A HA!

Finally (okay it is 3 years old, but it's new to me), a good (if somewhat sarcastic) defense of introverts:

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands — and that you aren't caring for him properly.

Okay I don't fit that description perfectly, but it's about damned time someone stood up for us introverts -- we're certainly not going to do it on our own because that would involve the interaction with extroverts that we try to avoid in the first place.

What really strikes me in that intro is the part about pleasantries from people just trying to be nice. I had one of these experiences just the other day.

I had stopped at Sam's Club for cat litter and I decided I'd have a big slice of their cheap pizza while I was there. I hadn't realized it, but I was wearing my WVU t-shirt that day. The cashier lady saw this and said something like, "I like your shirt, what part of West Virginia are you from?" Now in hindsight I realize the "proper" response would have been to tell her that I'm not from WV, that I just visit most every summer as part of my baseball trip, and I happened to pick up a t-shirt one year. Then she'd have told me that she was, in fact, from WV, asked what parts of the state I visit and why I spend the summer watching minor league baseball. We'd have had a nice little conversation about the Mountain State. Instead, I said, "I'm not," and walked away. I feel sure, in retrospect, that the cashier lady thought I was horribly rude, but I was just answering her question. It never occurred to me that I should banter back with a random stranger. Stuff like this happens to me quite a bit.

Now I find that I'm not the only one. Perhaps the best part of the essay is when the author attempts, albeit snarkily, to explain how introverts differ from extroverts:

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. ... This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people. ... But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion.

So, if you know (or suspect you might know) an introvert, read the whole thing. Oh, the sarcasm I mentioned earlier -- here's my favorite bit:

Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts.

Now I'm going to go be alone for a while. Have a nice weekend.