I try to be kind, upbeat, etc in my interactions with other people, especially at work. I want to treat others well, work together peacefully, and leave the project happy. I’ve noticed that some people (particularly more curmudgeonly folks) seem to read that attitude as naïveté, and feel like they can walk all over me or treat me like I don’t know what I’m talking about. Why is that?

  • snek_boi@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 month ago

    Here’s three ideas that come up:

    This reminds me of the Fool’s Choice: you either lie and keep friends or you tell the truth and lose friends.

    Similarly, I suppose that people who see kindness as a sign of naiveness have not learned how hostage negotiators do their work. A good hostage negotiator will act kindly, but they’re anything but naive.

    Finally, I suppose whoever is deciding to ‘walk over kind people’ has lots of fears and a fragile identity they need to protect.

    Let me know if you’re interested in learning about where these ideas come from.