#usvsthem — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #usvsthem, aggregated by home.social.
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History is thought of largely in nationalist terms, and such things as the Inquisition, the tortures of the Star Chamber, the exploits of the English buccaneers (Sir Francis Drake, for instance, who was given to sinking Spanish prisoners alive), the Reign of Terror, the heroes of the Mutiny blowing hundreds of Indians from the guns, or Cromwell’s soldiers slashing Irishwomen’s faces with razors, become morally neutral or even meritorious when it is felt that they were done in the “right” cause. If one looks back over the past quarter of a century, one finds that there was hardly a single year when atrocity stories were not being reported from some part of the world; and yet in not one single case were these atrocities — in Spain, Russia, China, Hungary, Mexico, Amritsar, Smyrna — believed in and disapproved of by the English intelligentsia as a whole. Whether such deeds were reprehensible, or even whether they happened, was always decided according to political predilection.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/46140/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #atrocity #cause #condemnation #endsandmeans #history #justification #nationalism #ourside #partisanship #politics #takingsides #tribalism #truthiness #usvsthem #warcrime
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It is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that it is the strongest, and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him. Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also — since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself — unshakably certain of being in the right.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/45922/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #ingroup #nationalism #nationalist #powerhungry #powerseeking #righteousness #selfdeceit #selfdeception #selfrighteousness #strength #takesides #takingsides #tribalism #usvsthem
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A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige. He may be a positive or a negative nationalist — that is, he may use his mental energy either in boosting or in denigrating — but at any rate his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units, and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the upgrade and some hated rival is on the downgrade.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/45763/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #comparison #competition #defeat #ego #face #faction #history #nationalism #prestige #takesides #usvsthem #victory #winning #nationalist
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A quotation from George Orwell
All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage — torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians — which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/17246/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #hypocrisy #justification #moralrelativism #motivation #nationalism #ourside #perspective #relativism #selfrighteousness #side #tribalism #tribe #usvsthem
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A quotation from George Orwell
By “nationalism” I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labeled “good” or “bad.” But secondly — and this is much more important — I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/16966/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #civicduty #classification #devotion #duty #evil #good #goodandevil #ingroup #jingoism #moralduty #nation #nationalism #nationality #outgroup #population #racism #stereotype #tribalism #usvsthem
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The first thing a cult does is tell you everyone else is lying.
James Randi (1928-2020) Canadian-American stage magician ("The Amazing Randi") and scientific skeptic. [b. Randall James Hamilton Zwinge]
(Attributed)More about this quote: wist.info/randi-james/82442/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #jamesrandi #cult #divinetruth #mistrust #onetrueway #others #outsiders #truebelievers #trust #usvsthem
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But what impressed me then, and has impressed me ever since, is that atrocities are believed in or disbelieved in solely on grounds of political predilection. Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side, without ever bothering to examine the evidence.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1942-08), “Looking Back on the Spanish War, ch. 2, New Road (1943-06)More info about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/80109/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #georgeorwell #orwell #spanishcivilwar #atrocities #belief #partisanship #politics #propaganda #tribalism #warcrimes #usvsthem #usversusthem
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A quotation from Bill Watterson
CALVIN: I’m writing a fund-raising letter. The secret to getting donations is to depict everyone who disagrees with you as the enemy. Then you explain how they’re systematically working to destroy everything you hold dear. It’s a War of Values! Rational discussion is hopeless! Compromise is unthinkable! Our only hope is well-funded antagonism, so we need your money to keep up the fight!
HOBBES: How cynically unconstructive.
CALVIN: Enmity sells.Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1995-07-07)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/watterson-bill/77538…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #billwatterson #calvinandhobbes #anger #antagonism #compromise #culturewar #demagoguery #demonization #donations #enmity #fundraising #hatred #politicalmovement #politicalpower #politicalpressure #politics #usvsthem #values
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A quotation from Terry Pratchett
“You’re not one of us.”
“I don’t think I’m one of them, either,” said Brutha. “I’m one of mine.”Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Small Gods [Simony] (1992)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/pratchett-terry/8119…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #terrypratchett #terrypratchettquote #discworld #ingroup #independence #other #othering #outgroup #usvsthem
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A quotation from Kurt Vonnegut
Fascism was a fairly popular political philosophy which made sacred whatever nation and race the philosopher happened to belong to.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
Breakfast of Champions, ch. 17 (1973)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/vonnegut-kurt-jr/768…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #kurtvonnegut #fascism #ideology #nationalism #politics #racism #selfaggrandizing #selfserving #usvsthem
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@GottaLaff I think #kamalaharris needs better answers for initially reversing #trump #immigration policies. I’d hope it was done for basic human dignity: not locking up 1000 people because there might be one criminal, not taking children from their families where they may never be reunited.
I’d also suggest she hit harder against #maga #divisiveness: foreign (#putin, #murdoch ) #disinformation filled #fearmongering leading to #usvsthem hate.
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Episode 5.10: The Us vs Them of Community: Ariel & Christina Discuss
On some very serious level, it’s just not solarpunk if it’s not about a community taking action to make the world a better place. Individualism: it’s just so wrong. It’s fair to say that, not just in solarpunk, but in our cultures, “community” is right up there with “children” as an idea of something inherently good, moral, and wonderful. Community is worshiped as an answer to our problems. But Christina gets a sinking feeling every time she reads a solarpunk story that idolizes community.In this episode, Christina tries to figure out why she’s so suspicious of community and so afraid of being suffocated by the rules, regulations, and norms of community. Join us for our Season 5 closer in which she and Ariel peek at community’s darker sides, like infighting, conformity, the potential for ostracizing people who don’t conform, and the fact that the existence of a community automatically creates a them.
#Episode #Season5 #YouTube #SolarpunkPresentsPodcast #podcast #solarpunk #community #UsVsThem #socialism #communism #individualism #conformity #infighting #pedestalization #problematics #CommunityWork #discussion #CommunalLiving #AlternativeCommunity #AlternativeCommuniites #Society #social
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
IHSAHN Reflects On "Us Vs. Them" Mentality, The Black-Metal Church Burnings & The Cost Of "Seriousness"
"We were all very consumed with the whole thing."#Ihsahn #Reflects #USvsThem #Mentality #BlackMetal #ChurchBurnings #CostOfSeriousness
