Date of Award

8-11-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Second Advisor

Dr. Giovanni Caputo

Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative, meta-analysis and philosophic study of spite. It attempts to answer the question: Does mirth require stigma, i.e., Can bootstrap heroism exist in an inclusive society? It is built upon the philosophical foundations of Aristotle, Sartre, Buber, and Friere and the communication theory of social identity. One thing can be said for certain: abuse creates a callous over undesirable behavior, and those in power decide where the masses get hit. Therefore, the poor and marginalized exist as exemplars and threats to the upwardly mobile, who live to endear themselves and better their position in proximity to those in power. Spite isn't a process exclusive to religion any more than finding the consensus is to politics. It is horded resources that drive humans to destroy each other. Creed is brand recognition. It is not necessarily money matters either, but access to what is scarce in any particular place and time. Humans manufacture horror in order to gain and maintain control of the also manufactured sources of their comfort. Those spite callouses are gifts only in the sense that they are taken as training that will please those brand sustainers. Touted as survival skills, each teaching is only as valuable as its ability to fulfill its own prophecy. Teamwork can create great things, but it can only ever do so with the use of scapegoating, or damning someone for not playing along. Without threats leadership must rely on something already within the other to drive success. That means use of the cultivation approach, better known as servant leadership, and the sharing of hints to the location of the spoils. In a world of manufactured scarcity we can only wonder why such behavior is rare. The art of the storyteller involves wrapping the callousing process of spite in sentiment and selling it as culture. This thesis lays the spite process bare so shapers of the narrative become stewards of their culture, using precision, cultivation, and careful grooming, and establishes the argument that all things, including humans, are media and like the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein each person must be considered as equally impactful on society as a whole.

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