Some time ago, I wrote an article about a person I labeled a super self-serving individual, an individual who is willing to commit any unethical act as long as it serves his selfish needs. I now gave this person a name, Joe, The Tribal Worker.
In this section, you will read a composite of individual who possesses all the unethical types of behaviors we have talked about. I will call this individual a super egotistical self-serving individual. You will also read a second composite of an individual who possesses all the leadership characteristics of our ancestors, courage, honesty, generosity, and humility. At the end of this section, we want you to answer this question, do these types of individuals really exist on Indian reservations or is this simply an exaggerated example?
Joe appears to have super natural powers. He seems to be working at several jobs at the same time, and I know I met him at each reservation I visited. If you know Joe why don't you share his escapades with us via his own area on the Spirit Lake Forum.
Joe, as well as being unemployed for an extended length of time, has held a variety of jobs. He was a dishwasher and bus driver at the school, employed by a grant, worked at the college and for the tribe, at one time was program manager, board member, and even served a term as tribal council member. In short, Joe has held almost every tribal job there is. Joe The Tribal Worker, as the social scientist would say, possesses a unique self-serving bias when he analyzes himself. To paraphrase a poster presented at the 14th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society:
Joe, the Tribal Worker, is a very dangerous man. Why do I say Joe is dangerous? Because of the irreparable harm he does to his reservation community while serving his own self-interest, because self-serving individuals who strive for power are most likely to abuse it. They do not have the virtues, integrity, and wisdom, to use power and influence fairly and correctly. Joe will not hesitate to rig elections by swaying mass opinion about ethical candidates; he is not above blackmail, bribery, or intimidation to further his needs. For example, when Joe was employed as an administrator at the school, he did not care if his actions hurt the education of children (even his own). He looked at the school as an employment agency for his relatives and fought very hard to get them hired. Joe, the Tribal Worker, has a winning personality and has good communication and listening skills so he appears to be relating to those who come to him for advice. He has boundless energy to promote his crooked causes. Now that I have introduced you to Joe The Tribal Worker, be on the lookout for him and his adventures as his unique self-serving bias allows him to commit a variety of unethical acts and still sleep well at night.Self-serving individuals have no self-honesty when assessing their character. Instead, they perceive their own abilities, behaviors, and attributes through their own self-serving bias. They often compare themselves with others who they imagine may have poor ethics and avoid comparison with those who have better ethics. They also distort the character of individuals who have better ethics in an effort to invalidate a comparison between them and highly ethical individuals.