The dynamic clearly being described is profoundly disturbingly, regrettably inevitable. In order for any group to mature it must create a process to define its boundaries starting with who is in and who is out. Our country has been acting this out for 250 years. The psychodynamic term for this is ‘splitting’ and it serves the purpose of allowing the group to manage the experience of extremely primitive emotions like murderous rage, terror and humiliating shame.
We then define the power hierarchy, who is on top aand this is what is clearly on display in MN and globally by the use of military and economic force.
We are now avoiding and this article aptly highlights the last phase which addresses the boundary around intimacy or closeness.
I hope what is shared in this post will be seriously considered by all/many. Mr. Lyons-Weiler, doesn't directly say this, but we need to figure out "who benefits" from the division; I don't think it is 'the average American citizen'. I've read it other places; a majority of American's agree on more [things, issues] than they disagree on. Acknowledging this, and using our common 'values' should help us take the heat down on that on which we disagree.
I think you have identified the problem with the way that symbols can work to disrupt communication. Symbols are abstract and aren't grounded in reality; thus they can be used to mean different things to different people, which causes groups to talk past one another.
The differences between the way different groups viewed this shooting reminded me of the differences in the way similar groups viewed lockdown/vaccine policies. Truly weird, especially when finding the truth of the matter is equally important to both groups. We shouldn't be fighting. We are in this anti-totalitarianism fight together.
A similar in incident happened a few years ago. And so I said “ Shoot the tire” on Facebook which landed me in Facebook jail for not meeting the community standards. At “ target” practice police are trained to shoot the paper man target, not the tire. That might become my next art project
Shooting the tire may not neutralize a bad actor who has a firearm, but it would certainly neutralize one who is using their vehicle as their armament.
When you read something that is intuitively obvious, one must then ask why is this not the path we have selected to follow; what forces exist that prevent us from accepting this.
Have you ever thought about the FACT that nothing really matters except coming out on top and winning if there is no God of this world? If you lie, cheat, steal, murder, and trample others but gain a wonderful life by doing it (like dictators) then why is that not as good as anyone else's plan for success. The dominant one wins ideology. You can say humanity toward each other is important but how could that be true? Is your opinion that we should maximize the good of all Americans, or all light colored people, or all dark colored people, or what? Why does anyone except the "winner" matter? What would keep us from having two sides to everything for humans? The answer is in knowing that every single thing in this world, at the cellular level, is beyond our COMPLETE comprehension which gives credence to the humble that there is a God and he created all of our spirits as his children and he loves every single one of us including the defective, poor, rich, seemingly perfect, black, white and in between, male and female, young and old. He is partial to children which we all were at one time and must pass through to become anything. That is a miracle in itself. We just don't notice enough all of the miraculous things around us and give credit where credit is due. The fine balance to everything in the Universe and in nature all testify of a control mechanism beyond even our brightest minds. There is a God and we are all brothers and sisters and must learn from and with each other & from God's word to us. Have you discovered the writings of God himself? There is ample justification to not follow the dark side. The God of this world aka Jesus Christ, is the light, life, and hope of the world. We are just scratching the surface of the importance of light itseff even inour own bodies. It is time we saw the light ourselves. Please share. The hate this may receive from some is from the dark side. Who wants to be there? Not I.
How many people died when the Democrat party blocked access to COVID treatments and via vaccine mandates? It is fair to say that they alone have single-handedly targetted EVERYONE'S life and well being via these policies. It is not possible to be independent when there is a party that targetted the life and well being of EVERY American. That party must never again take power.
I cannot like this post enough. I have avoiided such discussions lately on social media, becuase of the flak any nuance and reason inevitably brings. Division and conquest is the aim, and the power-mad are playing and fleecing both sides with their enthusiastic coopoeration, with the process of candidates being nominated by political parties that gravitate toward one extreme or the other very effectively shutting out voices of reason and trapping the silent majority in the cross-fire.
Editor's typo alert: I think you meant "Expect citizens interacting with ICE officers to protect their rights, too" rather than "Except citizens interacting with ICE officers to protect their rights, too."
What a refreshing, wise, grounded, humane assessment. Thank you. I've felt in between narratives for awhile, but never more than now. There are truths on both "sides" and profound blind spots. This may either tear us apart or be a catalyst with which each "side" can see a little bit of truth in the other's experience.
As long as "immigration enforcement" (which, yes, is needed), includes beating / dragging / disappearing people, deporting Legal immigrants, punching citizens who are trying to get their documents, and throwing tattooed men in CECOT with no chance at a trial ... people like Renee Good don't know if they're trying to protect innocent neighbors from much-worse-than-deportation, or if they're protecting brutal criminals who rape kids.
In one narrative ICE never abuses their power, and activists are foolishly defending murderers, and in the other narrative, ICE agents are always viscious thugs terrorizing the innocent, and migrant crime is only a racist fantasy, not an unfortunate reality.
I was grappling with how to speak to both "sides", and hold the valid points both have ... Your article is so well said, so important. I borrow (with credit), some of it here ~
(Certainty of the Other Side's 100% Wrongness Makes Useful Pawns in Anthropological War) (Concept I heard from Michael Yon, the age-old concept of using humans as weapons and exploiting fractures in society ... )
If everyone heeded your wisdom ... we could learn from these tragedies and be closer as a nation ...
The dynamic clearly being described is profoundly disturbingly, regrettably inevitable. In order for any group to mature it must create a process to define its boundaries starting with who is in and who is out. Our country has been acting this out for 250 years. The psychodynamic term for this is ‘splitting’ and it serves the purpose of allowing the group to manage the experience of extremely primitive emotions like murderous rage, terror and humiliating shame.
We then define the power hierarchy, who is on top aand this is what is clearly on display in MN and globally by the use of military and economic force.
We are now avoiding and this article aptly highlights the last phase which addresses the boundary around intimacy or closeness.
I hope what is shared in this post will be seriously considered by all/many. Mr. Lyons-Weiler, doesn't directly say this, but we need to figure out "who benefits" from the division; I don't think it is 'the average American citizen'. I've read it other places; a majority of American's agree on more [things, issues] than they disagree on. Acknowledging this, and using our common 'values' should help us take the heat down on that on which we disagree.
I think you have identified the problem with the way that symbols can work to disrupt communication. Symbols are abstract and aren't grounded in reality; thus they can be used to mean different things to different people, which causes groups to talk past one another.
The differences between the way different groups viewed this shooting reminded me of the differences in the way similar groups viewed lockdown/vaccine policies. Truly weird, especially when finding the truth of the matter is equally important to both groups. We shouldn't be fighting. We are in this anti-totalitarianism fight together.
A similar in incident happened a few years ago. And so I said “ Shoot the tire” on Facebook which landed me in Facebook jail for not meeting the community standards. At “ target” practice police are trained to shoot the paper man target, not the tire. That might become my next art project
Shooting the tire may not neutralize a bad actor who has a firearm, but it would certainly neutralize one who is using their vehicle as their armament.
When you read something that is intuitively obvious, one must then ask why is this not the path we have selected to follow; what forces exist that prevent us from accepting this.
Have you ever thought about the FACT that nothing really matters except coming out on top and winning if there is no God of this world? If you lie, cheat, steal, murder, and trample others but gain a wonderful life by doing it (like dictators) then why is that not as good as anyone else's plan for success. The dominant one wins ideology. You can say humanity toward each other is important but how could that be true? Is your opinion that we should maximize the good of all Americans, or all light colored people, or all dark colored people, or what? Why does anyone except the "winner" matter? What would keep us from having two sides to everything for humans? The answer is in knowing that every single thing in this world, at the cellular level, is beyond our COMPLETE comprehension which gives credence to the humble that there is a God and he created all of our spirits as his children and he loves every single one of us including the defective, poor, rich, seemingly perfect, black, white and in between, male and female, young and old. He is partial to children which we all were at one time and must pass through to become anything. That is a miracle in itself. We just don't notice enough all of the miraculous things around us and give credit where credit is due. The fine balance to everything in the Universe and in nature all testify of a control mechanism beyond even our brightest minds. There is a God and we are all brothers and sisters and must learn from and with each other & from God's word to us. Have you discovered the writings of God himself? There is ample justification to not follow the dark side. The God of this world aka Jesus Christ, is the light, life, and hope of the world. We are just scratching the surface of the importance of light itseff even inour own bodies. It is time we saw the light ourselves. Please share. The hate this may receive from some is from the dark side. Who wants to be there? Not I.
Brilliant and too few people will read this, understand this and act on it. A heartful thanks Dr. Jack.
How many people died when the Democrat party blocked access to COVID treatments and via vaccine mandates? It is fair to say that they alone have single-handedly targetted EVERYONE'S life and well being via these policies. It is not possible to be independent when there is a party that targetted the life and well being of EVERY American. That party must never again take power.
I cannot like this post enough. I have avoiided such discussions lately on social media, becuase of the flak any nuance and reason inevitably brings. Division and conquest is the aim, and the power-mad are playing and fleecing both sides with their enthusiastic coopoeration, with the process of candidates being nominated by political parties that gravitate toward one extreme or the other very effectively shutting out voices of reason and trapping the silent majority in the cross-fire.
Editor's typo alert: I think you meant "Expect citizens interacting with ICE officers to protect their rights, too" rather than "Except citizens interacting with ICE officers to protect their rights, too."
What a refreshing, wise, grounded, humane assessment. Thank you. I've felt in between narratives for awhile, but never more than now. There are truths on both "sides" and profound blind spots. This may either tear us apart or be a catalyst with which each "side" can see a little bit of truth in the other's experience.
As long as "immigration enforcement" (which, yes, is needed), includes beating / dragging / disappearing people, deporting Legal immigrants, punching citizens who are trying to get their documents, and throwing tattooed men in CECOT with no chance at a trial ... people like Renee Good don't know if they're trying to protect innocent neighbors from much-worse-than-deportation, or if they're protecting brutal criminals who rape kids.
In one narrative ICE never abuses their power, and activists are foolishly defending murderers, and in the other narrative, ICE agents are always viscious thugs terrorizing the innocent, and migrant crime is only a racist fantasy, not an unfortunate reality.
I was grappling with how to speak to both "sides", and hold the valid points both have ... Your article is so well said, so important. I borrow (with credit), some of it here ~
https://anotherbetrayedliberal.substack.com/p/certainty-of-the-other-sides-100
(Certainty of the Other Side's 100% Wrongness Makes Useful Pawns in Anthropological War) (Concept I heard from Michael Yon, the age-old concept of using humans as weapons and exploiting fractures in society ... )
If everyone heeded your wisdom ... we could learn from these tragedies and be closer as a nation ...
Thank you ...