Support for LAist comes from
Made of L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Please Don't Greet the Lackadasia

Support your source for local news!
The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership.

Over at Rabbitblog.com, Heather Havrilesky articulates the social inertia that affects so many of us.

She categorizes the symptoms:

Why isn't there a term to describe the socially lazy? While we're often mistaken for misanthropes, sociopaths, or antisocial freaks, we really don't have an excessive amount of contempt for humankind. We're not shy. We're not afraid. We're avoidant, yes, but only because we're hassle-averse. We don't want to be bothered. Like Bartleby, we'd prefer not to.

Heather posts a helpful follow-up from Richard Banks, who identifies the malady as "lackadasia" and provides a diagnostic analysis custom-made for the DSM III.

Support for LAist comes from

Is it just us or does this not describe every Angeleno when forced to consider most social invitations? Maybe it is just us.

Most Read