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Dear Richard and Betsy,
I find, much to my chagrin and three weeks too late, that I neglected to thank
you for your birthday wishes. Please accept my belated thanks, and my most
sincere apologies. I have been living in a rather unreal world, the last few
weeks.
Warm regards,
Victor
________________________________
From: Richard & Betsy Nunes <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 11:24 AM
Subject: [Goanet] VRR - a short note
VRR - a short note.
Our wishes too to Victor for a life with good health, great friends and
the ability to continue in the work he so loves.
Hi Frederick,
Thanks. We think this is a great article. We do love your affirmation of VRR,
his achievements, in particular that he is still actively involved with
all that goes with editing, his desire for higher standards, and last, but not
the least, your remark that you like to interact with such expats ... and we
pose
the question ... And why not?
We also appreciate your remark, wishing the Goan society the ability to treat
its senior citizens with more respect! We totally agree with this sentiment.
Sadly, we have observed that there is, many a times, a total lack of this
important
ingredient in our society! Guess if our elders did not indulge in the Crab
Mentality, our youth, our children and our Grandchilden would emulate their
Grandparents / Parents.
Incidentally, we both have been intrigued by the frequent use of the phrase
'Crab Mentality'. In our endeavours to understand this better, we consulted
our Dictionary and it confirmed our understanding of the phrase !! See below.
It certainly makes interesting reading.
Richard and Betsy Nunes
Crab mentality
of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you."
The metaphor refers to a pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily
escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other in a useless "king of
the hill"
competition (or sabotage) which prevents any from escaping
and ensures their
collective demise. The analogy in human behavior
is that of a group that will
attempt to "pull down" (negate or
diminish the importance of) any member who
achieves
success beyond the others, out of envy,conspiracy or competitive feelings.
Crab mentality, sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, describes a way
This term is broadly associated with short-sighted, non-constructive thinking
rather than a unified, long-term, constructive mentality. It is also often used
colloquially
in reference to individuals or communities attempting to "escape" a so-called
"underprivileged
life," but kept from doing so by others attempting to ride
upon their coat-tails or those
who simply resent their success.[1]
To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!
Subject: [Goanet] VRR ... a short note
I wishes Victor Rangel-Ribeiro a very happy 86th birthday on the GoaWriters
network, but forgot to do so here on Goanet! Better (almost) late than
never. Thank goodness for the time difference between India and the US!
VRR is an inspiration to quite a few of us -- surely to me. When I see him
working so hard, in the heat of the Goan afternoon, editing texts,
volunteering with some of our books, holding editing workshops for us, and
goading us on to strive for higher standards, I feel really blessed to be
able to interact with such expats!
Here's wishing VRR (as I call him fondly) many more productive years. Who
can say what could be possible, considering that ex-editor (The Navhind
Times and founder-editor of Goa Today) Lambert Mascarenhas gave a perfectly
logical speech the other day, at the age of 97! Here's wishing Goan society
the ability to treat its senior citizens with more respect, as it did in the
past, and the abilities to tap on their lifetimes of achievements with even
more enthusiasm!
Happy birthday Victor, from me personally and on behalf of Goanet. FN
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