It's the way the universe is designed. The biggest force that drives the world is to survive and propagate. It requires security, sex, sugars (glucose). Why flowers smell good or have brilliant colors? Why pine cones concentrate at the top of the tree? Why sex feels so good? Why sugar feels so good? Why such fatal consequences for acts that threatens propagation of species (homosexuality - HIV, Inbreeding - weaklings, cannibalism - prion proteins of Mad cow disease)? It wasn't an accident. It had been designed into the universe. The problem however comes from the widening gap between the abilities of humans and other species. It's same as a growing gap between the poor and the rich is a sign of a plight of a society. But unlike an economic situation, the differences between animals and humans will never ever come close. Compared to other beings, we humans are too advanced in the ability to exploit other beings. Just like any recovery from dysfunction, the first step is to accept that we are cruel and mean. Everyday we humans are inundated with the delusional message about how great we are. Walk into a book store. 90% of the books written are about glorifying human characters. But I have to say that the biggest delusion maker that keeps us away from the recovery is religion. Religion is the ultimate drug by which we continue to stay drunk with the delusion and ignorant our flaws. Suffering continues. Whoever designed this universe has to be the most evil being beyond our ability to understand.
It's evolution. Anything the person can conceivably see as a threat for whatever reason becomes it's predator. Like someone who's trying to beat you to a promotion; or like a Bad employee is a threat to profit, meaning less money for the boss and worthwhile employees. Less money has always meant less food or shelter. Meaning they are living off of you negatively, using your resources to benefit themselves, like a parasite. We can transfer this threatening feeling toward anyone we consider in our way and rationalize why without thinking much about it. These "enemies" are usually temporary and shallow.<br />
Other times what we perceive as flaws or good old fashioned fear of the unknown leads to a much more subjective and often times much more damaging view of others. Anyone acting oddly or that looks strange to us arouses far more suspicion and interest. This could be as subtle as a boy having facial features that are more feminine, or as obvious as someone covering their face. Anything that bothers someone for a lack of understanding ("It's just weird!") or something that they just can't place ("I dunno, Steve just seems...off to me.") is what drives these things. These negative social ties can be long lasting and damaging beyond belief. As huge as racism or as personal as that one kid in every grade no one likes and sometimes hates.<br />
In short, people are mean, cruel, and rude because they view you as a predator/parasite or they just don't like you whether they know why or not.
Does that mean we have to teach the belief thata stork delivers babies alongside sex ed to let the kids decide what to believe?
"Man's inhumanity to man?" I cope by believing that this planet is a spiritual school, where we come to learn and practice virtues. Without the opposite to work against, we can't develop spiritual muscles.
It can seem that way sometimes. I think, generally speaking, people are tired, stressed and defensive. EP is going a long way toward showing me that there are still good people left in the world. :)
Environment, childhood trauma, born that way? Many reasons....
You spend your time with the wrong people.
You must look for the worst in people. In general, you find what you seek, not what is there.
Don't generalize the world based on high school kids. Children are so self centered, as are many people my age. People change as they take on responsibility and one of my gifts was to be awakened to the world at a younger age due to my own challenges. The world is as you choose to view it, nothing more and nothing less.
Look for them, they are out there. Step one is to stop spending time with negative people that you could be spending with positive people.
Also, learn to speak in positive ways because positive people do not want to hear negative comments.
I was a "smart kid" and could have gone into physics or other sciences, so I will use an analogy that my father liked to use. A fractal resembles on a macro scale what it looks like on a micro scale. Life is the same way.
If you go around day to day, moment to moment with a negative attitude, your overall life with resemble this. If you work to change your thoughts in the short term, your life as a whole will reorganize itself to resemble this way of thinking.
In short, your happiness is in your hands.
Actually, the people that are mean and cruel have not spiritually evolved. Some of them have just started the incarnation process from a beast to a human and it will take many reincarnations for the spirit within a person to learn how to be humane.
Because we know greed
not everyone is mean! I'm not mean!
We are apex predators.
Yes even each other.
Do you see now how that may just be why?