Hell is other people

Sartre supposedly said or wrote this---I can't remember whether he said it or wrote it---but the point is that it contained the brilliance of simplicity and Sartre was responsible for it. The problem occurred when he foolishly continued and tempered his initial insight with a bunch of prattle about our using others' perceptions of us as a window unto ourselves---or something like that---and with that the promising beginning fizzled out into nothingness. Now I grant that you--if you must--might indulge in a bit of sloppy thinking and find yourself agreeing with Sartre's window fancy. Only don't give me that crap about hell not being other people and that it was all a misunderstanding...if hell isn't other people, then what is it? A rectal abscess?

The Horror

If the young are innocent,
And the old to be pitied,
Then what are we to make of the intervening horrors?