gipper
Diamond Member
- Jan 8, 2011
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Very good point about many Americans fearing ridicule. Their fear of ridicule makes them an easy mark for the establishment. As you say, group think is most prevalent.There appears to be a segment of the American population that will always believe what the government tells them and will ridicule those who don't. I too thought those who questioned the government's 9-11 story were silly, until I educated myself on the details of what occurred that day. Apparently some people are unwilling to educate themselves. ...
Getting over the fear of ridicule seems tougher for the majority of US citizens. I think this is due in large part to the fact that many Americans have been so well-conditioned to groupthink as a cultural norm that their collective ability to wake up to the manufactured nature of The Truman Show in which they strive to live as members of the 'ingroup'...has been completely undermined.
From the linked article:
"Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints, by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints [...]
...Furthermore groupthink can produce dehumanizing actions against the 'outgroup'."
Bold emphasis mine.
As this relates to the rift between some of the participants in this thread, notice how often the ingroup has dehumanized the outgroup as "tinfoil-hat-wearing nutjobs" (ETC.)...
However those who commit ridicule against those they disagree with are in a different category, than those who merely fear it.
Any person or group that goes against the establishment is subject to ridicule...and should conditions denigrate to an extreme state, those supporting the establishment just might ease into "dehumanizing actions" against those in the "outgroup." History clearly confirms this human behavior.