Horrible people... are we?

If you haven't seen the video below I encourage you to watch it now. ... Go ahead, I'll wait. Ok, now that you've seen it what do you think? The title of the video is, ‘Evil woman steals ball from little girl’ and it really seems to fit. There are a few other videos I saw on youtube with similar themes though none were as blatant as this one. I did find some article claiming they’d identified the woman but it seemed implausible. You can of course look further into that if you will.

One thing interesting is it’s very easy to say people just don’t care ‘anymore’. I remember reading somewhere that that’s been a common thought throughout history. Each generation thinks people and especially the next generation are more ill mannered than all previous one’s and that the world is headed to hell in a handbasket. This is why I try very hard to refrain from saying, “those damn kids”. But damn, she’s not even a kid. I think she’s older than me. I found that I had to stop myself when I first moved to, Phoenix from Seattle, from chiding ‘these’ inconsiderate drivers because I don’t want to be the ‘those damn kids”ing them. I’m not sure if that even makes sense :)

In watching the video we have a case where I think it’s obviously a horrible thing but this got me to thinking. If we were studying another culture we’d be admonished to refrain from being ethnocentric, or judging another culture by the standards held by our own. It’s pretty tough in this situation not to judge her though because she does seem to come from the same culture as I. But if you watch the video you see that her friends high-five her in celebration. Is it possible that in their minds she has done nothing wrong? She herself doesn’t seem to have any remorse at all. (And please don’t email saying we shouldn’t judge others because… blah, blah, blah. I agree! But I haven’t reached that level of enlightenment yet and when I do I’ll definitely be judging those among you who have not yet reached my level of enlightenment. Actually please do email me because I’m desperate, as all performers are, for attention.)

Let’s say she does know that it’s wrong and just doesn't give a sh... um... and just doesn't care. I began to wonder if I’m doing things in my life to others or myself that I know are wrong and simply don’t care as well. How about you? I know that when I’m at a stop light if someone behind me honks immediately after the light turns green when I’ve not had a chance to go I will sit there for a moment just to ‘show them’. There is a part of me that wants to give them a little “screw you” gesture like waiting there does, but I don’t necessarily think about it, it’s usually just a reflex action.

The part that bothers me the most about my action is that it is a ‘reflex’ action. If I made the conscious decision to ‘teach them a lesson’ as stupid as that would be, at least it was a decision I’d made. What about you? What are you doing reflexively that might be worth examining?

For many people who are trying to quit smoking or lose weight their actions are a reflex. The person gets stressed and bam, they reach for the cigarette or the cupcake without even thinking. For others the consequences can be even more severe - if for instance I reflexively jumped out of my car when someone honks and provoke an altercation. Some people do. Anger management indeed. I'm embarassed to admit I used to have a bit... okay a lot of road rage. My exercise regime, healthier food, meditation, and hypnosis have helped greatly though. And maybe the fear of getting shot! This is Phoenix after all.

The other question I had was what if we consider the possibility that she doesn’t even realize that what she did is in many peoples eyes, heinous, horrible, and mean? It’s certainly possible. I then had to ask myself, “are there things that I’m doing to myself or others that I don’t even realize?’ I don’t know what I don’t know. As opposed to knowing what I don't know ie how to pilot a submarine. I know this is something that will require some reflection and perhaps feedback from family and friends.

How about you? Is it possible that there are things that you are not even aware of that are harming yourself or others or maybe just pissing them off? LOL.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this -- please comment below or I’ll think I’m the only crazy one out there.

Take Care and be Awesome!

Jim Kellner, Certifed Clinical Hypnotherapist

http://www.JimKellnerHypnotist.com

#horriblepeople #angermanagement #phoenix #seattle #quitsmoking #loseweight #hypnosis #baseball #kid