The guise of the cruel eccentric

Throughout history eccentric men and women have made it into the history books for all sorts of reasons.  Eccentrics certainly brighten up the mundane day to day drudgery and can bring colour to the greyness of our lives, giving us all a reason to smile.

At times however, there is a darker side which I feel needs to be spoken about and not politely ignored.  I have noticed time and time again that we have a tendency to enable some eccentrics to be rude, nasty, cruel even, shrugging their behaviour off by saying, "Oh well, she's a bit mad! She's such an eccentric!"  

Being eccentric is absolutely fine - but if we observe someone being unkind to a fellow man, eccentric or not, it's not okay. We should celebrate and love our individuality. Expressing ourselves and getting our needs met is an essential part of being healthy, but not by using cruelty or bullying techniques dismissed as acceptable under the guise of eccentricity.

We are all human, we all have vulnerabilities and we should walk gently through this life, leaving only the mark of warmth and kindness on those we have met.

"It is very sad to me that some people are so intent on leaving their mark on the world that they don't care if that mark is a scar." - John Green

"No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever." - Francois Mauriac