The person you responded to said they think reality isn't harsh, humans are, and you replied with a bunch of harsh things humans do as if that contradicted their comment, which it doesn't. Yet you're contradicting yourself:

> In the moment it sucks, but over time I look back and see a beautiful existence.

vs.

> Imagine looking an abused child in the eyes and saying "is reality that harsh?"

1. Humans aren't some exception to reality.

2. Beauty can exist in harsh realities.

I find it interesting you namecheck Optimistic Nihilism because that's largely where I'm at. And I'm sorry but you just aren't presenting much here that's intrinsic, naturally occurring harshness but instead the manifestations of cruel people, which is exactly what I posted about in the first place.

I don't think the world is that cruel. I think people, both individually and as a group, are tremendously cruel and capable of terrible things that in turn make the world cruel.

In short, to borrow the words of Rorschach from Watchmen, “...God didn't kill that little girl. Fate didn't butcher her and destiny didn't feed her to those dogs. If God saw what any of us did that night he didn't seem to mind. From then on I knew... God doesn't make the world this way. We do.”

I don't think humans are the only species that would do this give sentience.

Does that make it somehow better?

No. The point is that this isn't just a human thing.