4 ms·

It's a pretty succinct description of the two sides of tribalism.

luckylion 6y ago
To have a We, you need a They. An alien threat would be the best thing ever for human cooperation. I'm not sure whether the aliens need to be real, as long as they feel real.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is real, but apparently insufficiently alien? Or maybe too alien to suffice as a subanthropomorphisable They?
  - luckylion 6y ago
    Yeah, I think it has to be something that can be considered an enemy, not something that'll do us harm because that's how things are but has no mind of its own. A virus, diabetes or global warming aren't going to work as good (my intuition is that men need it to be an actual enemy more than women, but I have no idea). I do believe that e.g. Americans would be much more compliant in corona-mitigation-things like wearing masks if the narrative was "China has sent us a Virus to destroy us". But that would obviously also create serious issues because they'd demand revenge. A secretive alien enemy has sent us a Virus, and they're also trying to cook us alive by heating up our planet. Are you going to just let them do it to us, or will you stand up and fight for our way of life, against the intergalactic threat? Now that's a They that can provide a We for Team Humanity, Leaders Of The Free Universe.
    - 082349872349872 6y ago
      Would you like to know more? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc
  - samatman 6y ago
    Not nearly alien enough. Plague has co-evolved with human civilization, for reasons adequately explained in Guns, Germs and Steel, among other places. The ability to understand it, and take rational steps to mitigate it, is rather more new. SARS2 is arguably the first major pestilence to strike a human civilization which was coddled into the illusion that no such thing can happen to it. Our spectrum of responses to that are fairly predictable to a student of history, but mixed with the peculiar impotence of a people who thought they had the power to stop this sort of thing, and have discovered they do not.
  - thatcat 6y ago
    Possibly actually alien, but people need something to look at or at least sense. so yea subanthropomorphisable. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24392814 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24392814

To have a We, you need a They. An alien threat would be the best thing ever for human cooperation. I'm not sure whether the aliens need to be real, as long as they feel real.

082349872349872 6y ago
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is real, but apparently insufficiently alien? Or maybe too alien to suffice as a subanthropomorphisable They?
- luckylion 6y ago
  Yeah, I think it has to be something that can be considered an enemy, not something that'll do us harm because that's how things are but has no mind of its own. A virus, diabetes or global warming aren't going to work as good (my intuition is that men need it to be an actual enemy more than women, but I have no idea). I do believe that e.g. Americans would be much more compliant in corona-mitigation-things like wearing masks if the narrative was "China has sent us a Virus to destroy us". But that would obviously also create serious issues because they'd demand revenge. A secretive alien enemy has sent us a Virus, and they're also trying to cook us alive by heating up our planet. Are you going to just let them do it to us, or will you stand up and fight for our way of life, against the intergalactic threat? Now that's a They that can provide a We for Team Humanity, Leaders Of The Free Universe.
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    Would you like to know more? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc
- samatman 6y ago
  Not nearly alien enough. Plague has co-evolved with human civilization, for reasons adequately explained in Guns, Germs and Steel, among other places. The ability to understand it, and take rational steps to mitigate it, is rather more new. SARS2 is arguably the first major pestilence to strike a human civilization which was coddled into the illusion that no such thing can happen to it. Our spectrum of responses to that are fairly predictable to a student of history, but mixed with the peculiar impotence of a people who thought they had the power to stop this sort of thing, and have discovered they do not.
- thatcat 6y ago
  Possibly actually alien, but people need something to look at or at least sense. so yea subanthropomorphisable. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24392814 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24392814