Orner May 2026

Authenticity, it turns out, looks a lot like orneriness when it brushes up against expectation.

But I’ve started to think that a little bit of orneriness—judiciously applied—is not a character flaw. It is a survival mechanism. Authenticity, it turns out, looks a lot like

Think about the people you actually trust. Are they the people who agree with everything you say? Or are they the ones who, when you propose a truly stupid idea, squint at you, cross their arms, and say, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard all week”? it turns out

We hear the "bad-tempered" part and we run for the hills. Nobody wants to be the grump at the party. But I want to focus on the second half: Stubborn. squint at you