Microasshole Test
A microasshole is not a full-blown, persistent asshole - but one with whom interaction is not inspiring and leaves one with small injuries. This is not to be confused with radical honesty or 'speaking like it is' - where speaking the truth may be hard to hear but should not leave the person in a worse-off condition. Antifragility and Banishment are two immediate solutions for negotiating with microassholes. Banishment may work to negotiate with full-blown assholes, but punitive measures may be desirable as well to restore justice.
To determine if one is a microasshole:
- Do they leave you feeling worse after talking to them?
- Are they unpleasant, abrasive, self-serving, etc?
- Do they use passive aggressive measures in interacting with you?
- Do they put you down in small ways, in the various ways that they implicitly say 'duh' to what you say? An upstanding person would not put you down, but put themselves down in the sense of understanding that everyone has certain limits.
The opposite of microasshole is an integrated human, one whose psychosocial maturation allows them to negotiate life effectively, transparently, and collaboratively.
OSE Relevance
Open, collaborative culture is critical to OSE development, and it is critical to global transformation. As such, OSE tends to avoid hiring assholes, tends to avoid dealing with microassholes in its work and programs, and creates programs that help both microassholes and full blown assholes transition personally to a higher level of Psychosocial Integration.
