"Crab Mentality : A Prejudiced World's Sequel"

Crab Mentality What Does That Mean?

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Crab mentality is one of the unpleasant characteristics of the Filipinos. People with crab mentality doesn't like people who have better lives than they do. They will think ill of these people and spread false rumors. This trait is very similar to crabs. If you put crabs in a pail, they will race each other to climb to the top. When one of them is close to reaching the exit, the other crabs will pull him down and keep him contained.

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it's a pity that these poor crabs are being compared to us Filipinos. Crab Mentality is a personality trait described by wanting to be the best. This includes being the only one in the league. These people are competitive in a negative way. They don't like people surpassing their capabilities. They will do everything to pull the other person down.

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Then we have the tattletale neighbors who report and make assumptions about everything that someone does. Bring some of your friends over to your home and they will let the world know that you are either getting married or doing illegal drugs. Another good example of their fallacious deeds is when they ruin the reputation of someone getting a better life. Other than getting praises, expect a surge of backstabbing comments and defamation. What an obnoxious situation to deal with. The person is doing his best to have a greater life with meritable actions yet here are the other people slandering his good intentions.

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What a prejudiced world,
A set of social standards make people want to change themselves just to fit in.
Tan people want to have fairer skin.
Curly-haired people would like to straighten their natural hair
Chubby people willing to undergo torturous procedures, crash diets,
and extensive workouts just to be slimmer and sexier.
These are just a few. To top it all up, even with zero maintaining bank balance,
they are willing to spend every dime they have just to be in the latest celebrity fashion trends.

There are so many people who are unsatisfied with what they have because of the judgemental eyes the linger about.
A prejudiced society that has nothing better to do but belittle, find fault, disparage and castigate other people.

The worst part is, you will be categorized as an outsider or an outcast if you are not "in" with the latest trends. It shouldn't be like this. Each and everyone was made uniquely. Everyone was blessed with a different kind of gift and talent. So we shouldn't eye on anyone for being "different". Also, don't let anyone look down on you just because you are not within the norms of the society.

If you are struggling with a biased perception of others, you should try reflecting on these three important points:

EVERYONE HAS A SHORTCOMING

Before we nitpick on other people, we should first take a good look on ourselves. What does it mean? Sometimes we are too busy heeding the flaws of other people that we forget about our own flaws. Nobody is perfect and you are not an exception. Let us not force change on the people around us. What we should do is to start changing from ourselves. Change starts with ourselves.

SEE THROUGH SOMEONE'S EYES

It's easy to judge others because we don't know what they are going through. What we see is the end result or the face value, not the "behind the scene" part that has caused what we have witnessed.

So we have no idea what the person has been through. There could be underlying reasons why someone acts the way he does. He may lack confidence because he had been rejected a lot of times. He might not be speaking good English because he was unable to finish his studies due to financial instability. Someone might be stingy because he grew up deprived of good resources. He may be self-centered because he never knew about the right attention and love when he was younger. These are just a few glimpses behind the scene. There are so many things happening behind the curtain of someone's character that we should be considerate about. So the next time you are tempted to criticize someone, try to put yourself first in their shoes.

WE ARE NOT THE JUDGE

No one has the right to judge. You may be the richest, smartest, most able or the best of the best, but it still won't give you the authority or right to scrutinize your fellowmen. Only God the creator who knows our hearts inside out has the right to do so.