not a secret

as always, post secret is providing plenty to discuss in my little corner of the web. there is a card this week in which a person confesses to hoping for another terrorist attack in manhattan so that real estate prices will drop. (read that line again...let it sink in for a minute.)

this kind of attitude reveals a whole new kind of self-centeredness. i almost can't even discuss it, it's so gross. but, naturally, i am going to try.

one of my primary observations about post secret has been the frequency with which thought patterns/personal pains/tragic desires are repeated. often these revelations are self-centered in a self-destructive, overwhelmed, dismal sort of way. many of these people seem to be so enveloped in their own pain and fears that they can hardly open their eyes wide enough to be reminded of the world outside of their own minds. that makes sense to me. i can feel compassion for that kind of solipsism. but this guy... (i am deeply sorry for the implications and fully own the injustice of this, but i am going to go ahead and assume this card was crafted by a man.) this type of self-absorption has nothing to do with genuine emotional or physiological pain. this is purely venomous opportunism. this guy doesn't want something about his current state of being to improve for the sake of his psychological quality of life. he wants people to die so he can buy an apartment at a more reasonable price. to the extent that this anonymous narcissist deserves defense, i will say that he included on his card an acknowledgment that he will go to hell for this desire. i kind of wish that i believed in antiquated mythological constructions like "hell" just so that i could get some satisfaction out of picturing him there.
this guy is a bastard. everyone wishes that real estate prices in manhattan were lower, but this guy has a plan for how that might happen and it is a grotesque one. but his submission begs a question... how common is this kind of thing? as common as many of the other sentiments revealed on the site? as common as cheating or lying to "get ahead" at the expense of others? as common as employing race or gender privilege to maintain power or success? is it as common as sacrificing human lives to protect a political career? is it really any different from killing for oil?

where do we live?