ATRUISM!! !!

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I used to be very altruistic. I hated that everyone else wasn't. If I could help out a seemingly decent person, I did. Even if my own stuff had to wait. I did this to a good degree into my 30s. Today, I am cynical. I even told my mother I was shocked to find that my blood type was AB+! WHY? Because I figured I had to be O- so I could give blood to anyone, and accept from nobody. Instead, I find I can accept from anyone(OK, RBC anyway) and give to few. So I guess my body's chemistry was not geared towards the same altruistic goal. Oh well, I guess the PLASMA is. 8-(

How about YOU? were you altruistic? Are you altruistic?

Steve

I used to be like that, too.

Tim

Definately, to the point that I'm nearly killing myself trying to help certain people.

I kind of am. I've come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is help others while helping myself. That, and I'm not under any obligation to help others, nor is it my duty to "save the world".

This does not mean however, that I'm going to give up on it.


I don't plan on going up on a cross. And in general if that's expected, I become much more hesistant. I don't like the idea of being obligated to do anything. Nor in general do I feel that others should be obligated either.

I'm not entirely sure if Altruism actually exists or not. But there are some people that are so absolutely wonderful, it puts a lot of uncertainity into that idea.


While I don't think that people should help others so much, that it comes at a great personal cost? There is no one else I admire greater.

Very altruistic, very idealistic.

Sooner or later, I'm either going to kill myself trying to save the world, or else I'll burn out and become totally cynical. Don't think there's a middle ground.

When I was very young about 5ish,I believed something in the bible about a person being able to transcend their physical shells by being really "good".So I tried really hard.I would try and control everything I said,did and thought and feel guilty when I failed to be perfect.I would rescue bugs that were drowning in the swimming pool,stick up for kids that where being picked on,not swear or gossip.
I could never be "good enough" to transcend ,so I eventually stopped trying and became the cynic I am today.I still feel guilty if I do anything that hurts people and have a natural need to help the "weak and vulnerable" not out of altruism but because I feel like one of them.My problem is that I will buy things or go out of my way to do favors but I will not sacrifice my obsessions(free time for them) and cant overcome my social phobia.I have thought many times about getting involved with helping politicians I like get elected or volunteering for food shelves.....but I would have to drive,be around people and spend less time doing my hobbies....and probably do something to screw things up.So I am both caring and very selfish....go figure.

I give money to charity, almost to a fault, signing up for regular donations to charities that I know I can't afford. I have the same kind of bleeding-heart sensibilities that my mother has in that regard...

... on the other hand, though, I'm also prone to being incredibly cynical about things - especially things relying on human nature being basically good.

I'm very altruistic until I went bang a few months ago.

Still cant let it go yet, and even now while still quite ill I end up helping people when I shouldnt.

Slowly coming round to the realisation that I cant help others if I'm dead so i need to help myself first. Very hard when my very few friends are also having many problems right now.

I have been frustrated by my inability to give on a personal level. I have met many people (NTs) who have the ability to make other people happy just by being with them... whether it is caring for children, helping homeless, candy striping, whatever. I would really like to get into that kind of relationship, like being a big brother or tutoring someone, but I have a fear that people aren't interested in my presence... they don't feel my warmth, and so I can't really give that warmth out as many others can.

While I was working as a software engineer in the dotcom era, I definitely had more money than I needed, and it was kind of sad that my money became the biggest way that I could contribute to causes that I believed in. A part of why I quit working 8 months ago was because the discipline of living on a small budget makes sure that money isn't my "big thing"... it has forced me to learn who I really am, and part of that was recently learning I had Asperger's.

But my obsessive nature also has advantages in giving... I tend to seek out smaller more obscure ways to give that many people might overlook. For instance one of my biggest activist acts was going to court to protest forest fees. Forest fees are an issue that most people don't seem to care about, but I can see that they are preventing access to wilderness for poor people and slowly privatizing our public lands.
Probably nobody but an Aspie would have done all the legal research and pushed it as far as I did... the judge had to write up an 8 page decision on my case because of all the info I brought in.

My motto:

Help yourself; help others

I used to strive for altruism, but it often makes things worse. Volunteering is still part of my life. I'm certified in First Aid, but quit taking the CPR part because it got too confusing. I tend to take care of myself more now so I can better take care of my daughter in the future. But after all the times I've been burned by volunteering or helping, I mostly stay away from it. I'm a bitter young man. Well, not so young anymore, but more bitter than ever. BITTER I tells ya!