The world is going mad #2
Karyn writes about a practice called “happy slapping” which happily I’ve not heard of before. She defines it this way:
Originally, the idea was to walk up to some random stranger and slap them, while friends recorded the event on their mobile phones. Hilarious, I don’t think! Whatever endorphins that act released obviously became very attractive, because it has now become de rigeur to commit acts of minor violence upon random strangers even when there is nobody there to record the event.
I hope this bizarre behaviour doesn’t travel past England’s shores in popularity but I won’t be surprised if it does, or if indeed it’s already happening in Australian cities.
At the age of 40 it’s tempting to moralise about the lack of values in today’s society. I won’t though. I’ll look for other explanations instead.
The “happy slapping” attack on Karyn’s 13-year-old son struck a chord with me because this week we reported a random act of violence in the Kalgoorlie Miner. A group of five white males bashed and kicked an elderly Aboriginal man who asked them for a cigarette outside a Boulder hotel.
Nobody has been arrested yet. If someone is hopefully brought to account it will be interesting to hear the defence because it appears to have been an act of senseless, random, racial violence.
Overt physical violence is a logical next step for the teenagers who engage in “happy slapping”. This type of behavior was either non-existent or highly unusual when I was that age some 20-25 years ago. So what has changed?
I’m not an academic by any means, but I’ve developed a theory that today’s generation is the most selfish, as a whole, to ever strut the planet.
People are very focused on themselves. Ironically, that encourages a pack mentality to develop which is even more selfish in its outlook. Humans are basically tribal creatures. The self-centred individual needs other self-centred individuals to rationalise and endorse his or her own selfish behavior. The pack is greater than the single and more dangerous. Something like Lord of the Flies.
This tendency has been present throughout history but flourishes today because people are better educated, healthier and wealthier.
For much of history a large number of humans have been virtual slaves with short lifespans and life was cheap. The peasant had little time or inclination to think for himself. His life was mapped out for him from the day he was born and he accepted this fate, which was indoctrinated through his faith system and culture as well.
Through most of human history there has also been a necessity for people to band together for the greater good. The pack mentality was in that sense a positive energy. It was critical for defence against enemies, to gather the harvest and to ward off hardship.
This was also the case for western society in the first eight decades of the 20th century. World wars needed people to share, care for others and work together under a benevolent authoritarian state. The legacy continued until the 1980s via the older generation and a sense of wariness surrounding the Cold War.
No such threat exists today. We have a largely prosperous society and a growing resentment among those who are poor towards those who aren’t. The affluent are often bored and without a traditional sense of values to care for others.
I hate to say it, but no immediate resolution presents itself. I won’t advocate authoritarianism, and although I have religious faith, I accept it can’t be forced on people. The likely solution is severe hardship, either through war or major natural disaster.
There is ample evidence that humans will band together in a positive sense to overcome adversity. The responses to September 11 and the tsunami show this to be true.
Sadly, I think it will take a massive disaster to realign society’s values towards a prevailing goodness.
These articles might be of interest:
Interesting post, Michael - glad to have set a few folks’ cogs in motion with my post, if nothing else!
The selfishness you mention is probably not far from the mark, evidenced by the reaction of the kid who inflicted on my son his second experience of happy slapping. He was really scathing that my son made an issue out of it when all he had been doing was “having a bit of fun” - there was no concept of the humanity of his victim at all.
There is a distinct tendency towards objectification of others among my children’s peers. Sadly, I think it starts in the homes of the culprits. If you are treated as if you don’t matter yourself, then it’s a tall order to come to see other people mattering… This kind of harks back to another post of mine that you commented on about my academic heritage.
With my background it is nothing short of a miracle that my life has turned out as it has. Like you, I have faith, and with good reason - believe you me!