Empath, my ass

It's a little worrying that people are now identifying themselves as 'empaths,' and, of course, that label, once unleashed, attracts people who think of themselves as good people, people with a conscience, people who 'feel' for their fellow man, etc. - I mean - the connotations certainly aren't negative...

But there's something bizarre going on here, by using the word as a noun and not as an adjective, the impression being created is that empathy is a skill that only some possess or a gift for a select few, and not, in fact, the most fundamental ability of human beings, and the very core of what it is that makes a person human, and why - when we are referring to cruel people, we try not to use that word, we try not to call them 'human,' because we reserve that word 'human,' and NOT 'empath' - for people who exhibit what we consider the basic fundamental skill of a human being; to feel for others.

You're not a fucking "empath" if you feel these things. You are not part of a subset that can either feel 'privileged for their extra-senses' - or that can indulge in feeling that it carries an 'emotional burden that others do not bear'...

You're a human being.