There are two things that I absolutely loathe (or h***, but I don't use that word):
- pity, and
- vicarious embarrassment.
The first one I don't do (pity others), and I guess my loathing for the emotion has prevented me from ever developing a character that could inspire the same emotion in others (I never get pitied myself). (And if someone did express behavior that could be interpreted as pity towards me, I would definitely get mad and cocky to the point of effectively making them loathe me and thus demolishing any such empathy-related emotions in them.)
The second one is trickier than the first, though. I can't help doing it at times. For instance, I threw a party earlier this year. The venue was the private cabinet of a fancy restaurant. One of the guests, a relative of mine, stole a cloth napkin, for no better reason than to take a leftover sandwich to go. I told her not to do it - there would surely be another way to pack the sandwich. She said "they won't notice" and stole it anyway.
Let's just say that I wish I were incapable of feeling what I felt in that moment.
What makes me physically ill is knowing that I, too, have probably inspired such a feeling in someone else with my behavior - although, it must be admitted, I have never used that excuse of "they won't notice" to steal anything.
Nevertheless.
