No matter who you are or what walk of life you happen to be on, you are sure to have a nitwit or two within your orbit.

Now I suppose the definition of a nitwit can vary. One definition I ran across says a nitwit is a stupid or foolish person. I don’t know that stupid fits into my definition of a nitwit, but foolish does.  Foolish in the sense that some nitwits seem to focus on things out of some kind a voyeuristic penchant for that they stupidly (okay, so maybe stupid is part of it)  see as meaningful nastiness or pettiness, born of resentment.

There is one nitwit who  likes to leave nasty comments (though never his name, so we are talking cowardly nitwit) on this blog, usually when I am talking about my disability. All you can do is smile, wag your head, and comfortably conclude the person has way too much time on their hands and is well ensconced in a hair shirt of resentment. The best definition of resentment I’ve heard is this one: resentment is a poison you take and hope the other person dies.

So, what to do with the nitwits in your orbit? First, don’t respond in kind. In all seriousness you are wise to keep in mind they are wounded beings and as such deserve compassion. Compassion does not mean you have to like them or their behavior. But you do yourself a service by realizing they weren’t born nitwits. Life experience led them there and just as in the case of an alcoholic, you can’t free them of their nitwitedness unless they are able to admit they are a nitwit in the first place.

And anyway, while the person and their behavior might be anything but likeable and cute, the word nitwit is! So, enjoy the word, pray for the nitwits themselves, and move on.

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