Too Afraid To Ask

My online friend Jaiden lives in and is from the Philippines. She has dealt with a lot of trauma and abusive parents, it seems, and also seems to have been bullied. I have heard from many people, especially those who have been to the Philippines, that it’s great. The country is pretty and the people are nice.

However, Jaiden says it’s quite the contrary. I am taking into consideration her trauma and another comment that she herself could be lying and actually the bully or someone with okay parents. We don’t know. But anyway, she says that it’s a very racist, neo-Nazi country filled with murderers.

This feels very stupid and uncertain to answer, but I get really curious.

I know certain people who are very manipulative. They care a lot about how they’re perceived. They put on a sort of “face” of agreeability and kindness, when in reality, they’re not like this at all.

They can fool almost anyone who doesn’t know them, because they’re very good actors. They don’t like a lot of people and even view a lot of them as not human.

They’ll find people to target, like disabled people specifically, who they view as objects or animals. They’ll show a completely different side to them. Manipulative, outwardly cruel, wanting to hurt them. And they never feel bad. They never apologize.

After all, to them, it’s the victim’s fault that they were hurt.

“If you just would have done X, I wouldn’t have hurt you!”

How can anyone be like this? I know it’s likely something in their brain, but why?

i am russian. i moved here as a child at like 10 years. i currently live in united states but my mom and i miss russia.

we want to go back for visiting but i don’t know how safe it would be.