There is an old saying, that a tiger cannot change its stripes. It’s a saying I believe in. I believe people cannot change their fundamental nature.
We can change our outlook. We can change our education levels and even our responses to stimuli, but we cannot change the essence of ourselves.
An overbearing person will continue to be overbearing, in thought, at least, if not in fact. Their instinctive response will always be to take control of a given situation, and bulldoze anyone who stands in their way. While they may master the instinctive response, it will always be there, and situations of great stress will cause them to revert to their “natural” state.
The same applies to those with self-esteem issues. Even if they appear, on the surface to be confident, they are merely mastering their natural response to stress.
The arrogant, the meek, the loud, the rebellious, the sociopathic, all of these people are the way they are, and no matter how it appears on the outside, will continue to be that way in situations of great stress.
It is plainly visible in online communities, where a person previously abusive to any particular group in the community will suddenly settle into something resembling “responsible” behavior, only to lapse back into their abusive, attention-seeking ways at a later date. They cannot be changed, and any attempt to alter their behavior will eventually be to the community’s detriment.
How this has any relevance to the readers of this site is utterly beyond me, but I am sure everyone will find some connection. That I consider myself something of an authority on the dynamics of online communities is also irrelevant, not to mention arguable.
Dang, and I thought I had a chance to change there for a second…