Good evening. Or morning, noon, or night, depending on when you are reading this. Once again, I must ask you to have read all the terms and conditions outlined in the journal to which this is a sequel, located for your convenience at http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5885348 as well as having understood all of the Major Points outlined therein. They are essential building blocks for those that follow.





Now, if you HAVE read the previous announcement (which is assumed), this first point should be drilled into you, but I did not make it as blatantly obvious as I could have. In particular, this is because the main idea I was trying to communicate was not directly influenced by it. This time, however, it is a very central building block. So I shall present it in its full and undiluted form:

Important Point Number Four: Everybody Makes Mistakes.

This should require no further explanation. I have expounded heavily upon this facet of humanity, for it did play into my previous maxim. But it is imperitive that I restate it, so that we may contrast it with the following, allowing us to delve deeper towards the crux of the issue I present:

Important Point Number Five: Not Everybody Is a Jerk.

For the purposes of this treatise, we shall define a Jerk as one who exhibits all, or a majority of, the following qualities:

A deep contempt for most people outside their close circles of friendship
An unusually abrasive or unwelcoming personality
A desire to inflict malice or harm on those who, in the mind of the Jerk, have committed some form of offense towards them, usually disproportionate to the oft-imagined insult.
Sarcastic or "smartass" preemptive responses to a question or request that does not deserve such a treatment, usually located on the Jerk's profile in plain view. Bonus Jerk Points if they are exceptionally creative or malicious in this response.
A desire to harm or manipulate other people's emotions for their own personal gain or amusement.

And most importantly, a deliberate and methodical intent to disrupt healthy social interplay, to act in an uncouth, unpleasant manner, or otherwise slight a specific or the general populace. I cannot stress this enough. If they are normally kind, courteous, and understand the error of their ways, they have Made a Mistake. If they intentionally go out of their way to respond viciously to a situation, they are a Jerk. The difficulty lies within the following point, though:

Important Point Number Six: Intentions Are Invisible.

You can very easily quantify a person's actions, motions, and words. You cannot do the same for their thoughts or reasons. For instance, when the crazy-ass guy in his pickup barrels down the highway and narrowly misses turning the both of you into multi-colored smears, you know in your heart that he wasn't showing any regard to your position, but you could not possibly know that his pregnant wife in the back seat was in labor and had a dangerous medical condition thusly intensified.

Likewise, when someone errs towards you, it can often be tough to tell if they meant it or not. On other occasions, though, it is blatantly obvious. In these situations, they may either be malicious in personality, have some contempt for you, or are simply too base to grasp an understanding of why they should be nice to their peers. In any event, it brings us to the next, rather sad point:

Important Point Numbrr Seven: Jerks Do Exist.

Yes. It is sad, but there are people who just don't care enough to be nice. But if we reference Point everyone is a Jerk. The existance of Jerks does not mean we should condemn all of our peers for evil, soulless monsters. It is easy enough, through the means of the internet, to simply disassociate ourselves from those we know to be Jerks, without cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world. And this is especially important, because:

Important Point Number Eight: Some Men Are Angels.

No, I don't mean women can't be Angels. (Or herms, for that matter. ;) ) I mean to use it in the way that we are Mankind. Among us, there are those pure of heart, with enough goodness to spare. They reach out to others because they see darkness festering, or because the other seems to be sad, or just because they desire more contact.

But these people are shut out, because those who would receive this outreach have been damaged too deeply by Jerks, and are unwilling to let new people in. So my solution is twofold. First... as hard as it is, we need to open up more. I do not mean to say it will be totally painless. It's not easy. I, myself, have had difficulty reaching out, and more so letting others reach to me. But it can be done, and it will be better for everyone in the end. The second part of the solution sounds sinple, but is equally vital:

Don't Be A Jerk.

Please. You're hurting yourself by starving yourself of needed social interaction, and you are leaving very deep scars on people who you hurt with your actions. And they are people, and they do feel pain. Because we know that these are not just words on a screen, that there is a person behind them.