[SOAPBOX]

Common Sense:
The Difference Between Egoism And Stupidity


First of all, here's a fact: True egoists are not commonly hated.
What seems so obvious for someone who's sat down to think about it, seems inane and farfetched for the average person. But that's nobody's fault, except perhaps wrong education, or the lack of having philosophically explored the ego and what is so special about it that some people worship it so much.

An egoist is by definition someone "who does not care about anyone but himself". Sounds like a drag of a person to hang around, doesn't it? But think about it - if someone really does truly care about themselves, would they make themselves enemies? No! Of course not. But a "stupid egoist" (or just "rude idiot") will forget that their own survival lies in the hands of their environment, not in theirs - at least not to the extent one would like. They'll not care about how many enemies they make, and become miserable fools, giving true egoists a bad name.

I am an egoist. I'm proud of it. I look down on people who don't have an ego or try not to have one, as I shudder to think about what someone who's first priority is not their own life might be capable of - kamikaze comes to mind.

Now, I doubt I have to further expand on this.
But if anyone will go tell me that Valadon is an egoist, I'm going to have to rip their throats out - and essay this entire story all over again. ;P