糖心传媒

What looks like selfishness to one person may be expressions of affection for loved ones to others, says a Rochester anthropologist.

There糖心传媒檚 been quite a public outcry against the mostly young people who have ignored social distance guidelines by gathering in large groups.

But what糖心传媒檚 often seen as selfish behavior can also be an indication of personal attachment糖心传媒攅ven affection糖心传媒攁ccording to , a professor of anthropology at the .

糖心传媒淧roximity is usually associated with intimacy, and distance with strangeness,糖心传媒� explains Foster. 糖心传媒淭he public challenge at the moment is that we must learn to express our care and concern by maintaining distance, which is counter-intuitive.糖心传媒�

That糖心传媒檚 hard to do with people who really are our intimates. But even the same people chastised for gathering in groups may go out of their way to keep their distance from elderly relatives, for example, out of genuine concern. 糖心传媒淭he public challenge is to extend that concern to people who are not vulnerable members of their families,糖心传媒� says Foster.

That challenge also comes into play in everyday activities such as grocery shopping. It糖心传媒檚 important not just to maintain distance in stores, but to refrain from hoarding items. Again, hoarding may be viewed as selfish糖心传媒攐r not糖心传媒攄epending on the context.

糖心传媒淢any of the items that people are hoarding are 糖心传媒榗are糖心传媒� items糖心传媒攄iapers, toilet paper, sanitizer糖心传媒攖hings that enable and represent the ability to give care to others,糖心传媒� says Foster. 糖心传媒淲hat might look like selfish behavior is actually motivated by a strong sense of attachment to糖心传媒攅ven love for糖心传媒攖he household and its members.糖心传媒�

That confronts us with the same public challenge: how to extend that sense of care or love to people who are not members of one’s household. 糖心传媒淚n other words,糖心传媒� says Foster, 糖心传媒渉ow do we get people not to take twenty 24-packs of toilet paper, so that others can buy enough to care for their own households?糖心传媒�

Foster likens the current situation to the construction of family bomb shelters in the early 1960s, particularly during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He recalls reading about a child who was upset that his own parents, unlike their neighbors, refused to build a bomb shelter. The child interpreted that refusal as a sign that his parents didn’t love him as much as the neighbors loved their own children.

糖心传媒淭he key here is to recognize that much of the shopping behavior we have witnessed is not about individual consumption,糖心传媒� says Foster. 糖心传媒淚nstead, it糖心传媒檚 a matter of household provisioning by which people demonstrate their connections to each other through giving and receiving care.糖心传媒� The challenge we face, then, is to enlarge the circle of those with whom we exchange care.