I hate how kindness, unlike in books or films, do not yield anything when it comes to men.
My friend’s brother is the typical loner-gamer, and he seemed rather depressed to me, and I thought it must be not easy for him—he never had a girlfriend, spends most of his time alone, and the only socialization activity he has is video games.
So, I figured we could be nice to him. On his birthday, we got him a Lego set, which he seemed to like. We would often visit him with his favorite snacks, ask how he was doing, and overall make him feel cared for.
We did that for nearly a year, and that man not only has been ungrateful (at first we thought he just needs time to show emotions), he laughed how annoying we are with his game friends and mocked we keep bothering him with our “nonsense”. He also gifted us nothing back on our birthdays, and we tried to be understanding that perhaps he is shy.
Looking back, it’s sad how naive we were—he didn't need love or attention to be uplifted and encouraged, he was “lonely” because he was an asshole.
Why did we think his heart would soften, his negative thoughts would leave him, and he would begin to trust people more once we showed him continuous love and care? That's a grown-ass man, 30 years of age—his life, as miserable as it seems, is HIS active choice.
Don't believe in male loneliness epidemic propaganda. These men probably have people who care about them deeply—mothers, sisters, whoever—it’s them who do not give a single fuck about them.