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I tried to explain to somebody else here [0] already - "[This establishes] a frame in which stressors are measured solely by their impact on fatality. The extra

by lhnz 11y ago

I tried to explain to somebody else here [0] already - "[This establishes] a frame in which stressors are measured solely by their impact on fatality. The extra attention given to terrorism relates more to the conservative fear of losing their 'way of life'. Attempting to measure both of these things solely in relation to their impact on fatality misunderstands the reasons for fear over terrorism and creates a communication problem between the left and right." Effectively the reason terrorism appears to over-dominate the public sphere is that it does so for different reasons than the ones that are visible to you. You can mitigate these reasons but first you have to acknowledge them (otherwise you're just preaching to the choir.) [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11289173 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11289173

mikeash 11y ago
The "way of life" thing either depends on terrorism killing enough people to destroy our way of life, or it's a self-fulfilling prophecy when we destroy our own way of life by overreacting. Either way, "terrorism doesn't kill very many people, so don't worry about it so much" addresses it. Not that people will listen, but it doesn't fail because it misses the point.
- lhnz 11y ago
  > depends on terrorism killing enough people to destroy our way of life Demographic and therefore cultural shifts do not only occur when a majority population has a high number of killings. They can also occur when immigrant populations are more fertile than the majority population. Terrorism is a signal of clashing ideologies but this in itself isn't a problem for a majority culture unless they believe themselves to be in rapid decline. If you want to convince a group of people not to be fearful, you should probably show them communities in which different cultures peacefully co-exist, and actively try to lessen their fears that their own culture is weakening as its members grow older and die. Reducing the causes of fear seems to me a better path than misunderstanding it and then calling them ignorant. The way everybody is going I see the opposite happening, and it's only going to ramp up fear and hatred. I worry about eventual violence.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    I don't see much fear of being out-bred. Maybe in some fringe, but the mainstream seems to fear foreign terrorists coming here to kill people. For example, look at the debate over Syrian refugees. The "against" side is not talking about refusing them because they'll start breeding here and their ideologies will clash, at least not that I've seen. Their reasoning is that terrorists will hide among the legitimate refugees as a way to gain access to the country.
    - lhnz 11y ago
      You are right about what you see in the mainstream but I have a different perspective. It is my opinion that media scapegoating is a symptom of people with poor economic opportunity and declining institutions giving attention to anybody that can point at an enemy. Decline, opportunism and imperfect psychologies are the root causes. I'm hopeful that elites will attempt to lessen the underlying causes which would make it more difficult for demagogues to capitalise. However, so far I've only seem attempts to demonise whole peoples - a mirror image of itself.

by lhnz 11y ago

mikeash 11y ago

The "way of life" thing either depends on terrorism killing enough people to destroy our way of life, or it's a self-fulfilling prophecy when we destroy our own way of life by overreacting. Either way, "terrorism doesn't kill very many people, so don't worry about it so much" addresses it. Not that people will listen, but it doesn't fail because it misses the point.

lhnz 11y ago
> depends on terrorism killing enough people to destroy our way of life Demographic and therefore cultural shifts do not only occur when a majority population has a high number of killings. They can also occur when immigrant populations are more fertile than the majority population. Terrorism is a signal of clashing ideologies but this in itself isn't a problem for a majority culture unless they believe themselves to be in rapid decline. If you want to convince a group of people not to be fearful, you should probably show them communities in which different cultures peacefully co-exist, and actively try to lessen their fears that their own culture is weakening as its members grow older and die. Reducing the causes of fear seems to me a better path than misunderstanding it and then calling them ignorant. The way everybody is going I see the opposite happening, and it's only going to ramp up fear and hatred. I worry about eventual violence.
- mikeash 11y ago
  I don't see much fear of being out-bred. Maybe in some fringe, but the mainstream seems to fear foreign terrorists coming here to kill people. For example, look at the debate over Syrian refugees. The "against" side is not talking about refusing them because they'll start breeding here and their ideologies will clash, at least not that I've seen. Their reasoning is that terrorists will hide among the legitimate refugees as a way to gain access to the country.
  - lhnz 11y ago
    You are right about what you see in the mainstream but I have a different perspective. It is my opinion that media scapegoating is a symptom of people with poor economic opportunity and declining institutions giving attention to anybody that can point at an enemy. Decline, opportunism and imperfect psychologies are the root causes. I'm hopeful that elites will attempt to lessen the underlying causes which would make it more difficult for demagogues to capitalise. However, so far I've only seem attempts to demonise whole peoples - a mirror image of itself.