Crab Mentality

 

Image from here

 I was just browsing my old social media posts when I stumbled upon one of my most favorite quotations of all time. It is just a simple comment to an article, but I love it nonetheless. It pretty much hits the nail on the head, so I decided to also repost it here for posterity.

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 "... Filipinos indeed have this unspoken social protocol of "not allowing others to get ahead". Consider the reverse custom among Filipinos when it comes to celebrating one's birthday. In other countries, your friends throw a party for you (should you be "party worthy" that is), all expenses on them and not on you. They celebrate you being their friend, not as benefactor. In the Philippines, whether to celebrate your birthday or a job promotion, the protocol is "mag-pa-blow-out ka". It's ostensibly done to "share the wealth", but if that were true, then why would people feel resentful if you don't treat "them" during "your" day of celebration? In the process of spending for that blow-out, whatever financial gains you might have had from your job promotion is negated..."

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For those wondering about crab mentality, here is the Wikipedia definition:

"Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket (also barrel, basket, or pot) mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you". The metaphor is derived from a pattern of behavior noted in crabs when they are trapped in a bucket. While any one crab could easily escape, its efforts will be undermined by others, ensuring the group's collective demise.

The analogy in human behavior is claimed to be that members of a group will attempt to reduce the self-confidence of any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy, resentment, spite, conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to halt their progress"