Not Socialised Properly
Entry posted by Rudi
1,169 views
This has been written as an expression of regret. Not a challenge nor an attack.
I watched another youtube video of willseasyguitar recently. I have learned a fair amount from Will (if that is really his name) and been entertained sometimes too. I can say the same for Scott Grove. Both these fellows like to broadcast on a broad variety of topics, though they are best known as guitar buffs.
I’m now used to hearing ‘hey’ as a greeting. I also realise that ‘How’s it going?’ is not a question; rhetorical or otherwise.
It does sadden me a little when both Will and Scott use the word ‘retarded’ as a means of demeaning someone they disapprove of. Some of the nicest, warmest and most genuine people I have ever met are mentally retarded.
Will has apparently received criticism for this. He answers this by saying he is exercising free speech.
The last Will diatribe I saw had him label as a someone ‘a dumb f**king sh*t’ for holding an opinion contrary to himself. I understand the frustration of dealing with people that don’t listen or speak rashly, but all he needs to say is that person is mistaken or wrong.
However, the ‘dumb f**king sh*t’ accusation goes further than this.
It is an assertion of dominance by the speaker. It is a human equivalent of the assertive posturing demonstrated by the higher social animals. Will is a clever guy, but I doubt this has occurred to him.
I had believed that only those with insecurity issues were overtly aggressive in this way, but I was wrong. Not wholly wrong, but there are other factors to consider.
1/ The culture of over-exaggeration. When people abandon the implicit method of discourse, such as listening attentively when spoken to, and being listened to attentively when speaking.
When people talk over each other they are not interested in listening, only speaking. Then they raise voices to gain advantage. This engenders frustration and then aggression which ultimately leads to personal abuse. To speak and not to listen is be literally dictatorial.
This is still basic attention grabbing for the purpose of elevating yourself in the pecking order. They then get angry because they just receive the same treatment back. So it hasn’t worked. The problem is that it is never going to work.
Personal abuse is provocative, but this runs out of control when the ‘other side of the river’ syndrome kicks in.
2/ The ‘other side of the river’ syndrome means: I will verbally abuse you because I feel safe on this side of the river. Without the river (or the internet) you would seldom dare show such disrespect. being more vulnerable. This certainly does involve insecurity in some measure.
We are all living in societies where most children (and often ourselves) have not been socialised properly.
To habitually speak to people this way directly in the more deprived would result in violence within days if not hours; probably in the US and certainly in the UK. This could then result in a visit to prison, hospital or both.
Another frustrating thing Will & Scott have in common is repetition. I suspect this is also part of the same issue brought about by feeling that continual emphasis is needed to make a point. Well it certainly is if you are always dealing with people trying to talk over you.
But this isn’t appropriate on a youtube video. You already have the platform and no-one is arguing. Some of these videos are 30 or 40 minutes long. The actual content without repetition could be cut to a quarter of that time usually. Sometimes Scott Grove will say ‘ok I’m done. I’m going now…’ but you can see there is still 10 minutes remaining on the time bar. This repetition seems to have become habitual for them.
It’s not all gloom and doom though. There are pleasant and respectful folk out there too. It’s a shame because Will & Scott are by no means bad people You can tell that they are feeling pressured and frustrated so much of the time. Despite the abrasive manner I do like them both. I’m still watching so far anyway.
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