What Kind of Crab Are You?

This article came about after I read the latest from Vocal Creator Jazzy. If you haven't read it yet, stop and do so:

Jazzy hit the nail on the head- we are crabs in a bucket; here on Vocal and in life, too.

The story Jazzy used for illustration has been shared by many other powerful writers and speakers over the years. It's called Crab Mentality, and some speakers link it to the Scarcity Mentality way of looking at life, where each individual sees another gaining something as taking it away from themself.

I've heard a version, in fact, where only female crabs pull other crabs back into the bucket to die (misogyny at its finest), and also a version where only the male crabs do so (feminism at its peak).

The story is accurate as told, all crabs exhibit that behavior, and it isn't deadly crab-icidal behavior; it's how crabs move.

Being a Bad Crab

When crabs can't swim they grab onto other moving things around them. In a bucket (or steam pot, I've heard it both ways), there isn't anything to grab but other crabs. When one crab, desperate to move, sees another crab moving, they latch on in order to propel themselves forward and away.

Not only does that action correlate with Jazzy's article, this grabbing on is played out everyday on Vocal. You see it in the glib comments on many Top Stories: "Nice. Now read mine {inserted link that I will NEVER read}". Or, one of my favorites by a 'creator' I refuse to dignify by naming "Good content. Now join me and read what I have prepared for you."

That latching and hanging on, hoping to get somewhere due to the efforts of another is spot on Bad Crab behavior.

I'm-a gonna confess something here: so is this article, I'm afraid. I read Jazzy's and then started to think about it as I busily avoided housework on this, my first day off in 40+ days, and now I am writing a piece because she also wrote on this topic and gave me the idea. That is why the first thing you saw at the top of this page was a link to her piece. If I'm a hanger-on Crab I want to boost her first.

Another Kind of Crab

So, what other kind of Crab could you be? It's hard to move past instinct, isn't it? A crab doesn't think about being a good crab or a bad crab- they just ARE Crab. (Note to my reader: I have reached the amount of times I have typed 'crab' and now it looks like it isn't spelled correctly. I hate when that happens. Also, I am hungry, and I just typed 'carb'. Sigh)

The kind of Crab I want to be is, I think, the Jazzy Crab.

Here's what I mean: for better or worse, Jazzy started up the side of the bucket today. Her mission wasn't to escape- her mission was to wake the rest in the bucket with her, and stir them to action.

Some around her are likely to grab on. Some, like crabs, will gravitate to the motion and grab on to be carried along with her (read, to some extent: me). Some may pull her back into the morass- homicidal crabs that don't like to be bothered by the light once the top of the bucket is lifted.

This is what I know: some of those crabs? The ones that start the movement and then others latch on? Some of those crabs are determined enough, strong enough, and focused enough to not be stopped.

In fact, they are so compelling in their determination that they carry others along with them. And once there is momentum gained, eventually those latching on help the effort and gain some assurance of their own, and the group propels forward even faster.

What Will It Be?

We are who we are, and we are where we are for many differing reasons. For some, writing on Vocal is a hobby, for others it's a dream, others are trying to get-rich-quick, others have always wanted to see their name on a published piece. For some- it's all of that, or maybe even none of that.

Whatever, whyever, however, wherever: we are here in this together, even if not all of us realize it. It's how we stay true to our own selves, principles, vision, and nature while we interact that create a Vocal Community.

My husband has taught me the truth of the saying : 'You get what you tolerate.', which is attributed to John Brady, Mike Ditka, Tony Robbins, etc. etc. I don't know who said it, really, but I know it's correct.

We can decide if we read other writer's work, if we comment, if we celebrate their successes. We can decide if we operate under a Scarcity or an Abundance Mentality, where someone's success does not diminish our own.

We can decide to support new writers, encourage discouraged ones, be specific in our praises, and step in when they need encouragement.

Or we can grab them as they are getting some traction, yank them into to scum, and stand on them while they gasp for air.

The Vocal Community we get is the Vocal Community we deserve. We create it ourselves, everyday, action by action.

Thank you for the reminder of that today, Jazzy!

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