What brilliant insight! On the other hand, we fiction writers are a rare breed who tend to find ourselves alone in a world of “normal” people who can’t relate to us. “Normal” people are usually not “assholes” toward the people they understand and approve of. Still, I wouldn’t argue with William Gibson. His advice here is excellent.
I would respectively argue that some people are, truly and deeply, assholes. They’re rarer than you think, but they’re out there. And they run in packs.
Yes, I’ve got permanent footprints on my back from sociopaths. “Assholes” would be a polite term for them. Psychologists have written that sociopaths comprise 1 to 4 per cent of the population.
Still, a lot of nice, decent people simply don’t know how to tolerate creatives. They are cold and disdainful of us, but warm and supportive of those they understand at a gut level. Similarly, I think many of us are too quick to write off people as “assholes” who merely disagree with us on basic assumptions, usually religious, political or scientific.
Matt Kincade 
Excellent quote.
LikeLike
What brilliant insight! On the other hand, we fiction writers are a rare breed who tend to find ourselves alone in a world of “normal” people who can’t relate to us. “Normal” people are usually not “assholes” toward the people they understand and approve of. Still, I wouldn’t argue with William Gibson. His advice here is excellent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would respectively argue that some people are, truly and deeply, assholes. They’re rarer than you think, but they’re out there. And they run in packs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’ve got permanent footprints on my back from sociopaths. “Assholes” would be a polite term for them. Psychologists have written that sociopaths comprise 1 to 4 per cent of the population.
Still, a lot of nice, decent people simply don’t know how to tolerate creatives. They are cold and disdainful of us, but warm and supportive of those they understand at a gut level. Similarly, I think many of us are too quick to write off people as “assholes” who merely disagree with us on basic assumptions, usually religious, political or scientific.
LikeLike