There are (many) people who will only let you play with them if they believe you think more of them than you do of yourself.
They will allow you to come near their firelight if you allow them to be the Leader~ if you dare display autonomy or initiative, if you dare state observations that don't match up with what their own Leaders have said, then you will be ousted forthwith, or otherwise punished, often with attempts at humiliation and smearing your name to anyone within earshot. They don't feel remorse about ostracizing, bullying, or smearing, it's a game to them, they enjoy it just as much as they enjoy luring their next "follower" to trust them.
Knowledge is power; know that there are a lot more people like this out there than we realize, and a lot more than any of us have ever met. When we know that there are monsters in the woods, we are forewarned, not "dwelling in negativity". (That's, of course, what a monster would say, so we don't bring any flashlights or weapons with us into the woods.)
They will allow you to come near their firelight if you allow them to be the Leader~ if you dare display autonomy or initiative, if you dare state observations that don't match up with what their own Leaders have said, then you will be ousted forthwith, or otherwise punished, often with attempts at humiliation and smearing your name to anyone within earshot. They don't feel remorse about ostracizing, bullying, or smearing, it's a game to them, they enjoy it just as much as they enjoy luring their next "follower" to trust them.
Knowledge is power; know that there are a lot more people like this out there than we realize, and a lot more than any of us have ever met. When we know that there are monsters in the woods, we are forewarned, not "dwelling in negativity". (That's, of course, what a monster would say, so we don't bring any flashlights or weapons with us into the woods.)
