sympathy

What use does sympathy have? It's not going to help to solve the problem. If anything, it's delaying the process of solving it. So why do we give sympathy to those who crave it?

Sometimes it's because we don't know what to say, but sometimes it's because we know they won't listen to any advice we give them, so, by giving them what they want it'll keep them happy for a little bit. 

But, in the long term, sympathy won't help. That's why I'm quite harsh when it comes to giving sympathy. It's a rare event for me to be sympathetic towards others. This isn't because I'm a horrible person, it's because I'm realistic and I would rather help someone get through what's going wrong than heartlessly repeat the basic sympathetic lines such as 'oh that's awful'. Well of course it's awful, otherwise the person wouldn't be crying out for help. 

So why not try to help them instead of stating the obvious?