I've seen it put as sympathy = understanding that person's circumstances genuinely and recognising them as an equal
pity = feeling sorry for that person's misery, usually with an element of condescension
For me it’s pride. Pity insinuates that you feel as though you are on a higher level to me and I don’t like that especially if we’re the same age, same background or whatever. And in my case when people pitied me, cause they felt more superior to me, that led to them making me feel as though I was less intelligent.
I was going through a rough time in school and I told my ‘friend’ and she basically pitied me or ‘took pity on me’. She would then make sure people didn’t joke about with me in that sense because of it and some other things that just annoyed me. Just because I was going through something doesn’t mean you change the way I act. It’s more the little things that counts rather than these exaggerated gestures that probably come from a good place but is fucking irritating
well sympathy is acknowledging someone’s struggle/ pain which comes with pity in it, now a lot of people don’t like being pitied because it means feeling sorry for you, as if you are or experiencing something disgraceful as well to be seen as weak and hopeless, it could be different reasons on why people don’t like to be pitied, but probably feeling completely devastated and being in such a horrible situation that someone is taking pity on you could make you feel really bad
Pity can also be applied to someone you don’t like or don’t know. Which is why when you see a criminal with a rough past on the news getting arrested some will say “I pity that person.”
It’s unlike compassion which will involve some level of affection for that person whether it be friendship or love, and usually doesn’t involve a sense of superiority like pity does.
I guess it is the lowest form of engagement with another’s sorrow and it usually has a level of condescension attached to it. This infographic gives a good overview of pity through to compassion https://www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/ii/w820/s/www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-article_inline_full_caption/public/field_blog_entry_images/inforgraphic.png?itok=rirY9BK2
Hey guys I am genuinely not understanding the difference between sympathy/compassion and pity. Would any of you guys be willing to give me a good explanation and why you personally don’t like being pitied or just don’t like pity in general? I just wanna know why people hate being pitied so I won’t have this type of ignorance anymore. I would like to educate myself more on this. Thanks <: