Sunday we tried the Salvation Army church and I kinda liked it. Maybe they don't believe that Rush Limbaugh is God and Glen Beck is his prophet. I know. I'm just setting myself up. Again.

My NT husband has been on basically the same ride as I have and might have a slightly more indifferent cynicism, but it's fairly close.

 

[onemoretime]

I'm this kind in a sort of controlled way. I believe in true love and that has worked out pretty well for me so far.

It's the religious stuff that has really brought the bitterness/cynicism most for me. And it was many incidents, not just one. One could be an anomaly. What I've seen is no anomaly.

I still believe in the ideal and in the principles. Somehow I got through the crisis that was Bible college with my faith in God in tact. But it's a transformed kind of faith. Deeper and more resilient, is the best way I can describe it.

My faith in religious people and institutions is what is mostly shot. And people and institutions in general. Good people are the exception, not the rule, in church and outside church, with no discernible difference in concentration. The main difference is that church people like to hide their self-serving behavior behind a bunch of pretty lies a bit more than the others.

And yet, I'm still trying to find a church I don't hate. Last Sunday we tried the Salvation Army church and I kinda liked it. Maybe they don't believe that Rush Limbaugh is God and Glen Beck is his prophet. I know. I'm just setting myself up. Again.

My NT husband has been on basically the same ride as I have and might have a slightly more indifferent cynicism, but it's fairly close.

Don't worry, most people are essentially good and want to do the right thing. It's just that such people are generally not drawn to positions of power (which a religious organization certainly is). It's usually not their fault that they support reprehensible ideas; they really think it's for the common good. Not to mention that most people are concerned with their social status above most other things, and with good reason - it's the most controllable factor in reproductive potential.

Just know that the story of the Good Samaritan isn't significant because he helped - almost anyone would help in such a circumstance when there are no social consequences. It's significant because it demonstrates that the odd action is the willful indifference of the orthodox Jew toward his brother. That even when he had nothing to lose, he still refused to help.