The question of people acting out of character has fascinated me recently because I’ve been noticing a lot of celebrities (regular celebrities, sports celebrities, political celebrities, etc.) say and do things that would either seem are completely unlike them or should be unlike them, and I’m starting to question the assumption I’ve always had that this is an abnormal phenomenon.
From Arthur Miller (the author of The Crucible) encouraging witch hunts to the Daily Stoic throwing around premature psychological condemnations (quite unstoically), it’s like I can’t watch something without hearing about someone doing something unheard of (for that person) every few days. I am an avid football fan and they’re known for being very passionate about left-leaning politics (not judging). A few nights ago, a few of them got a touchdown and randomly started celebrating with the “Trump dance” (yes, Trump has a trademarked dance now, like the Fortnite dance, also not judging that either). Sometimes I see this in regular people too. My old uni teacher for example is very lenient and otherwise never issues punishments to classmates that last more than a few days, but a week ago someone accidentally dropped a book on someone’s lunch and she kicked him out of the class entirely. It was like watching that one Simpsons scene at the bar.
Do you see any moments like these from time to time? What’s the most severe example of someone you know momentarily acting out of character?
My father, who was generally a very jovial man and pretty fun, once threatened to beat me with a shovel because I wanted to take a break to rest.
He died of brain cancer about two years ago and I often wonder how long it was growing.