I appreciate that. People aren’t here in these sites for truth or being challenged, they’re here to pound war-drums together and drive up dopamine fervor towards a fantasy war with fantasy enemies. Not humans.
I’m always saddened by how easily our species devolves from having moral high-ground on an issue to feeling like the superior humans for making their ideological opponent into a vile monster, both overpowering and oppressive but also too pathetic to consider as a human. We’ve seen what this leads to over and over.
A question I ask folks sometimes is “if you won tomorrow, if you got overwhelming success for your party, your team, your group, what would the next day look like?” and invariably with few exceptions, they get angry and offended. Making someone consider their ideological opponent’s existence makes them feel like you’re taking the opposing side. This is why and how we get some of humanity’s worst acts.
We are, despite centuries upon centuries of evolution, civilization, philisophy and education, deeply tribal creatures. While right wing propaganda most blatantly and directly calls upon our tribalism to dehumanize the “other” of the day, it is a trait we all share. Frankly when you look at how far some people take the denial of easily verifiable reality to stick to a feeble story and prop up the most deplorable of men, it’s easy to feel they are terminally lost and can no longer be part of any kind of moral and positive society. But that way we just end up dehumanizing them as much as they do to us.
Even as they have been brainwashed and molded to be perpetually scared and angry and to reject other feelings, they are people nontheless who need to be treated fairly.
To some extent I understand that murderer, misguided as he is. It would, for me be a better world if I could remove people I see as harmful to the world from existence. If someone were to remove a bunch of republican supporting billionaires, the whole of that parties leadership and the heritage foundation from the world I would not be angry at all. Not because I hate them. I don’t really, I don’t know them personally. But because they are so harmful to all of us.
We may say things like “eat the rich” but we don’t really do that, at most we affectionately nibble a bit, without breaking skin. I’m too well aware that to people who live in actual abject povery, my middle class ass could be part of the group of rich folk on the menu. Once we start killing the people we see as harmful, where do we stop. Where do we draw the line? Who makes the grade? We could easily end up in a situation where, like in post revolutionary China or France anyone could be accused and convicted for not being revolutionary enough. Accused by an angry neighbor, a jealous lover or your own kids.
So while I understand the feelings that lead to the actions, I cannot condone murder, nor do I take such action myself, besides, I have a job to do, kids to care for, bills to pay etc, etc, etc.
And no, I have no solution for any of this, it’s way too complex to solve with rigid ideology or easy to shout slogans.
Just wanted to say, in the face of downvotes and angry replied, that I think you are absolutely right.
I appreciate that. People aren’t here in these sites for truth or being challenged, they’re here to pound war-drums together and drive up dopamine fervor towards a fantasy war with fantasy enemies. Not humans.
I’m always saddened by how easily our species devolves from having moral high-ground on an issue to feeling like the superior humans for making their ideological opponent into a vile monster, both overpowering and oppressive but also too pathetic to consider as a human. We’ve seen what this leads to over and over.
A question I ask folks sometimes is “if you won tomorrow, if you got overwhelming success for your party, your team, your group, what would the next day look like?” and invariably with few exceptions, they get angry and offended. Making someone consider their ideological opponent’s existence makes them feel like you’re taking the opposing side. This is why and how we get some of humanity’s worst acts.
We are, despite centuries upon centuries of evolution, civilization, philisophy and education, deeply tribal creatures. While right wing propaganda most blatantly and directly calls upon our tribalism to dehumanize the “other” of the day, it is a trait we all share. Frankly when you look at how far some people take the denial of easily verifiable reality to stick to a feeble story and prop up the most deplorable of men, it’s easy to feel they are terminally lost and can no longer be part of any kind of moral and positive society. But that way we just end up dehumanizing them as much as they do to us.
Even as they have been brainwashed and molded to be perpetually scared and angry and to reject other feelings, they are people nontheless who need to be treated fairly.
To some extent I understand that murderer, misguided as he is. It would, for me be a better world if I could remove people I see as harmful to the world from existence. If someone were to remove a bunch of republican supporting billionaires, the whole of that parties leadership and the heritage foundation from the world I would not be angry at all. Not because I hate them. I don’t really, I don’t know them personally. But because they are so harmful to all of us.
We may say things like “eat the rich” but we don’t really do that, at most we affectionately nibble a bit, without breaking skin. I’m too well aware that to people who live in actual abject povery, my middle class ass could be part of the group of rich folk on the menu. Once we start killing the people we see as harmful, where do we stop. Where do we draw the line? Who makes the grade? We could easily end up in a situation where, like in post revolutionary China or France anyone could be accused and convicted for not being revolutionary enough. Accused by an angry neighbor, a jealous lover or your own kids.
So while I understand the feelings that lead to the actions, I cannot condone murder, nor do I take such action myself, besides, I have a job to do, kids to care for, bills to pay etc, etc, etc.
And no, I have no solution for any of this, it’s way too complex to solve with rigid ideology or easy to shout slogans.