If you take a group of crabs and put them in a bucket or barrel, something very interesting happens. Individually on its own in a bucket, each crap will crawl out of the bucket. However, when together, if any one of the crabs attempts to crawl out of the bucket, the other crabs will gang up on this one crab and pull it down. If this crab persists the other crabs will break its arms. Additionally, if this one crab continues to get out the bucket, the other crabs will kill it. In the same manner, human beings would want to better their circumstances, but they are prevented by others who do not want them to be successful. This type of thinking is referred to as crab mentality or crab in the bucket mentality caused by envy and jealousy. This article addresses this issue highlighting various definitions of crab mentality, places where crab mentality is found, symptoms of people with crab mentality, biblical perspective and suggestions to avoid having a crab mentality.
Crab in the bucket mentality or crab mentality is a very common saying within our society. That being said, it is no secret that many persons who use the said phrase will have different reasons and meanings for doing so. However, as was alluded to above, crab in the bucket mentality is a metaphorical phrase that, when used in the human context, refers to a negative, selfish mentality characterized by a preference for others not to get ahead of, or do better than oneself. Simply put, crab mentality is envy and jealousy. It is also often used colloquially in reference to individuals or communities attempting to improve their socio-economic situations, but kept from doing so by others who simply resent their ambition or success. Crab mentality expresses the “if I can’t have it neither can you”. Some people will go all out to destroy others, even to cause them harm or death. In a previous article I also reported that one should not take an envious person lightly.
The symptoms of persons with crab mentality are many and include the following: They are too proud of themselves and treat others as inferior beings. You can sense a breeze of arrogance from people with crab mentality. Aside from arrogance, you can also smell envy, jealousy and bitterness from this kind of people. They freak out when the people on which they look down are rising or progressing beyond them. It gives them a terrible feeling of insecurity. They are full of positivity for themselves but full of negativity for others. They only see good things in themselves and bad things in others. They spend most of their time talking about people rather than discussing ideas and solutions. People with crab mentality lack compassion. They are inconsiderate and ignorant of the many people they are offending. They act like they are the most knowledgeable people in the world. They are active critics but they don’t accept criticisms thrown at them by other people. The words unity and cooperation are not in their vocabulary. They always treat other persons as competitors instead of teammates.
Many persons are of the view that crab mentality is mainly found in the black community. It is found among all races and within different parts of the society. It is not limited to individuals. It can be observed in the behavior of groups, communities and nations. It is said nowadays that crab mentality is common in workplaces which have a very competitive environment. The struggling individual resorts to crab mentality to negate the successful efforts of another person. Such an individual is basically insecure and jealous, and conspires to hinder the path of the one aspiring for progress. Co-workers who indulge in gossip and unfair means may be fostering an unfriendly environment in the office which may be detrimental to all the employees. Crab mentality, though, can be found in all segments of society. Even charitable and religious institutions fall prey to the malady of crab mentality which can wreak havoc in these institutions causing ineffective delivery of service. Crab mentality is found in politics. In fact, politics is so dirty that candidates have to resort to character assassination to destroy each other. This has become the norm and has been accepted by the electorate, rather than the focus being on effective and practical programmes and policies for the development of the country. This type of behavior has also resulted in our most qualified and well-meaning being turned off by politics.
Crab mentality is therefore a wicked, cruel and deadly mindset. The persons who think this way, wish to take anyone down who want to achieve something that they want themselves. So how do you deal with people who have crab mentality and who wants to drag you down? The Bible has some interesting suggestions on how to address this issue and also demonstrates that crab mentality is not new and has been around since creation. The story is told of Isaac who became very rich from a harvest that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris in the wells to clog them up thereby disrupting his water supply. By doing so, the Philistines also wanted to prevent future successful harvests. Another example of crab mentality found in the Scripture is that of Cain and Abel. Here it led to the murder of Abel by the hands of his own brother, Cain, who was jealous that God was more pleased with Abel’s offering. Envy and jealousy can turn even one’s closest friend, or even family member, into a dangerous enemy. The Bible teaches us not to be jealous or envious of anyone. It also warns us that where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. It adds that if you are selfish, and you have bitterness and jealousy in your hearts, this kind of behavior comes from the devil. We are also commanded not do evil for evil, if you encounter crab mentality feelings from others. The Bible also tells us to ” be kind and humble” to others especially those who wish the worst for you – likewise, not to insult anyone to pay them back for insulting us.
In today’s society we have seen an increase in hate, envy, jealousy and personal attacks on each other. These types of behavior can be summarized as crab in the bucket mentality or crab mentality. This concept/thinking is when some human beings pull down others who aspire to be somebody in life and who are trying to overcome their circumstances. These said negative persons also think they can only get ahead by knocking someone else down. On the other hand, many persons are not going anywhere in life by living without any purpose whatsoever. They also go out of their way to sabotage or disrupt persons who are making a positive influence in society. This is a dangerous mindset that can even lead to murder as illustrated above. Crab mentality is universal and is everywhere. We avoid having a crab mentality by always wishing the best for others and to be happy when they are successful. Each one of us must follow our own passions, inner calling, and support each other to make this island a better place, and not be the crab that pulls others down. One begs the question, is crab in the bucket mentality preventing the development of our island?
