Friday, March 20, 2020

Behavior Spectrum


Is it just me? Doesn’t it seem as though the opposite ends of the decency spectrum are much more pronounced recently than they have been in the past? I’ve been thinking that this Covid-19 scare has brought out both the worst and the best of folks in much more visible ways than we are used to seeing.

On the one hand I’m hearing of and seeing what are some fantastic acts of kindness, often random in nature. There seems to be a greater abundance of them, and they involve more of someone(s) going out of their way to help someone(s) out. They also seem more along the lines of selfless acts, whereby no payback or acknowledgement is wanted or necessary. I could perhaps sum it up by simply saying bigger, more heart driven, often sacrificial acts of kindness are being done for more people.

On the other side of the spectrum it’s completely different. I’m seeing much more visual (and often verbal) evidence of poor behavior or behavior choices toward mankind. We saw it in the grocery stores in the panic buying. “Hey, I’m getting mine, screw you” type attitudes on stupid stuff like toilet paper. Hoarding! That and Purell and like products. There was clearly lots of evidence of this distasteful behavior on the part of some folks with their “screw you” attitudes…not just in buying, but in their disregard for the safety and welfare of others—particularly those more at risk.

Perhaps it takes something like the coronavirus to clearly distinguish between beauty and the beast., between ugly and beautiful, between obnoxious and kind, between disregard for fellow man and empathy for them. Is their hope for those on the wrong side of the spectrum.

Ah, human nature. A fascinating study.

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