|
Elisabella -> RE: stirring the pot (12/22/2009 4:51:01 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: sissyshoefetish
Since you ask, in my experience, with people and other animals (which is considerable ) this kind of behaviour tends to be displayed by those who are not in a position of power, authority or confidence. As such they take up a safe position where they do not have to defend themselves, an argument or proposition (for fear of losing status or having the lack of it exposed) but instead where they can occupy constantly shifting ground to manoevre out of difficulty. You might consider a a young male chimpanzee haranguing the group leader from a safe distance but not drectly challenging.
Watching the pot is essentially a peripheral social activity and tossing (pun intended) out tidbits is an attempt to appear in a dominant role (behaviourally not sexually) in a situation when there is little chance of achieving it in practice. It can feel but never looks impressive.
As forums are somewhat protected social environment (compared to face to face) this kind of behaviour is more effective for the intimidated protagonist as they cannot be backed into a submissive state.
i feel should add that one extreme of this i witnessed in a long time friend who became mentally ill and was diagnosed paranoid schizoprenic. This behaviour in him was socially disruptive and its growing aggression was what led to his being sectioned. I am not of course suggesting that is your situation but i am pointing out that in his case, his use of increasingly bizarre "tidbits" served to justfiy his belief that he was somehow intellectually superior.
It would be refreshing and indeed more interesting and useful to the forums if you dropped the tidbits and began discussing issues ,more fully; except of course for witty one liners which are nearly always welcome. Your profile shows you have a lot to say and even if others disagreed with your views, i think they would be of more use to the group in their expanded form.
That's a really interesting analysis. I like it, and I agree with the interpretation of his behaviour as 'peripheral social activity' - he's able to draw attention to himself without any genuine social interaction, and by acting out like this he's assuring that any negative judgements of him will be something he controlled and brought on himself, thus denying any stranger any sort of perceived power over him.
It's kinda funny because it's pretty obvious he's not stupid (at least in the sense of mentally slow) and he's not unaware of the reaction he causes, so I'm thinking maybe he really is just trying to attract his type. Though what that type would be I'm not sure, most women I know are really touchy about the men they love publicly embarrassing themselves. We'd rather date an ugly man than an embarrassing man.
|
|
|
|
