I’ve once or twice thrown around the phrase: “God, I hate people.” But can you imagine actually being afraid of people—like sweating profusely and needing to hide immediately no matter if it’s one person or 100? I mean, in the instances where someone takes too long at the cash register or ATM (because they just have to do one more transaction or just keeps forgetting to ask for a receipt) or someone who keeps mispronouncing your name for the 25th time and even the person talking or listening to obnoxious music too loud on the subway. We’ve all at least thought that we hated people—even if for just that moment. This could all just be a very public display of my pet peeves, but there are individuals who have very real fears regarding people and their capabilities. People with Anthropophobia in extreme cases may withdraw altogether, communicating with others only through letters and electronic media such as email or text messages.
This got me thinking whether individuals with this fear kept a journal or notebook of some sort. If they didn’t necessarily communicate outside of specific written means, does that individual save most of their thoughts for themselves? Could this journal basically serve as his/her words—if spoken aloud, if allowed into conversation? Why not? I can see this notebook being the key to whatever it is they ever wanted to say, a key to building relationships, a key to finally understanding someone who could be scared every other human being on the planet. This could also be my creative and hyperactive imagination running countless laps in my head trying to comprehend someone so different than myself or most other people for that matter. I wonder if individuals with Anthropophobia can write the most beautiful poetry in the world, focusing on intense emotions and observations most people don’t have the courage or energy to see? I wonder if they can create the best fiction stories, devising characters and settings different than those of our typical tropes.
In a sense my questions are stereotypes of these individuals and what they can do; but in another sense, these individuals can bring a great hope for the future of creative writing. I could find their work fascinating as much as I find their lifestyle. I’m not saying that these individuals are common, love to write and would write publicly, but if they did, I would be first in line to read it—if not for the story, but for the fresh voice in writing. To think I only learned about these individuals this morning; My friend mentioned her Uncle who listens to Greek choir music on repeat in order to deal with his fear of other humans. Really, Greek choir music on repeat; I wonder if he writes about it in a journal…
