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There is an interesting reframing of "us versus them" here [1]: It's the side of tribalism -- the primitive instinct that says your "group" has to win at all c
by andreyf 11y ago
There is an interesting reframing of "us versus them" here [1]:
It's the side of tribalism -- the primitive instinct that says your "group" has to win at all costs, and I honestly don't care how you define your group (race, religion, country, way of life) because ultimately I think there are the only two sides:
A. Those who think their tribe has to dominate Earth;
B. Those who think tribes can coexist.
It's especially interesting to see that even when offered revenge on the people who took the life of his family immediately, Hajji chose the longer and more abstract fight against the entire organization whose flag he believes they were operating under.
1. http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-keep-terrorists-from-ruining-world/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-keep-terrorists-from-r...
- mikeash 11y agoI find it ironic hat the author is dividing all of humanity into two tribes (A and B) and then stating that they cannot coexist.
- nickbauman 11y agoExcept that A by definition has a mandate of non-coexistence.
- mikeash 11y agoI'm sure plenty of "it's us or them" people justify it on the basis that the other group thinks "it's us or them." In any case, I'm not criticizing the author. This sort of thing is a fundamental paradox of tolerance. It's hard to tolerate those who would not tolerate you.
- tines 11y agoThe philosopher Karl Popper wrote about this and called it the Paradox of Tolerance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance