In a contained community like The Red Pill, we are tempted to think of our fellow man as a brother. But even in communities of like-minded men, betrayal is always one step away.

This is especially true with strangers.

If you've spent much time in bars and clubs, you know this. Take a girlfriend out to a bar and you'll see it very, very fast.

It's all in their eyes. Given the chance, they'd fuck your woman with little to no regret. You are an obstacle.

Men who have not proven their loyalty to you should be treated as guilty until proven innocent. This doesn't mean act suspicious, as this will come off as weakness, but always assume they're looking to fuck you over, if the opportunity presents itself.

I'm naturally a pretty friendly guy, so this was a hard pill to swallow, but after five years at a very small university in a small town, I learned just how loosely men you consider friends, men you've spent countless hours with, can treat your secrets.

In your entire life, you might meet a few dozen men you can truly trust. Unfortunately, the only way to truly know if you can trust them is to see how they handle a secret, how they treat you when you're down, or, if you're lucky, see how they treat their other close friends.

And even your best friend, your absolute closest brother, well, chances are he'd choose his woman over you, if it really came down to it. If you're lucky to have found someone who'd give his life for you, I salute you. If I have to be honest, I wouldn't put myself in a situation that I'd have to test someone to such a degree. I'd have to know that they were in as much danger as me and that self-preservation in some facet was an additional motivation for them to have any sort of confidence in them defending me.

Maybe I'm a bit jaded or pessimistic. Oh well if I am.

I'm not saying don't trust people, but be very, very careful with whom you do choose to confide in or to be an influence of yours.

I'd say that 90-95% of the men you meet in your life should be treated as those who would potentially flip on you at any moment and who do not have your best interests in mind. That might even be a gracious estimate.

You can't do much in this world without the help of others, but do not presume them to be your friends.

Utilize other means to get their support.

Edit: one trick, at least with reputation, is to have everything out there - kind of like what Eminem did in the final battle of 8 Mile. If everyone knows your dirt, they can't use it against you, because you're not ashamed of it (there are a few exceptions, but not many).