defense

A four-panel SMBC comic. A man with blue hair talks with a smiling bald man. Panel 1: Blue-hair asks "Any plans for next year?" The bald man replies, "Why plan if you know it's gonna be garbage?" Panel 2: Blue-hair asks "What're you doing?" and the bald man cheerfully says, "I'm being defensively pessimistic!" Panel 3: The grinning bald man explains, "I assume the worst and verbally express that assumption. This simultaneously makes me happy when things turn out to be average AND keeps me from looking naive by expressing memorably incorrect positive sentiments!" Panel 4: Blue-hair points out, "Yeah but the cost is immiserating everyone around you," and the bald man, still beaming, answers, "That way they can be happy too!" Votey (aftercomic): A man's head with a thought balloon reading, "But it'll never work because people are all crap."