The “Crab Mentality” is More Contagious than COVID-19

A recent article I read by Rodolfo Acuna called “The Allegory of the Crabs” really resonated with me. It reminded me of where I come from and where I am now.

In his book Dr. Acuna says “The moral of the crab story is that individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot and escape their collective misery. However, instead of working on their own, they grabbed at each other and prevented them from escaping ensuring that they remained in the bucket.

This made me think of us humans. Humans also have a habit of “pulling down” or minimizing the importance of other humans who achieves success beyond the others. This is a mentality I am far too familiar with then and now.

Growing up, I remember wondering why in the world the people around me were so negative and upset all the time. I later found out that our circumstances didn’t allow someone to celebrate others when they were suffering internally (e.g. emotional) or externally (e.g. financially).

Teaching for the last 7 years, I have often found myself wondering the same things about teachers - why are some of them so negative and upset all the time? Maybe it’s the every day stress or the fact that they’re being underpaid? But what does that have to do with helping someone else out? Whether it is your student or your fellow teacher.

Praising other teachers is okay. Let me say that louder, for the people in the back: praising other teachers is okay and we need to do it more frequently!!

The coronavirus has brought out the best of people by allowing them to slow down life and really pay attention to what really matters. Teachers have been at the forefront of this movement. My hope is for the generosity and empathy to continue when there is no pandemic - and we can eventually return to our usual every day life.