Soft Spot for the Socially Awkward

The world is filled with socially awkward or less attuned individuals, and I have a total soft spot for them. Maybe its the fact that when it comes to myself I'm totally a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of individual. That's what I've been doing since I entered school in middle school (home schooled through elementary). Granted  social interactions aren't hard for me, I possess oodles of empathy, a totally winning personality and I'm modest to boot.

I get it. Social interactions can be hard for someone out of practice. The million little nuances of facial expressions, body language, tone, and language choices are hard. Sometimes its hard to interact with strangers, its hard to be outgoing if you don't have a big  or assertive personality. Not everyone is good at faking it, not everyone wants to try and fake it and nobody really has to. It makes things distinctly easier, but not necessarily, perfect.

I don't get it. Just because someone doesn't fallow all the rules of polite conversation doesn't mean they should be treated like some kind of pariah. Eye contact is good form, but not everyone can keep eye contact while talking. Whatever their reason, it doesn't matter it's just their quirk. An even exchange, a back and forth is proper etiquette for a conversation, but some people just like to talk. Whether its two hours about inorganic chemistry or their entire life story, it isn't important why they do or don't see the listeners disinterest. It's doesn't matter it's just their little quirk.

Be it my perpetual love of the underdog or the rebel in me fighting for the social outcasts. It doesn't matter its just my little quirk. I try really, really hard never to be short or rude to anyone, whether they talk to me while facing the wall or tell me their entire life story without even knowing my first name. Everyone gets lonely. Everyone needs someone to talk to. Everyone deserves common decency and respect. Everyone has their own little quirks and it just doesn't matter.

So please, please don't try and try and talk shit to me about the guy who just spent the last five minutes telling me and anyone else who would listen about the life cycle of the peregrine falcon. I may not have cared about the flight patterns of a falcon and I may think the man was in desperate need of a shower, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to let you belittle or ridicule him once he's gone.