Psychology: Friends and Heroes... and the Darker Corners of Human Nature

Over the past few days, I have loosely alluded to the fact that Mrs. Denmarkguy (mostly) and I were part of an "intervention" to get a friend with a heroin addiction into drug rehab.

And, indeed, that did happen when a bunch of friends and family members showed up and we persuaded our addicted friend that things were, indeed, spiraling out of control for him.

And that's all well and good.

Calendulas in the sun...

That Was the Upside...

The thing that's a little sad and disappointing — and now is making us sit back and consider our won involvement in the process — is the post-event discovery of the many incidents of petty bickering and "jockeying for position" among those who were part of the intervention.

This man's life was in danger and it was our task to get him help...

And yet?

All these people are suddenly engaged in fighting and bickering over what feels like the bragging rights or "who gets to be the 'hero' at the center of saving our friend's life."

WTF?

Where is this show GOING?

What happened to the whole thing about actually caring about our friend and him getting clean?"

Instead, now we're dealing with people trying to sit atop some imaginary "pyramid of favor" where everyone is "ranked" according to how important their role was?

The Darker Side of Our Psyches...

We often hear stories about how the best of humanity comes out when there's a crisis... people tend to pull together and become their best, in service accomplishing a common objective that is greater than themselves.

And we did that.

And yet, there is often a "darker" side to these events and situations... once the event has passed, their "true colors" are revealed, as they start putting themselves "in position" to be front and center to have metaphorical "medals of honor" pinned to their chests... and it can become quite nasty, as it gets sorted out who gets gold, silver and bronze...

Daisy in the sun...

It made both Mrs. Denmarkguy and I sad... and our inclination is to simply walk away at this point. And yet? There is also the consideration of whether our friend really needs to be released into such a hornet's nest of "favor currying" when he gets out of rehab.

Of course, the situation is not helped any by the fact that our friend happens to be quite well off, financially.

Does make you sit back and wonder how many people in the world who engage in somewhat heroic acts are only doing so because the possibility of a reward exists...

Thanks for reading!

How about YOU? Have you ever been part of a group effort that appeared altruistic on the surface, but then turned out to become more about the inviduals, than the actual cause? How was it resolved? WAS it resolved? Do you think most people have ulterior motives, even when they step forward to "help" someone or something? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190506 10:15 PST
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