Fact Check - Being Nice

Kiteretsunu We all love and like nice people. Nice people are people devoid of controversies, people who are the epitome of positivity, people whom none hate, nor do you hear one bad thing about them from anyone. Liking them won't raise eyebrows from anyone. Being nice guarantees your being uninvolved in arguments with people, and the security of not being hated by anyone. It also provides us the security that there will at least be someone who'll be prepared to help you in the time of need. Being nice makes you popular, and provides you with a crowd of admirers. Being nice is also something you sometimes do half-heartedly, cause there are times when you do feel frustrated about something , frustrated with someone, but because of the nice image you have maintained so far, you can't show it to others. Being nice all the time sometimes does leave you with a heavy heart, as you can't let the rage out that is stored inside you. Being nice comes with a lot of perks but it also comes with a lot of behavioral restrictions. Being nice is something we all desire at the beginning, but it is also something we grow quickly tired of after sometime. Being nice is something what our peers expect from us, but it isn't what we always want from ourselves. Being nice all the time is what a civilized society expects from us, and it's this peer pressure that forces us to be nice all the time.

There is a difference between being nice and being kind. Being nice is a behavioral restriction, but being kind is something you do with your own kind heart. A seemingly cold person may do deeds of kindness without showing a smile on their face (while getting the satisfaction of doing a good deed without actually showing it on their face). Saving someone from a bully is an act of kindness, but sharing the sorrow of the victim and saying uplifting things to them and doing nothing to actually solve the problem is an act of being nice.

Being nice is what the society expects from us. Is being nice really that necessary? Is it really the sign of a civilized society? Isn't being youself without putting a fake smile on your face enough?

But being nice has its advantages (as outlined in the first paragraph of this post). And because of these benefits we all try to be nice all the time, which is indirectly an act of selfishness.
Which means being nice, in someway and indirectly, an act of selfish human behavior.

Comments

So niceness = empathy? Seems accurate enough as kind is a word I've began to start disliking. There's too many synonyms for good in the English Language. - Puga

There are many words that define positivity in English. And I think there is much difference between the word nice and the word kind. The same difference as between clever and cunning. - Kiteretsunu

Nice post, Kitretsunu. - Delgia2k

Another point which spans from this is that with the custom in society of being nice, we all need at least one positive quality to stand out. Even if an admirer of someone with mainly negative traits likes them for unusual reasons, they have a supported aspect of positivity. This highlights that people like someone or something for different reasons, whether it's good or bad, they justify their liking for it with much or little rational reasoning, based on their background and way of thinking. In a certain culture, one thing which counts as nice may be repulsive for some individuals, who live in this society and put up with it every day. They can't take the pressure to falsify their appreciation at times, and it is this that makes them come across as a bad person. Which is why I think we should be more insightful when we think about unpopular opinions. - PositronWildhawk

This Fact Check makes me very grateful that I'm a person who cannot do anything they don't feel genuinely for. And I agree with this post wholeheartedly; - keycha1n

Excellent job, K.

I'd consider you both kind and "nice", for what it's worth. - PetSounds

I think I'm being nice, but I'm not afraid to stand up for myself. - Garythesnail

Amen. - visitor

People at my school who are "nice" have at least one enemy: me. I get called horrible because I am "cruel" to these people. They deserve it. - visitor

I'm nice to people I'm friends with, and people who don't insult me. Insult me constantly, prepare for a war... - visitor