Is it a minority thing that we cannot see others succeed, or come up to the same level we have reached? How does jealousy, selfishness and goals to achieve within an under priviledged group of people affect or has effect in this theory? umh...Something I've been meaning to understand for a while, but there's not too much to it, just the reality matter...
In essence, the crab theory refers to the idea that you never need to put a top on a barrel of crabs to prevent escape, because they’re all too busy pulling at each other’s legs and climbing on each other’s backs to think of working together and pushing each other out. It is a mentality that if I cannot have it neither can you!!
This term is broadly associated with short-sighted, non-constructive thinking rather than a unified, long-term, constructive mentality. It is also often used colloquially in reference to individuals or communities attempting to "escape" a so-called "underprivileged life", but kept from doing so by others attempting to ride upon their coat-tails or those who simply resent their success. It first was spread a among the Deaf community but can be applied to any other unprivileged group.
It describes a desperate lust to pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or pursue their dreams. It is an unwillingness to allow someone to get out of dire or bad life situations, often being foiled by friends and family members who keep sucking them back in. This trait can strike at several levels of life, like in office environments, particularly on promotion. It is a reflection of the famous saying “we all like to see our friends get ahead, but not too far ahead.”
Why when people of the same group see others of their own group succeeding pushing ahead through barriers are they most apt to bring them down through many devious underhanded ways without showing restraint??
A well known joke in Canada goes as follows:
Q. Why don't you need to cover a Canadian Lobster pot?
A. Because the other Lobsters will drag down anyone that tries to climb out.
And isn't that right!! haha.
This is done through vicious gossip (back-stabbing), spreading false rumors (slander), sending hateful e-mails, etc. It’s based on a real-life phenomenon: when crabs are captured and tossed into a bucket, if one crab tries to escape by crawling up the inside of the bucket, the other crabs pull it back down. It’s probably instinctive, a panic response on their part.
So no crabs ever escape. This behavior in crabs is widely held to be a myth, but has been observed. When successful leaders of any background complain about the lack of support and downright hostility they encounter from members of their own communities, that’s the crab theory….
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