Are Folks Making America Hate Again?

[Aryeh Jay]

It is by their definition.

They blame other countries for making good stuff that USA folk want to buy, they call it unfair and put tariffs on them.
In their minds that is just.

It's the fault of some Americans choosing to be poor so they can't get quality made items from American goldsmiths such as toilet bowls and they choose to support communist countries and their inferior toilets. Some of those toilets have to be flushed 20 times! Trump is saving America!

 

[Bradskii]

And we are not in times of chaos right now.

I had to quote that in case some people skipped your post.

 

[stevil]

It's the fault of some Americans choosing to be poor so they can't get quality made items from American goldsmiths such as toilet bowls and they choose to support communist countries and their inferior toilets. Some of those toilets have to be flushed 20 times! Trump is saving America!

So, I suppose, now that those cheap overseas toilets are much more expensive now, the poor people of USA now just need a hole in the ground or perhaps a neighbor's bush or something?

 

[FireDragon76]

I don’t think the scapegoat mechanism fits with what the OP is describing. The scapegoat mechanism is about placing blame on one group or one person for all evil in times of chaos. It’s psychological projection by the crowd. The OP is describing individuals placing blame on multiple groups for their own personal problems like their vehicle breaking down or struggling to find a job. Not the same thing. And we are not in times of chaos right now.

Have you actually studied Girard's thought? Mimetic rivalry, a group or individual desiring the same things as others, is what drives the desire to find scapegoats, because it's a way to temporarily expiate aggression and violence at large. A truck breaking down, or being unable to find work, most certainly could be part of mimetic rivalry.

 

[FireDragon76]

It is by their definition.

I disagree.

Trump rarely uses the term "justice". Trump uses the language of power. Justice is not the same as power.

 

[stevil]

I disagree.

Trump rarely uses the term "justice". Trump uses the language of power. Justice is not the same as power.

You have to use some ability to infer.
Rather than just hang on every specific word a person uses.

 

[FireDragon76]

You have to use some ability to infer.
Rather than just hang on every specific word a person uses.

There's nothing to infer. Justice and power aren't equivocal.

 

[MrMoe]

Have you actually studied Girard's thought? Mimetic rivalry, a group or individual desiring the same things as others, is what drives the desire to find scapegoats, because it's a way to temporarily expiate aggression and violence at large. A truck breaking down, or being unable to find work, most certainly could be part of mimetic rivalry.

Girard always describes one scapegoat, either a person or a group, targeted by a crowd as the cause of their problem. Once the target is dealt with, the crowd believes the problem will be resolved and things will go back to normal. No evidence that the people mentioned in the OP believe that their vehicles will suddenly start working or they will find a job if a group like the LGBT are gone.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Are Folks Making America Hate Again?​

Yes, the Media lies, people that shouldn't had a chance to be in the White house, and politics are making Americans hate again.

 

[stevil]

There's nothing to infer. Justice and power aren't equivocal.

They are for an egotist

 

[FireDragon76]

Girard always describes one scapegoat, either a person or a group, targeted by a crowd as the cause of their problem. Once the target is dealt with, the crowd believes the problem will be resolved and things will go back to normal. No evidence that the people mentioned in the OP believe that their vehicles will suddenly start working or they will find a job if a group like the LGBT are gone.

The scapegoat mechanism is the result of magical or pre-rational thinking, it doesn't rely upon that chain of logic. Girard assumes that human motivations aren't primarily based on rationality, but passions like narcissism, greed, envy, etc.

 

[doubtingmerle]

DEI is soft racism.

In what way is seeking equality racism? Women and minorities have long found it harder to obtain equal jobs in America. Publicly admitting this and publicly trying to equal out the balance seems to be a good thing. Does it sometimes go too far? Probably But the Trump administration is doing a full-scale reversal of attempts to equal things out. It appears to often be fueled by hatred for women and minorities.

Not all federal workers are deep state sabatures and political activists working behind the scenes to undermine the president, but they do exist and they need to go.

DOGE has been a full-frontal attack on the institutions of government. They have dismantled vital programs such as life-saving research into diabetes. And the fuel behind this attack is an irrational hatred of government, ignoring that government is good.

The needy vs the greedy. There are too many people taking advantage of the welfare system and the "needy" has become progressively worse since LBJ's war on poverty.

Sir, people in America are needy. I find it quite calloused to ignore that people are needy and instead call them "needy" in scare quotes.

What is your evidence that the welfare system has increasingly given money to people taking advantage of it? Are you aware that the welfare program was abandoned by Clinton, and replaced with a much less generous program called TANF? According to the Atlantic. “‘Welfare reform’ didn’t fix welfare so much as destroy it, and if similar changes were applied to Medicaid and food stamps, they would likely do the same.”

The tendency is for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. We need the government to continue to do much good to help the poor. But unfortunately, all this is being maligned as Marxism and those who promote it are branded as Unhumans.

 

[doubtingmerle]

The needy vs the greedy. There are too many people taking advantage of the welfare system and the "needy" has become progressively worse since LBJ's war on poverty.

Image by author using ChatGPT Sora

 

[FireDragon76]

View attachment 364207
Image by author using ChatGPT Sora

That's an amazing bit of AI art. And an interesting portrayal of a personification of America you don't often see.

For some people, cruelty is the whole point. I think that says alot about how bad our society has gotten. Of course, we have had periods before when Americans relish open cruelty and scapegoating, but it goes against the Whig narrative of history that has been part of the American political and cultural mainstream until recently.

 

[doubtingmerle]

That's an amazing bit of AI art.

The new Sora is amazing. All I did was ask for an image of, "Uncle Sam is handing out apples to desperately poor children. Others are marching withs signs saying, "They are not needy", "Stop Unhuman government assistance", and "You Marxist".

 

[Oompa Loompa]

In what way is seeking equality racism?

Equal outcomes regardless of effort based on race is racist. Telling people they are inherently racist because of thr color of their skin is racist. Affirmative action is racist, and DEI is a larger scale version of it.

DOGE has been a full-frontal attack on the institutions of government. They have dismantled vital programs such as life-saving research into diabetes. And the fuel behind this attack is an irrational hatred of government, ignoring that government is good.

This is a strawman that does not address the truth in what I said.

Sir, people in America are needy.

And there are also greedy people who use fraud to steal of the government welfare system.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

View attachment 364207
Image by author using ChatGPT Sora

Another strawman that distracts from the truth in my statement.

 

[BCP1928]

This is a strawman that does not address the truth in what I said.

Was there any?

 

[Aryeh Jay]

If they are going to die, then let them hurry up and do so and decrease the surplus population.

 

[FireDragon76]

The new Sora is amazing. All I did was ask for an image of, "Uncle Sam is handing out apples to desperately poor children. Others are marching withs signs saying, "They are not needy", "Stop Unhuman government assistance", and "You Marxist".

I am surprised by the ability of newer AI models to be emotionally evocative, in a realistic manner. They've come a long way in only a few years.