Is it just me, or are so many people so so pessimistic?

[VanityDiesHard]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that life is all wonderful and perfect. Crap happens. But when I come on here, it seems as if everything is gloom. People seeing life in the worst possible light, and always attributing the worst motives to people. I am thinking that part of it is being online and people venting, but it is a little overwhelming at times. In my life, I just don't encounter so much unpleasantness and I don't think that people are as meanspirited and venal as this forum would suggest.

YABU: Life is real, life is earnest. Stop being Pollyanna.

YANBU: People on here would complain that world peace would put arms manufacturers out of a job.

I'm deliberately pessimistic as I prefer to be pleasantly surprised by life than cruelly disappointed! However, that isn't any way the same thing as attributing bad motives to people, being gloomy or moaning, I'm cheerful, focus on the positive in people and situations and I'm pretty stoic in the face of adversity. I simply prefer to assume things may well go wrong so I can plan accordingly and not have false hopes.