Is it normal that i feel more remorse towards inanimate objects

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7 Comments

When I hurt or upset people, I rarely feel guilty about it and I don’t often think about how my actions will affect others but sometimes I feel immense guilt about things I’ve done to inanimate objects.

For example, if I waste a bit of food I would feel guilty that the poor food is all alone in the bin wondering why it wasn’t good enough. The same thing happened with a plastic key ring I got for free once and didn’t want and things such as jewellery that I always leave unworn because it isn’t my favourite. And sometimes I will lie awake feeling bad about it.

Realistically, I know that these things don’t have feelings and I am not hurting them but I still feel guilty about.

On the other hand, when I hurt people or animals that I know do have feelings, I don’t really feel much. For example, as a child I caught a small bird and beat it to death in a bag because I wanted to see if I would feel bad.

Is it normal for an adult to feel guilty about ‘hurting the feelings’ of inanimate objects?

Voting Results
30% Normal
Based on 10 votes (3 yes)
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Comments ( 7 )
  • mouldiwarp
    3 years ago

    Do you know if you’re autistic? Different experiences with empathy are common in autistics.

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    • Somenormie
      3 years ago

      Sometimes I empathise when I break things.

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      • mouldiwarp
        3 years ago

        Are you the OP?

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  • YE
    3 years ago

    On the contrary, I hurl insults at objects that take long to find, especially when I'm in a hurry.

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  • bbrown95
    3 years ago

    I think it's normal to feel bad about certain things done to inanimate objects, such as things that are lifelike in a way (such as stuffed animals, or things with "faces" like cars), but I don't think it's normal to prioritize it over how you treat humans and animals.

    I will say that I did something foolish and accidentally damaged part of the interior of my car when I was a teen and still feel bad about it to this day, but mostly because my parents gave me that car that they bought brand new and worked hard for, for free. It was still a relatively new and very nice car then. I also felt bad for my car even though it's an inanimate object, lol. My car has a name and I refer to him by it, as well as "he". He has a face and looks lifelike to me.

    As an equestrian, my saddle is one of my prized possessions as well. Mine is older than I am and has seen its fair share of use and had some imperfections when I got it several years ago, but any time there is a new mark in the leather that can't be buffed out, I feel a little sad inside.

    However, it really is how we treat the sentient beings in our life that matters most. As active as our imaginations can be when it comes to inanimate objects, they really cannot feel, while people and animals can. Do you know the reason why you don't really have any concern for them?

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  • Somenormie
    3 years ago

    Why do you?

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  • donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
    3 years ago

    i dont like to waste food on principle but otherwise stuff is just stuff

    i value it based on what its worth vs how much work ive put into it

    worthless clutter goes in the fuckin trash without a thought

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