From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sat Jun 22 2002 - 11:24:11 MDT
Steve writes
> > A *recent* study, I believe, found the self esteem
> > of juvenile delinquents to be too *high*. Has anyone
> > else heard this?
>
> I think it could be "Self-Esteem" by Nicholas Emler (Joseph Rowntree
> Foundation. He's at the LSE. This study came out about nine months ago and
> got quite a lot of attention over here.
Thanks a lot! I'm sure that that was it! So this *does*
back up Spike's conjecture that all the conventional
wisdom about low self-esteem causing delinquent behavior
is hogwash.
http://www.teacherline.org.uk/index.cfm?p=900
Nice article.
(Now, to be sure, the article *does* connect low self-esteem
to other problems, such as depression and suicide.)
But let me add my own speculation at this point. Put yourself
in the shoes of the typical liberal do-gooder who has a need
to see all problems in terms of "miscommunication" and
"insecurity", instead of malevolence and aggrandizement.
Such a *nice* person labors mightily to understand how anyone
could be un-nice. (This person conveniently forgets how he is
from time to time quite vindictive and petty himself.)
"Now", reasons this person, "why would anyone bully someone
else? This person must not be getting gratification in the
usual ways, and probably really hates himself. (After all,
I might harm others if I hated myself enough.) Therefore,
it follows that this person simply lacks self-esteem, and
doesn't feel good enough about himself. If we can just
give this person a *role*---a social role---in which he
can be positively reinforced for getting along with others,
his attention-getting behavior will subside."
Now, actually, there *is* some truth to that. If you bribe
a bully with enough attention, fawn over him just so, and
acknowledge that he really is better than the sissy-non-entities
around him, he indeed will sometimes be less demanding. Teachers
often resort to this tactic when they have no other available
means to lessen malicious and bullying behavior: they give in,
and implicitly suggest that the other kids do too. (The only
thing, probably, that really separates me from teachers like
this is that I have an over-developed sense of justice, and a
visceral, undying hatred of bullies and criminals.)
But criminals and bullies are not merely seeking attention.
They derive positive enjoyment from baiting and beating up
others. This is neither unnatural nor psychotic; it's as
natural as a cat playing with a mouse, or big brothers
pushing around little brothers, or racists in a socially
dominant position lording it over their "inferiors", or even
any of us "having some fun" with someone whose just exposed
a vulnerability.
This behavior can only be addressed by raising the costs of
the undesired behavior in the very terms of the delinquent's
own value system: pain, humiliation, and suffering. Appeals
to "higher" values are pathetically premature.
Lee
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