Posted by isaacthe54 on January 08, 2001 at 13:01:31:
In Reply to: Re: Narcissism and Fight Club posted by Semper Fi on January 03, 2001 at 18:48:06:
: Actually I did identify with some of the characters that Edward Norton was consumed with. It has to do I think with the way I was brought up to be tough, to rely on myself, always respect your elders and superiors,always say thank you, put others first before yourself, stand up for others when they can't. My friends see me this way and so I try to live up to it the best I can. But its like there is this whole other side of me that they never know about. It's like I seem to have another group of friends and acquaintences that they will never meet. And when they do I get critisized from both sides for hanging out with losers. Not to mention going to the bar with the guys from work every other evening.
i've seen this with myself, too. it is very easy to simply let go of a group and drift over to another. it's interesting, for such a non-social type, that 5s can seem to keep a presence in several social circles at once without a problem. i think it has to do with a reluctance to commit to any of them entirely, while still craving social interaction as much as the next primate. the obvious solution is just to not let anyone know you all the way, and have a group waiting wherever you go. often i have (somewhat accidentally) just stopped interacting with a group of people because it was not convenient to run into them any more. (lived all the way across campus.) other times, i've intentionally done this with groups i didnt' enjoy having around, because it's easier to fade away than to burn bridges.
the interesting thing is how this several group thing seems to affect identity. we don't want our several groups of friends to interact much, becasue then we'd have to be the same person everywhere. (worlds colliding, george costanza.)
isaac