In our traditional understanding, indifference is perceived as a serious vice. Mikhail Shemyakin in his famous sculptural group in the center of Moscow places indifference on a kind of throne in the role of the mother of all vices.
In our traditional understanding, indifference is perceived as a serious vice. Mikhail Shemyakin in his famous sculptural group in the center of Moscow places indifference on a kind of throne in the role of the mother of all vices. Experienced readers will remember one of the classic Soviet horror stories – about a man who died in broad daylight in an underpass in New York, and no one paid any attention to him, because no one cares. With a critical look at the bureaucratic system, it was perceived as a soulless machine (a machine, by definition, is completely indifferent), to whose conscience and related emotions a small person cries out in vain. In general, with a general attitude towards collectivism, towards indifference, towards “everything matters”, the assessment of the phenomenon is quite transparent.
Meanwhile, another sculpture from the same Shemyakin group bears the catchy name “For the Unremembered.” Still, the Stalin era left such a bright mark on Russian history that it is worth thinking about the other side of mass indifference. When the neighbor is far from all the same what you said on this or that occasion, what kind of music played in your apartment on the anniversary of Kirov’s death, etc. And a caring car is hardly more pleasant than an indifferent one.
The newest era has given us (conditionally) new examples of criminal indifference – when attackers care about the fact that you have a significant amount of money in your pocket, or that grandfather is left alone registered in a Moscow apartment. Of course, each of us can offhand give a lot of examples when it would be better if you and I were left alone, rather than harassed with bad intentions. Let’s not break into an open door and chew on the obvious for a long time. In the same basket – banal considerations about the bureaucratic machine. If she is properly tuned, there is no need to beg her for anything at all. Its algorithmic indifference is outlined by clear boundaries and crowned with the required result.
Let’s talk about less obvious things.
From this line, our indifference is good, “plus”, caused by the desire to help, educate, goodwill, positive sociability; in general, we are dealing with the façade of collectivist attitudes, and not with their underside. And let’s start from the very beginning.
A person of general position (well, for definiteness – a man) begins the day in the context of his own separate apartment. Members of his family can swarm here, but everyone is at the beginning of his day, starts in his own direction, in due time – his own, so to speak, air echelon. The man is tying his tie. Let’s assume for a moment that everyone else (with the best intentions, of course) cares what kind of tie he picked for this shirt and this suit. A heated discussion in Italian style follows. Would you like? Thanks, no.
A personal car is the objectification of personal space. But even if our hero uses public transport, physical tightness should not develop into a metaphysical one. The most benevolent attention from the outside may not be desirable now. A person is considering options for a situation in the service – let’s not even get into his skull, finally! – elementary thinks about his own. An elderly neighbor on the minibus treats him with his discoveries about traffic jams, corruption, migration policy, and when exactly life was better. I think we will not be mistaken if we say that our man listens to these revelations without interest, and it would be better if they did not exist.
Here he is at work. If someone needs him on business, there are no questions. More precisely, there are questions – there are answers. If he needs someone, symmetrically. Moreover, let’s slow down – there are people with whom he is connected by mutual sympathy, and we are ready to allow elements of indifference.
– You’re kind of sad today.
You can answer: “Yes. And there are reasons for that, ”and this is one version of the development of the topic. Or you can: “No, it seemed to you,” and this is another option. More precisely, the zero option, since persistence is not expected here. Instead, delicacy and respect for the notorious personal space are assumed.
… And indifferent nature … Exactly, you are obviously deeply indifferent to a forest, meadow or river. However, something pulls you towards the forest, meadow and river. Moreover, the sprouts of ecological consciousness urge us not only to protect nature, but also, if possible, to learn from it. And sometimes it is possible to catch in a saturated and densely populated urban environment this very natural note – non-aggression, absent-mindedness, happy inattention to you, for which you willingly reciprocate.
Of course, there are other situations as well. For example, in the same compartment with normal neighbors, cherishing your loneliness all day long is rather abnormal. My personal observation: like 20-30 years ago, communication is gradually getting better. But about an hour and a half slower than 20-30 years ago. An experienced sociologist would derive from this the appropriate formula for the percentage of individualism in the atmosphere of the epoch. I prefer to confine myself to observation and careful evaluation: in my opinion, this is rather good.