There's no surer sign that someone is in serious trouble than them constantly wanting to knock other people down. It's also a really difficult thing to respond to in a helpful or positive way. Inevitably, people who deal with their own pain by trying to hurt and attack others, are not attractive. There's not much motivation to move towards someone who is behaving in that way.
I've probably learned most about this through parenting. Small children crave attention, and will do anything to get it. Thus being shouted at, told off and punished will function as an emotional reward for anyone who is otherwise deprived of emotional rewards. Children who are praised, encouraged and given attention more kindly will focus on doing the things that lead to the praise. Give a child attention simply for existing and you'll end up with a relaxed and confident person.
Adults want attention as much as children do, and social validation is a huge motivator for a lot of people. I wonder how often people who seek attention through spite are doing so because they are still playing out the patterns from emotionally neglectful childhoods. I wonder how much of it comes from not being able to seek attention in healthier ways, and what kinds of tragedies might be playing out in the lives of people who have no good ways of seeking attention.
I see a lot of this sort of thing on Twitter. I'm currently seeing an unusual spate of it in the blog comments - I've had quite a few lonely souls rock up lately. They are clearly people who are in pain and who only know how to try and knock other people down. I don't honestly know what to do with any of them. This isn't really the ideal space.
Everyone needs opportunities to be recognised and appreciated. Many of us seek that through paying work, through service and volunteering - which can be a decent enough answer. Feeling valued is vitally important for most people's mental health. Praise and affirmation help people feel better about themselves, so creative outlets can also offer excellent opportunities for lifting and encouraging people. I used to spend more time running supportive spaces, and perhaps that's something I should invest more time in.
What I can say is that if you've got a project, a piece of writing, an idea… and you don't have a platform you can use to put it out there, I'm always open to taking relevant guest blogs. If you feel like there's no point being creative because it isn't going anywhere, then I'd be glad to offer you some space where you might find an audience for your work. This is open to anyone reading.
Knocking other people down can feel powerful in the short term. However, it doesn't answer any needs in a meaningful way and it does not lead to social recognition or feeling valued - it may well push the other way. If you need to be seen, to be heard, to feel valued and respected, then there's far more to be achieved by putting something good into the world and asking people to respond to that. If you're reading this and struggling, and in need of support and recognition, and if I can help with that by making this blog space available to you, then I'd be delighted to do that. Leave me a comment, or drop me an email - brynnethnimue at gmail dot com.
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