In other words, in aggressive situation, expect people: to ignore, to neglect, to slight, to belittle, to disregard, to undervalue, to disparage, to deflate, to denigrate, to deprecate, to put down, to forget, to minimize -- the value, merit, or importance of the other. There are many ways to "diss" other people: anything that treats others without respect as to their worth. Sarcastic or mocking remarks ("So what?" "Big deal." "Who cares?") are common kinds of snide comments, often based on envy. Catty remarks also attribute the others' "good" to something other than their merit: dumb luck ("He got a lucky break...") or external circumstances ("She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth ... handed to her on a silver platter.) Neglect, total deprivation, can be an extreme form of downplaying others' "good." Such passive aggression is involved whenever people are deliberately snubbed, ignored, isolated, or given the "silent treatment." Advertisers are not required, nor expected, to point out the "good" of other products, of other competitors, or of other choices we have to spend our money and time. But, we ought to be more aware of this omission, of our own limits, and of our own priorities. Politicians are not expected
to intensify the "good" of their opponents' good ideas, plans, or policies.
For example, as Stephen Moore, president of the conservative Free Enterprise Fund, said: "In the long term, this is the way you win in politics. You plant the seeds of your ideas, and you effectively blockade the other side from advancing any of its ideas." But, we as receivers ought to be more aware of this omission. As citizens (not puppets or partisans), we should be able to recognize the "good" of others, even in those poor unfortunate people who do not think like we do. Extreme political examples of governments downplaying others' "good" would include bans and censorship of others' arguments, book burning and revising history to eliminate favorable treatment of opponents to those in power. In contrast to one-sided indoctrination, the traditional role of a liberal education is to expand awareness of the good of others (other countries, other groups, minority ideas and customs) in order to avoid provincialism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, or of demonizing others. Back to Intensify/Downplay Schema | Benefit-Promising Behaviors | Home
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