Re: immigrants. the coming backlash?
Sorry if this is a bit out of date, I couldn't let this one go. At 09:44 PM 11/14/2000 -0600, Andy Driscoll wrote: Tribalism, Friends. It's called tribalism. We are tribes of various colors, economies, genders, political ideologies, religions, et al. We all belong to one or more of them and tend to get our backs up over perceptions that our tribe is under some sort of threat - real or imagined, usually the latter. No one tribe is above the racism, sexism, ageism, religious bigotry or political rigidity that characterizes the reactions each has to their opposite number(s). What places one artificially above another is power, and it is the quest for power that debases humanity. The idea behind the term, civilization, is that humankind should, through its extraordinary intellect and opportunity, rise above the base tribal instincts that otherwise govern our behavior and emotions. It is the arrogance of those who believe that only they and no one else is a member of the "correct" tribe that engenders the distrust and violent reactions so prevalent across the planet. We are no exception. Can we rise above it to create a more humane and decent culture of equals? Likely not. We bring too much of our personal and tribal history to our judgment which distorts and colors it to counterproductive ends. I'd rather be optimistic about this, but it's damned difficult in the face of all we're witnessing here (in the US) and everywhere else. Sad times. Andy's basically arguing that we're in a static phase here: there is essentially no progress in the human condition, specifically in things like tribalism. I couldn't disagree more - though it's an understandable perspective given how slow and erratic human achievement is. Tribalism is a point on a continuum of attitudes that have to do with defining humanity. There's the self-centered universe we all carry within us: I matter, I better not die, I better have a nice place to sleep, everyone else can go hang. Then there's the family-centered one: if someone else is starving, I'm not going to share my kids' food with them. Then there's the tribal one, which is the highest level commonly found in indiginous cultures. Most such cultures have a word for themselves that roughly translates as "the people" - meaning that all those other humans you see running around outside your territory aren't really people, and if you need some of their resources it's ok to take them. (If you can.) But wait, there's more! There's nationality. Nationality is a step up from tribalism in abstraction: it defines "humanity", or "the people", as a much larger group of people, most of whom you don't even know. This is the deal with Serbians, for example, or Israelis or Palestinians, or Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Again, it's "I'll defend my group, but I don't particularly care about people outside it." This can lead to considerable violence, and has in the examples I've given. But consider the benefits over basic tribalism! Suddenly we care enough about people we've never met to try to ensure they have some basic form of welfare, health care, justice, economic opportunity and whatnot. And there are steps beyond that. America is another layer of abstraction in itself. Ok, we've got racial problems, and we usually have trouble dealing with the latest influx of immigrants, but in general we support "Americans" even though Americans count people of widely varying nationalities. And beyond that is the notion of our common humanity, crossing all boundaries. A huge number of people in the world today care about the plight of all humanity. Then beyond that, people reach toward the notions of the rights of all sentience, in science fiction, or become active in animal rights groups or antiabortion groups to try to extend "humanity" to new orders of life. (As an aside, I'm not a prolifer, and while I'm vegetarian, I also like to wear leather. I'm not saying that extending rights everywhere is necessarily where we have to go. But consider what it means for the progress of the human spirit that people are even addressing such issues!) My point (aha, he's got one!) is this: overall, we are progressing. There's a hierarchy of ways of viewing humanity, each of which transcends (and includes) the one below it. Human culture, and yes, even American culture has advanced slowly from one of these levels to the next. I agree with Andy that various notions of us/not us continue to plague our politics, and probably will forever. But our achievements still stand. I believe in their hearts that most Americans consider all Americans as "the people" in this sense, and that quite a few of us treat all humans as "the people". I don't believe that was the case 200 years ago, or how would slavery have survived? It's easy to lose sight of this sort of progress because, generally speaking, it takes more than a lifetime to observe real change. And of course there are so many ways we can
Re: immigrants. the coming backlash?
Tribalism, Friends. It's called tribalism. We are tribes of various colors, economies, genders, political ideologies, religions, et al. We all belong to one or more of them and tend to get our backs up over perceptions that our tribe is under some sort of threat - real or imagined, usually the latter. No one tribe is above the racism, sexism, ageism, religious bigotry or political rigidity that characterizes the reactions each has to their opposite number(s). What places one artificially above another is power, and it is the quest for power that debases humanity. The idea behind the term, civilization, is that humankind should, through its extraordinary intellect and opportunity, rise above the base tribal instincts that otherwise govern our behavior and emotions. It is the arrogance of those who believe that only they and no one else is a member of the "correct" tribe that engenders the distrust and violent reactions so prevalent across the planet. We are no exception. Can we rise above it to create a more humane and decent culture of equals? Likely not. We bring too much of our personal and tribal history to our judgment which distorts and colors it to counterproductive ends. I'd rather be optimistic about this, but it's damned difficult in the face of all we're witnessing here (in the US) and everywhere else. Sad times. Andy Driscoll -- "Whatever keeps you from your work is your work." Albert Camus The Driscoll Group/Communications Writing/Graphics/Strategic Development 835 Linwood Ave. St. Paul, MN 55105 651-293-9039 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "dave dix" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:15:22 -0600 To: "Multiple recipients of list" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: immigrants. the coming backlash? my question is: are people seeing and hearing examples of this also. i haven't up to this point, and thought we were living in an enlightened age, but maybe the backlash is coming. mark wilde windom park Those responses have their equivalents in the immigrant communities, Mark. Many of them are just as bigoted as your Archie. Whatever its source-- nationalism, fear over compensation for not being fully integrated into the society ( "fringe" Americans) -- its gonna be there. The question is: "What are aware people like yourself going to do about it?" If the backlash comes, it will because those of us who claim to despise bigotry do nothing about it on a personal or community level. You don't have to argue with a drunk idiot or jeopardize your work situation. You just walk away from it. Step away from the conversation when it turns in that direction and go play darts or whatever. Not playing the game of Ain't It Awful kills it in a hurry. Nourish what you regard as positive; starve what is negative. Simple. Whether there is a backlash or not is in your hands. BTW, Those of you who haven't read THE LYNCHING IN DULUTH by Michael Fedo , should. It shows just how infectious hatred and stupidity are and how a handful of men and women with integrity can heal the wounds. Dave Dix Phillips Precinct 6
immigrants. the coming backlash?
speaking of archie bunker, i was in grumpy's bar over northeast yesterday and the guy at the table next to me was making some comments about immigrants that reminded me of archie. "somalians are lazy", "mexicans are dirty", "why are we letting them in?", etc, etc. i thought we were done with this stuff. it was the same old stereotypes used for every generation of new immigrants. probably even this guy's grandma and grandpa. my question is: are people seeing and hearing examples of this also. i haven't up to this point, and thought we were living in an enlightened age, but maybe the backlash is coming. mark wilde windom park --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: "Somewhat collapsed Catholic?" Wizard Marks A lapsed Catholic. "Collapsed Catholic" is what Archie Bunker called it one time on "All in the Family." Valerie Powers Ward 10 __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/
Re: immigrants. the coming backlash?
my question is: are people seeing and hearing examples of this also. i haven't up to this point, and thought we were living in an enlightened age, but maybe the backlash is coming. mark wilde windom park Those responses have their equivalents in the immigrant communities, Mark. Many of them are just as bigoted as your Archie. Whatever its source-- nationalism, fear over compensation for not being fully integrated into the society ( "fringe" Americans) -- its gonna be there. The question is: "What are aware people like yourself going to do about it?" If the backlash comes, it will because those of us who claim to despise bigotry do nothing about it on a personal or community level. You don't have to argue with a drunk idiot or jeopardize your work situation. You just walk away from it. Step away from the conversation when it turns in that direction and go play darts or whatever. Not playing the game of Ain't It Awful kills it in a hurry. Nourish what you regard as positive; starve what is negative. Simple. Whether there is a backlash or not is in your hands. BTW, Those of you who haven't read THE LYNCHING IN DULUTH by Michael Fedo , should. It shows just how infectious hatred and stupidity are and how a handful of men and women with integrity can heal the wounds. Dave Dix Phillips Precinct 6
