Are We Descending Into Violent Tribalism?

[Yavin4]

I believe that politics follows the economy. As our economy becomes more and more polarized, so too will our politics. Europe learned after centuries of violent, brutal, genocidal wars, that when the masses become economically desperate, they turn to demogouges who offer scapegoats and incite bloodshed.

When I hear the heated, hysterical hatred of Liberals by conservatives and some Republicans, I can see our nation sliding into some sort of Balkanized tribal warfare like the former nation, Yugoslavia.

Having a strong, vibrant middle class is not only good for the overall health of an economy, but it promotes political stability. When people feel confident that they'll be able to feed their children, keep a roof over their heads, and get proper medical attention when needed, they won't listen and follow fringe leaders like Palin, Beck, Sean, and Rush. And even if they did, they would be considered outside of the mainstream.

If you took a real hard, true, and accurate accounting of actual home values in this nation, the middle class would be a minority of the population. The majority of America's population would have a negative net asset value. That does not bode well for a healthy democracy.

[villager]

1. Yes. As the Empire itself falls to pieces.

Part and parcel. Alas.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. Republicans have actively been destroying the middle class since and including Reagan.

They have also been actively attempting to destroy the economy in order to allow for massive power grabs.

"Disaster Capitalism".

[ixion]

3. Tribal? Definitely. Violent? Depends on the tribe.

some will be violent, others not.

[customerserviceguy]

4. We've had two politically motivated assassination attempts

in thirty years, Reagan, and now this. If it's a descent, it's a pretty slow one, especially since the wave of assassinations and attempts from JFK in 1963 to Jerry Ford in 1975.

[Arctic Dave]

6. Reagan being shot had jack shit to do about politics.

That is some of the lamest stretch of logic I've seen in a while.

[rucky]

12. food for thought...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hinckley,_Jr.#Bush.E2.80.93Hinckley_family_connections

According to the March 31, 1981, edition of the Houston Post, and reported by AP, UPI, NBC News and Newsweek, Hinckley is the son of one of George H.W. Bush's political and financial supporters in his 1980 presidential primary campaign against Ronald Reagan; John Hinckley, Jr.'s elder brother, Scott Hinckley, and Bush's son Neil Bush had a dinner appointment scheduled for the next day.<16><17>

Associated Press published the following on March 31, 1981:

The family of the man charged with trying to assassinate President Reagan is acquainted with the family of Vice-President George Bush and had made large contributions to his political campaign ... Scott Hinckley, brother of John W. Hinckley, Jr., was to have dined tonight in Denver at the home of Neil Bush, one of the Vice-President's sons ... The Houston Post said it was unable to reach Scott Hinckley, vice-president of his father's Denver-based firm, Vanderbilt Energy Corporation, for comment. Neil Bush lives in Denver, where he works for Standard Oil Company of Indiana. In 1978, Neil Bush served as campaign manager for his brother, George W. Bush, the Vice-President's eldest son, who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress. Neil lived in Lubbock, Texas, throughout much of 1978, where John Hinckley lived from 1974 through 1980... Sharon Bush, Neil's wife, said Scott Hinckley was coming to their house as a date of a girl friend of hers. "I don't even know the brother. From what I know and I've heard, they (the Hinckleys) are a very nice family and have given a lot of money to the Bush campaign. I understand he was just the renegade brother in the family. They must feel awful," she said.<18>

[customerserviceguy]

16. And that's the way I see this most recent assassination attempt

This misraised jerk got his nose out of joint when Giffords sent him a form letter, and he's had this plot dancing around in his little head ever since way before anybody outside of Alaska knew who Palin was.

Any time you go for a political figure, it's political.

[Yavin4]

8. Violent Tribalism Is Not Just Defined by Assassinations

Violent tribalism is defined by escalating rhetoric that de-humanizes political opponents. Such rhetoric is more mainstream than ever.

[customerserviceguy]

17. Go back to newspapers from a long time ago

Today's stuff is pretty tame.

[Bragi]

19. Can you amplify that? /nt

[Bucky]

5. No, but they are

whoa, I didn't mean that to be ironic.

[Tesha]

7. We definitely are the new Yugoslavia. (NT)

[leftstreet]

9. No. Half the people in the US pay little attention to politics

At the most, class conflict will start overtaking social mobility

But that doesn't necessarily imply violence and/or tribalism

[Yavin4]

10. Inattention to the Politics Is Fertile Ground for Demagogues

Yes, less than half pay attention, but far more than half are slipping into economic desperation.

Desperate, uninformed people are perfect subjects for charismatic demagogues.

[leftstreet]

14. One could argue the demagogues ARE the politicians

:-)

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Yes

[H2O Man]

13. Yes and no.

In "We Talk, You Listen," Vine Deloria noted that the people of the US had two options: tribalism or feudalism. The violence in our society is, in part, the downside of tribalism. It is also the mercenary enforcement of a feudal system.

The only position potential today is the stronger parts of a high-tech tribalism.

[RZM]

15. I don't see how the analogy can work

The US is a far cry from the former Yugoslavia. We don't have ethnic/religious divides on the same scale, nor do we have the legacies of imperial domination/foreign occupation that Balkan peoples do. Plus we've existed as a functioning state for far longer than Yugoslavia ever did. Also, the wars of the 1990s didn't just 'happen' because people weren't able to get along -- they were deliberately engineered by Milosevic and co.

[justiceischeap]

18. I agree the economy is helping to create this atmosphere

But I think Americans, for the most part, are too selfish to be tribal. That implies a sense of community on some level. They may feel people are kindred spirits because of their politics but I don't see the majority of those people having the wherewithal to do anything about it other than bitch and moan on Facebook, message boards, etc. I mean, just look at protests divided by political party or certain issues. The right tends to draw low numbers while the left draws larger crowds. So really, and I hate to say this, if anyone were to rise up, it would be the Liberals and there are too many that are peace loving to create a problem for the government and I think the Right is counting on that.

[Bragi]

20. No, I don't think Americans are capable of tribalism

What America has is social disintegration and the isolation of people from each other. There are no sub-national "tribes" to which people have a true sense of belonging, a common history, a sense of attachment, etc., at least not in the sense that would need to exist for collective action to occur.

Americans are mostly socially isolated individuals, they have weak family ties, and no broader community to which they are attached.

When pushed, they don't take collective action, they buy stuff, go home, eat bad food, and blame themselves for their troubles. "If only I were smarter, or worked harder, or got better grades, etc. etc..."

I think the violence that Americans need to fear most is not group versus group violence, it is a) government violence coming from their security establishment, and b) violence from isolated and desperate individuals figuring they've nothing to lose, why not take out a few of their neighbors as they see their prospects and lives flushed down the shitter.