The body of Oscar Pistorius’ girlfriend had barely reached the morgue and the jokes were already flying around the web.
Many of them making reference to his lack of lower limbs or Nike’s sponsorship record
with disgraced athletes.
And we all laughed at them and went on with our lives.
A woman was shot! She died! It is not funny! Yet we laugh.
When the Challenger space shuttle blew up, when Princess Diana died, when Discovery exploded, the jokes flew around the world turning a tragedy into a trivial bit of harmless fun.
It doesn’t seem so funny now, does it? Why though, why our insensitive ability as humans to create memes and jokes at the misfortune of others?
One of the reasons is that we are distant from the event; I don’t know Oscar, why should I care.
There is another reason, one that cannot be so flippantly disregarded.
We use the opportunity to make ourselves feel better about our situation and lives.
Birthed out of selfishness, the idea of belittling someone else takes the focus off our failings and inadequacies.
That is why reality television does so well, the greater the stuff ups by the performers the better we feel about our poor, snivelling situation.
We are selfish. Sorry, there is no getting away from it.
We care more about what we can get and how we can get ahead of everyone else than about making a real difference.
How can we be less selfish? How can we be more outward looking and care a little more for others?
There are two ways to make yourself feel good.
One is to belittle someone, to make fun at their expense and be satisfied that you are “better than them”.
The other is to genuinely help them out, make a positive contribution in their life to help them get out of their situation.
That generates a different feeling inside; one that, despite the cost of time and effort, lightens your soul. I am so glad that someone took the time to help me learn to dress well, rather than laughing at my outdated fashion sense.
The great advantage you have if you run a business is the capacity to expand this ability to reach and build the lives of thousands.
Your product expands your reach, one client at a time, far beyond what you can do merely as an individual.
I remember a story about the supermarket chain Tesco’s that tells of how rather than cramming as many checkout counters in as possible into stores they decided to keep the aisles wide enough for people to comfortably move through them.
A small change but a meaningful one for a harried and flustered customer at the end of the day who does not need the added aggravation of frequent shopping trolley accidents.
What does it take to donate goods to a worthwhile cause, not because you want the publicity, but because you desire to make a difference?
Or unpretentiously and quietly building up the lives of those who supply your raw materials (think grocery store and supporting rural fresh vegetable production).
It takes a change in mindset to look a little more outside our small and cloistered wor
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