Once bigotry or self-loathing permeate a given community, it is only a matter of time before deep metaphysical significance is assigned to the shape … - Natalie Wynn

It's boring and immature, like when someone says he wants to watch the world burn. You only get to watch when you have the privilege of not being on fire. It's edgy but it's not the darkness. The darkness is finding a way to laugh about being on fire.

Cruelty generally cannot conceptualize itself as cruelty, and part of the reason for that is calling cruelty what it is takes the fun out of it. [...] Cruelty is only pleasurable as long as they're able to convince themselves it's something other than cruelty, "Justice served".

In "Spongebob Squarepants" the character Squidward is fundamentally a figure of envy, stemming from failed ambition.... A lot of people my age who watched Spongebob as a kid, rewatch it now and are horrified to discover that they identify with Squidward. Whereas as children, they identified with Spongebob. Well, you either die a Spongebob or you live long enough to see yourself become the Squidward– And there's a pain in becoming the Squidward, which is usually explained as "the disappointing drudgery of adult life", or simply loss of childhood. I would argue that "envy of childhood" is the distinctive Squidwardian emotion.