As a model for attempting to understand the world and root causes, the NPC meme is obviously wrong and dumb. But as a coping mechanism for those trying to distance themselves from herd behavior and withstand the social pressure that leads to it, it has some utility. Also note I did not say or imply the OP is an NPC, rather I said that they're choosing to act like one. And I totally get picking which battles you spend your effort on, but when you're intellectually justifying choosing the expedient option as if it's the right one, you've gone too far.
(also fwiw, everything in my original comment is true. it's not LLM drivel or anything)
