People they ain’t no good

I think Nick Cave summed it up for me in of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite albums of all time – “people they ain’t no good”….

It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad
They’d stick by you if they could
Ah, but that’s just bullshit, baby
People just ain’t no good

Now, I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, not normally attached to such a negative outlook on life, but lately, I’ve been thinking this more often.

You see, I live in a relatively large apartment complex – 234 units close to the beautiful Brisbane river. I’m also on the body corporate for this complex which means that along with 6 other volunteers, it’s our responsibility to keep this 10-year-old complex maintained and running smoothly.

I must admit that until I joined the body corporate and our building went through a major flood event, I didn’t really understand how complex these buildings are to run and maintain. It’s not the complexity that gets to me or the challenges of that complexity – it’s the people. My lovely neighbours.

I’ve got a theory that around 5% of the world is batshit crazy, so in an apartment complex with 234 apartments I expect to encounter a few people who have wandered away from normal.

I also spent a long career in Government, essentially persuading and helping people to do things that they didn’t really want to do. Accordingly, I think I’ve got a pretty good grip on people and how they respond.

Maybe that’s why I like riding my bike so much because by and large the people you ride with want to be there – riding their bikes and making the most of the type 1 fun.

A small minority of my neighbours, on the other hand, see doom and conspiracy around every corner. Our private Facebook community is largely an ocean of bad takes, misinformation and whining, with the occasional pearl of community spirit bubbling to the surface. Some of my fellow body corporate members find this exhausting and disheartening.

I’m lucky enough to be able to let it wash over me, I ride my bike and all these “problems” seem trivial. I also look to Hanlon’s Razor which states:-

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect, ignorance or incompetence.

Most importantly, I think of Nick Cave – “people they ain’t no good”.