“It is shame the young people doing it are so oblivious to how their repulsive looks make it difficult for people put off by them to have to look at their face and deal with them.”
One of the things that startled me in my working career is the number of otherwise smart people who regularly sabotaged their own success. For example, the guy who did fabulous work, but then showed up drunk at an important meeting with the boss. Then, there were pleasant people who would go out of their way to be gratuitously rude to somebody important to their job. These things usually happened on the eve of raises or promotions. Why? It made no sense.
I used to think we generally do what is in our best interest. I told my brother that and he replied, “then why do I smoke?”
Got me thinking. We sabotage ourselves a lot. A lot of people are just under stress. I don’t think we were meant to live in extreme rat-race conditions of stressful commutes followed by hectic work days then race home to take the kids to soccer and karate.
Ever since women left the home and entered the workplace in great numbers, things have gotten really stressful. And inflation insured that we are now no better off. Now it just takes 2 incomes to accomplish what used to take one solid income.
But I get your point. Yes, a lot of intelligent people fall into traps that really hurt what could otherwise be happy lives. I do blame the stress and the lack of support these days.