popularity splinken the goddam phone will never quit ringing. 030402 ... Plan 17 You should quit watching those tapes. 030402 ... phil you'll get glue in your eyes 030402 ... dragonfly7 I'd like to see i have no interest in being popular and that i could quite happily spend my life alone. The truth is that friends and fammily are the most important things in world. Don't confuse poularity with respect! I want to be respected, and not liked, rather than liked and not respected. 030828 ... minnesota_chris It's good to know who hates you. And its a good thing to be hated by the right people. --Johnny Cash 030918 ... that makes me smile 030918 ... im not telling :-) 040303 ... dafremen Once wrote about the misconception we have about "popularity." About how ACTUAL popularity organically arises out of a person's natural energy, and that MUCH of what we call popularity is achieved by manipulative means, even though we don't tend to see it that way. How many have put on a "good first impression"? Innocent enough, right? How many fell for that first impression and ended up in a bad relationship? Mmm hmm. See, if you have to put on an impression to be liked, you're faking it and hiding something. And then there are those of us who can only take this manipulative way of living in small doses. Couldn't imagine wanting to juggle all of the ego needs around me until the day I die, just to garner the admiration of a fickle humanity. (I remember back when saying "don't trust the billionaires or do what they say" would get applause from 'progressives' during Occupy. Oh how things changed when the billionaires wanted to inject us. Like I said, that's not a connection worth jumping through hoops to obtain. Learned that the hard way.) So what's the point of fake popularity? The kind that comes from juggling relationships and soothing ego trips and manipulating public perception? What's the point of it? A hedge against loneliness, insecurity? An accumulation of social power? Some primitive, deceptive way that egos connect with each other..to avoid spending time with themselves..? Know thyself is the key to ego release. No wonder egos choose to connect in a superficial way. They probably don't know any better..I mean can figments of our imaginations ACTUALLY connect? Or only appear to? 220131 what's it to you? who go blather from