| Many people today have forgotten that social | | | | electric chair or injection. In the Arab world they |
| skills existed long before social book marking sites | | | | are more likely to behead a miscreant or to stone |
| and other Internet social communities existed | | | | the person to death. In Asia they still hang people |
| online. The dictionary (Concise Oxford Dictionary, | | | | for unsociable behaviour like drug running and |
| 1964) has nearly a page listed dealing with the | | | | murder while in Australia and some other |
| word "social" and derivatives of, but the meaning | | | | Commonwealth countries, we incarcerate them |
| we are most concerned with in this article is the | | | | for life (supposedly) but they seem to be |
| definition given to the word social: | | | | released again after 20 or so years. Hopefully |
| "social:a.& n. Living in companies, gregarious, | | | | they will have gained some socially acceptable |
| not fitted for or not practising solitary life, | | | | manners and have found redemption and so not |
| interdependent, co-operative, practising division of | | | | be any further threat to law-abiding citizens. |
| labour, existing only as member of compound | | | | Socially acceptable manners is the key phrase we |
| organism, (man is a social animal; social bees, | | | | are concerned with here. So what is a socially |
| wasps, kinds having common nests etc. ~birds, | | | | acceptable manner? |
| building near each other in communities; ~plants, | | | | We need to get away from the unacceptable |
| kinds that grow thickly together & | | | | behaviours of killing each other, murder, rape, and |
| monopolize ground they grow on)" | | | | a number of other heinous crimes. |
| People have been social creatures since they first | | | | A socially acceptable manner is quite a complex |
| learnt the benefits of not clubbing each other to | | | | behaviour. It includes words, body language, |
| death. People soon learnt the benefits of | | | | physical behaviour, diplomacy, consideration for |
| communal living and sharing daily jobs and food | | | | those around you or in your group, social skill as in |
| and the safety and joy that companionship can | | | | a sort of political aptitude but that's as deep as |
| bring. | | | | we will go in these articles. |
| Family groups grew into communities, | | | | Socially acceptable words are probably 'up there' |
| communities into tribes and tribes into Nations. If | | | | in importance simply because they are our |
| there weren't ever any socially acceptable | | | | introduction to each other and our needs |
| behaviours in this grouping that everyone included | | | | intentions. Words alone need body language to |
| found nice or acceptable, then they would very | | | | reinforce the message and if the body language |
| soon have been thrown out of the family, | | | | doesn't meet the meaning of the words, distrust |
| community, tribe, and today we would like to | | | | is the outcome of the meeting. Once distrust is |
| throw those with socially unacceptable practices | | | | evident between people or groups of people, it is |
| out of our nations; instead each Country has | | | | very hard to overcome this barrier to |
| evolved different ways of dealing with what we | | | | communication. |
| now call miscreants. | | | | Building trust is probably the most important |
| A miscreant for the purpose of this article is | | | | socially acceptable behaviour people can learn and |
| someone considered "really bad, beyond | | | | the easiest to implement but the hardest to |
| redemption and beyond salvage" In the United | | | | maintain. |
| States, they still kill them either by hanging, | | | | |