It’s a curiously human emotion, hate. We seem to have it in our genes, no one’s exempt. Dogs, cats, turkeys don’t hate anonymous dogs, cats, poultry. But hate is the beating heart of demagoguery. They want to activate it in you, knowing that hate is one spot where we’re vulnerable. And once they grab you by your hate they’ll wring you like a dishrag. They’ll plug a ring in your nose, lead you to more hate, deeper, purer.
You don’t need audio to know who’s dishing out hate. These people hate gays, hate Mexicans (then swerve to hating Muslims), hate atheists, hate blacks, hate vaginas and uteri being in the control of women. Turn off the audio, watch their mouthparts move as they rant.
They’re merciless. Demonize a group — or individual you want to lynch — and do them harm because now you can roar, Let’s git ’em. But show me where the Muslims or blacks or gay people are in the image below. Show me the atheist women. After all, none of these fluoresce. It’s a myth that there are cohesive blocs of human beings in lockstep rather than acting as individuals. A myth that there are any ‘Mexicans’ other than Jorge, Anna, Lupita, each with their own problems, opinions and annoying aunts. ‘Mexican’ is an abstraction, a word, a puff of air. ‘Mexican’ can’t cook you tamales.
Google map
Just words but the word could be ‘hat’ and a practiced demagogue could make you want to stomp one.
I knew a Jewish woman in college. She went with friends to hear Billy Graham. Sometime later she was surprised to find she was in line to eat a wafer, get a dot on her forehead, whatever the Mystery Gesture was.
Graham was a powerful demagogue.
_________________________________________
Remember Senator McCarthy who ruined so many careers in the 1950s? McCarthyism is ‘the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means “the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism.”‘ via Wikipedia, McCarthyism
[youtube]https://youtu.be/K1eA5bUzVjA[/youtube]
“Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
[youtube]https://youtu.be/vEvEmkMNYHY[/youtube]
“We are not descended from fearful men.”
_________________________________________
A demagogue is a political leader in a democracy who appeals to the emotions, fears, prejudices, and ignorance of the lower socioeconomic classes in order to gain power and promote political motives. Demagogues usually oppose deliberation and advocate immediate, violent action to address a national crisis. via Wikipedi, demagoguery
[youtube]https://youtu.be/BvgVb1GgebQ[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/ixgewW7U8ZE[/youtube]
_________________________________________
Blame. I hate you because I blame you, or I blame you because I hate you? Clarity melts in the heat of fury, your brain is overridden by your galloping guts.
The Paris attackers were all Europeans. So the United Staes moved to block Syrian refugees? No logic needed, just fear of words, of heated puffs of air.
It’s an odd fact of evolution that the hate in us provides satisfaction. How ever did it get connected to our pleasure centers? How come it feels gooood? What’s the evolutionary value in that? Or is this an ‘artifact’ of evolution like extra wisdom teeth? Because it sure causes a lot more trouble.
_________________________________________
You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught
You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.— lyrics from Rogers’ and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.