We are
exploring how hate and social group aggression mixed with corruption and
extremism has impacted justice and outcomes. This is a hypothetical thought
experiment to understand a model of when hate based behaviors become normalized
and different laws and rules apply to different people become the unofficial
law of the land. It helps us shed light on what happens when people are
targeted and there are no protections for victims or desire to live by a higher
principle. It furthers our knowledge when certain central values are not present in some decisions and the "what if's" of that lack of commitment.
In the example
so far, we have two stages. Stage 1. Default in justice (occurred because of
an embedded gang of officials and influence of a cultic social group led by
someone who had clear advantage to engage in manipulative behaviors.) Stage
2. Dehumanization where it is clear there are different laws for different
people. The crimes were well known while they were being committed and
protections were intentionally removed (They were coached on how to engage
in such behaviors. Others at different times and places have complained about
immunities of some clan members).
Stage 3 very
well might be Reconciliation. This type of reconciliation is created when
social hierarchy is enforced both illegally and legally through corruption,
ideology, and intentional misapplication of law. In this stage people come to
understand what the social hierarchy looks like and how race, religion and
politics create such structures (The very purpose of our nation should be
against it.).
When clearly
there is no one to stand up for the law or for a higher moral order you become sadly conscious of what is and is not true (Remember also that there were other
victims out there and the out-group members reported the crimes, and they were
retaliated against. Their negligence led to more victims. Nothing works in isolation in an dynamic environment.) Groups can be
socialized to accept a lower status if the environment is designed to enforce
unwritten rules (The Constitution if applied would find such behaviors
illegal.)
We are still
left trying to figure out why such hate can occur and be protected. This is
where we get back to the dark influence of the clan on local decision making
and legal structures. No number of complaints, facts, wake of victims, or
violation of social contracts would make much of a difference to those who
decided to protect crimes blatantly.
We learn that there are three things that can
help. In the back of your mind mull over that institutional trust in some arenas and solutions have not been brought forward. Maybe they lack perspective and that comes from having easy lives and many things handed to you. It is difficult to see the world that most of us live in.
1.) Backstops
against hate, extremism, corruption and the poor decisions that come from
that.
2.) Ensure we
are hiring people who are going to do more than give lip service to our
Constitution.
3.) Strengthen
policies to create checks and balances where good judgement has been
circumvented in the past (i.e. refusing to investigate legitimate
claims, sharing complaints with perpetrators, using taxpayer resources to
target others, poor culture, etc.)
The wrong type
of personality in the wrong situation with less than thoughtful decision makers
create intentionally challenging environments. This study teaches us that those
who have higher orientation toward social dominance also are more willing to
dehumanize out-groups. Remember our discussion on a cultic social group managed
by dark triad traits. There are no backstops where hate has infected the social
fabric. Social
Dominance and Dehumanization
A few things to
consider,
We can learn
how the process works and why supporting our institutions to work on behalf of
everyone is important. Thus, the type of people we hire and the type of people
we put in those institutions should not be based on poor politics. Let us be
thoughtful when we vote and make choices over different candidates. Without
that thoughtfulness we run into situations like this where people with
ideologies are not qualified to make decisions but are in positions where they
can do the most harm. You can reconcile with the world being an unfair place.
You recognize your responsibility to make it a little better (It may not do much,
but you can try and do what is right and moral where others have failed.).
You can draw strength that none of the people who judge you through the lens of
hate hold a candle to the good you have done in your life (They just hate
because they can't see who they are just under the surface. Hate
allows then to avoid looking in the mirror.)
Patriotism is a
sacrifice. Just in case they forgot what patriotism is.......
"For
true patriots to be silent, is dangerous" Samuel Adams
*This is a
hypothetical thought experiment example for learning purposes. Take with a
grain of salt. It will have a positive outcome, but we have to work through the
ugly. We are moving onto a third stage. We will continue to write this story together so we may learn from it and the good that can come from bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment