This is why you can, say, shit your pants at age seven and still have a shit/pants-based nickname up until you head to college. The mockery doesn't need to be justified; they need you to serve the role as the mockery receptacle one way or the other. I realize that this doesn't make it better or easier, I'd try to figure out how to sugar coat it better but society keeps rewarding me for being blunt.
9
Everyone Is Playing A Character At All Times
The world in general will never make sense until you truly understand this: Everyone's actions are the result, not of what they want to do, but of what persona they are trying to project to the world. I would emphasize the word "trying" there. Their decisions are ultimately the result of a bitter conflict between:
A) The person they are;
B) The person they want to be;
C) The person they think society expects them to be.
For example, if you don't socialize much, on the rare occasions you try you'll be shocked by how often people just don't show up to your thing, even after repeatedly saying they would. That's the conflict between the person they are (someone who prefers to stay home), the person they want to be (someone who says yes when invited to things), and the person society expects them to be (someone who follows through on promises).
If that sounds stupid and impossibly convoluted, well good, it means I've done a good job of explaining it. In fact ...
10
Everything Is A Subtle Game Of Intricate Lies
These nonstop lies are usually to protect someone else's feelings and/or status, but I'm not talking about the obvious stuff, like answering "No" to "Do I look fat in these pants?" It's an incredibly complicated dance that involves communicating intent in a way that both makes the intent clear and unclear at the same time. Confused? Here's an example that will confuse you even more: