disengagement?

[jay]

To withdraw from some local communities and circles, or not... that question seems pressing, right now. It could be self-defeating. But better to walk away than to stand around on various peripheries, feeling excluded and unwanted. Whining and fuming is unattractive and internally unhealthy, in the longer term. I suppose that I have to assess the likelihood of future non-peripheral participation vs. the emotional risks of waiting...

Comments

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like a very cool person... more like a mascot. Someone invited to large public events so I can be pointed out and put on display. ("Look, there's our token rocket scientist... see how diverse we are?") But not invited over casually to just hang out, or to more private gatherings where others would actually interact at less than arms-length, and I could put my own masks aside. Undoubtedly much of this is my fault... and the best way to be invited is to first invite friends over myself. (Doesn't help that I have a small house and most of my friends live outside the South Bay...).