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Article 3# Entitlements and Dependency
Entitlement Programs and Hostility

Often we read of the anger displayed by people living in the inner city (the ones who should be happy since they are getting entitlements from the government and have been getting them for several generations). And we are familiar with the results of this anger and hostility. There have been many explanations including population density; genetics; lack of role models from whom they can learn more mature, more socially adaptive behavior; poor role models from whom youngsters in these settings learn aggression solves problems.

I believe there is another set of reasons for the amount of hostility expressed in the inner cities of our country. We can go to many cities around the globe which have inner cities similar to ours without finding the same levels of hostility. What are the basic differences? I believe the rationale lies in the effects of entitlement programs on the recipients of the entitlements. In many countries around the world the less fortunate do not get entitlements. I remember early one morning riding to have breakfast with the Commissioner of Rehabilitation in Copenhagen and seeing dozens of men and women standing in a park in front of the central municipal building. I asked my driver who they were and why they were gathering so early in the morning. His response, "These are the men and women who are reporting to get their daily work assignments." Further discussion revealed those persons were unemployed or getting welfare or other types of government assistance. Rather than getting an entitlement they were working for the city. When I explained our social welfare system, my driver immediately recognized the demeaning nature of our system. He asked, "Aren't those people ashamed of getting checks for nothing?" Interesting how rapidly he got the implication of entitlement programs when so many of our liberal thinkers and legislators fail to understand.

Entitlements solve immediate, short term problems such as food, shelter, warmth, etc. However, entitlements do not provide avenues for the development of a healthy self concept, a sense of belonging, a sense of contributing to their culture, a sense of ownership in anything in their environment, a sense of self worth, a sense of self-adequacy, a pathway toward future accomplishments. Lack of these qualities adds substantially to an individual's level of frustration.

Humans are goal oriented creatures. Each of us has short term, mid-term, and long range goals. Our goals provide us motivation for our behaviors. I have heard parents or teachers refer to children and say, "He just is not motivated." This is impossible for humans. Motivation is an integral part of life. What the parents do not realize is that the correct statement would be, "He just is not motivated to do what I want him to do;" or "He just is not motivated in what I want him to be motivated in."

Everyone is motivated to achieve his goals. What happens when he becomes blocked in achieving his goals? For example, if he is hungry and wants to go in the kitchen to get a bite to eat and someone stands in the doorway and will not let him in, what will be his reaction? What if someone were to block him from going to the rest room? When we are blocked from reaching a goal we become stymied, thwarted. Thwarting leads to the emotion frustration. So a blocked person becomes stymied which leads to frustration. When a young person wants to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of contributing to their culture, a sense of ownership in anything in their environment, a sense of self worth, a sense of self-adequacy, a pathway toward future accomplishments and is effectively blocked, he will become very frustrated. He may try several strategies to approach the goals, but eventually he may feel he must reject the goals and move toward others to replace them. Where does his frustration go? Does he stay frustrated?

Each of us has a capacity for frustration. It is almost as if we have a container in which we put our frustration. During each day we continually put frustration into our container and each day we deal with the frustration and empty the container. Some of us have very large containers and can deal with great levels of frustration. While some of us have very small containers and can not deal well with frustration. Some of us empty our containers of frustration completely; while some of us only partially empty our containers and carry around a background level of unresolved frustration. When our frustration becomes greater than our capacity to hold it, the excess is converted to anger. As the anger increases the probability rises that the person will express his anger through hostility. So a hostile acting out person is a very angry person who is highly frustrated since he feels thwarted and stymied because he is being blocked from achieving his goals.

There are seven ways in which hostility usually is expressed:

• Negativism

  Negativism usually involves opposition behavior against authority. It involves refusing to cooperate and can be seen in behavior that can range from passive noncompliance to open rebellion against rules or conventions.

• Resentment

  Resentment involves being jealous of others, perhaps to a level of hatred. It often is a feeling of anger at the world over real or imagined mistreatment.

• Indirect Hostility

  Indirect hostility is behavior that directs hostility toward someone in a roundabout way. It can be devious in that, through malicious gossip or practical jokes, the hated person receives the hostility but cannot do much about it. Other indirect behaviors, such as door slamming and temper tantrums, allow a person to discharge general feelings of hostility that may not be directed against anyone in particular.

• Assault

  Assault is the willingness to do actual physical violence and the willingness to use physical violence against others. It is usually seen in fights with other people rather than in the destruction of property or objects. While he may not actually do physical violence, there is a willingness and a consideration to do so.

• Suspiciousness

  Suspiciousness is the projection of hostility onto others. It can vary from being distrustful and wary of others to serious beliefs that other people are planning one harm.

• Irritability

  Irritability involves a readiness to explode at the slightest provocation. It may be seen in behavior such as quick temper outbursts, grouchiness, and rudeness.

• Verbal Hostility

  Verbal hostility is the expression of negative feelings verbally to others, both in what is said and in how it is said. It can be seen in the verbal styles of arguing, shouting, and screaming, and in the verbal content of threats and curses.