Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Meanness



Life at the bottom is nasty, brutish and short.
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For this reason, heartless folk might assume that people in the lower social classes will be more self-interested and less inclined to consider the welfare of others than upper-class individuals, who can afford a certain noblesse oblige.
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A recent study, however, challenges this idea.
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Experiments by Paul Piff and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, reported this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggest precisely the opposite.
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It is the poor, not the rich, who are inclined to charity.
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Give us a break please!
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Do we really, any of us, doubt that the rich tend to be mean?
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In our work we see all kinds of people from mega rich to amazingly poor
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In India working in villages we would often be given a banana or a bowl of rice
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Amazing generosity given that the person doing the giving had nothing
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Nothing, no home, house, money, food nothing
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While in Marbella we were given a handful of low denomination bank notes and a half empty bottle of whiskey (we do not drink) after working for ten days on the seriously impaired son of the family
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A family of several multi millionaires no less
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Extreme examples?
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Not really
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Over and over we have found the rich to be mean and calculating
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The poor spontaneous and generous
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We do not ask for anything so are always happy to receive whatever we are given
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Noticing meanness is sometimes difficult to avoid when often we are begged for help by those with so much, who then respond with so little
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Want to know something?
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One of the reasons these rich people need help is because of their meanness
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Literally when a human is mean
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Selfish and suspicious, paranoid even
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Then their health must suffer
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Ironic how many wealthy people have to spend so much of their money on health care in later life!
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Trying to stave off cancer, heart attacks and other assorted illnesses
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A few would listen and begin to understand how things really work
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To do the simple things we would suggest
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Guess what, their health would improve
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A few might show gratitude
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The majority would put their improvement down to anything but our intervention
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Why?
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Because the last thing they want to remember is that we were privy to their innermost secrets
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That we saw and know what they had done or not done in their lives to induce the onset of whatever it was that ailed them
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Sad people
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Guess what?
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While their health improved temporarily it must then sooner or later deteriorate again
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Why?
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Because they did not truly accept responsibility for their own karma or health
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Nature will not be denied
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Karma cannot be cheated or avoided
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Sad people
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So yes Dr Piff and colleagues your findings are indeed the way it is

The rich tend to be meaner than the poor

However why not take your research another step forward and research how frightened the rich and poor are

Yes look at the level of fear in both groups

You might be in for another surprise

1 comment:

Carl said...

Sometimes I don't realize how truly Lost I am. I need to hang out here more often. It's so so hard to be good do good live good and think good without the proper support. Thank you!