Sunday, June 08, 2014

ON THE OSTRACISM OF VLADIMIR PUTIN

President Vladimir Putin of Russia was and still is persona non grata in the world of world leaders; he is being ostracised. And we know who the queen ostraciser is, don't we...

And we also know why Putin is being ostracised ; he is not playing the leech's game.

But what effect could this ostracism be having on not just Putin but also Her Majesty?
It’s hard to feel sympathy for the mean girl, the one who decides who’s "in" and who’s "out." It’s a common theme in pop culture, made popular by the likes of Queen Bees and Wannabees, which inspired the hit movie Mean Girls.

But new research suggests that Regina George needs empathy, too. By ostracizing others, both the ostracizer and the victim face negative emotional and psychological consequences. While it seems counterintuitive, “when people comply in harming, they too suffer,” says Nicole Legate, lead author of the Psychological Science paper and a doctoral candidate at the University of Rochester.

Much research has already been done on the effects of exclusion on the victims of ostracism, which can cut so deep as to make them feel less than human. But the act of excluding others can cause just as much pain, albeit in a different form.

[source : "Mean Girls" Beware: Ostracism Is Just as Harmful for the Bully, Healthline News, http://www.healthline.com/health-news/children-those-who-exclude-also-get-hurt-030913, 9th March 2013]

What do you think?

Is there any remorse, regret or empathy there?


The effects of ostracism can be devastating, as we sadly saw recently with the seriously twisted Elliott Rodger, who was reportedly on Xanax and in one report I have read he may have had accomplices who escaped (which all sounds depressingly familiar).

Ostracising also seems to be more prevalent with females.

Social bullying happens when a child is humiliated or demeaned in front of her peers. This happens more frequently among girls, and can be devastating to a child's self-esteem due to the public nature of the torments.

...Psychological social bullying is when kids exclude, isolate, shun, ostracize, ignore, or turn their back on someone. To spend the majority of your day in a classroom with 20 kids who pretend you don't exist can be torture to a young person. Think of this type of abuse as the silent treatment on steroids.

[source : Social, Relational, and Emotional Bullying, http://www.netplaces.com/dealing-with-bullies/types-of-bullying/social-relational-and-emotional-bullying.htm]

So why do people ostracise?

Perhaps Her Majesty read this recent report in The Daily Mail about ostracised people being more likely to quit their job.

Researchers found that while most consider ostracism less harmful than bullying, feeling excluded is significantly more likely to lead job dissatisfaction, quitting and health problems.

...Additional surveys revealed people who claimed to have experienced ostracism were significantly more likely to report a degraded sense of workplace belonging and commitment, a stronger intention to quit their job, and a larger proportion of health problems.

...This found that people who reported feeling ostracized were significantly more likely to have quit.

[source : Being ignored is WORSE than being bullied: Ostracism is more psychologically damaging, claim experts, The Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2644101/Being-ignored-WORSE-bullied-Ostracism-psychologically-damaging-claim-experts.html, 30th May 2014]

But we should not be too concerned. According to the report,
‘There is a tremendous effort underway to counter bullying in workplaces and schools, which is definitely important. But abuse is not always obvious,’ continued Robinson.

But I think Putin, who The Guardian today called 'the ultimate strongman', can handle it.

So Vladimir, I assume you can handle this and don't need me to tell you, don't quit. The world needs you and more like you.

At least you know the reason why you were ostracised...



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