I hear these comments for not wanting to help people, and it feels like we’re worshipping individuality to the detriment of community, which is necessary for survival.
- “I don’t want my money going to ___ .”
- “This is not a democracy, it’s a constitutional republic!”
- “You don’t have any freedoms under socialism/communism.”
- “They’re just looking for a handout because they’re lazy.”
- “I’m a self-made man. I didn’t need anyone’s help.”
- “Empathy is not a virtue.”
- “I don’t see how that’s my problem.”
Evangelical leaders are certainly trying.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/is-empathy-a-sin-some-conservative-christians-argue-it-can-be
It’s by design.
The spread of the superhero (Übermenschen) to ubiquity in pop culture, especially Hollywood, the punishing and assumption of evil within destitute people, the indoctrination of children (pledge of allegiance et al), the selective curricula that largely keep the general education from showing the populace of the US that their country is more closely related to a self styled African dictatorship than a modern social democracy. Usanians frequently utter “it’s not personal, it’s business”. That is the hallmark of declining hegemon and roughly translates to “fuck you, got mine”.
it’s not personal, it’s business
This mentality is such an ingrained part of corporate culture, and our culture has been centered around corporate life since around when Reagan came into office. The top suggestions for how to survive in this USA culture is to cut off empathy. What’s worse is I think a lot of people have. There’s an air of cruelty to every aspect of this society, from politics to police to medical to social media. Everyone wants a break from the reality of their shitty life, and many are willing to step on others for the hope of an opportunity.
roughly translates to “fuck you, got mine”.
In the US you much more frequently hear it the other way around: “I got mine, now you fuck off.” Until they “get theirs” they maintain the pretense of sociability.
The spread of the superhero (Übermenschen) to ubiquity in pop culture, especially Hollywood
You mean, like Superman (1938), Flash Gordon (1936), Captain Marvel (1941), etc.?
Except in those days they were considered cheap entertainment and they certainly didn’t dominate cultural output the way they do now. There was also a difference of treatment. The ubermenschen is not just about explicit super heroes, it’s more about the shift toward heroes with a destiny so manifest, and plot armor so thick, that they are morally justified in doing anything. The John Wick style “fuck you i’ll shoot up a night club cause some guy shanked my dog” which is written to feel entirely justified to the audience. And he’s right cause he wins in the end, just like the 80s action guy who’s totally justified in crashing dozens of cars during rush hour cause he kills the one bad guy in the end. It’s pretty distinct from comics culture which was actually pretty moralistic, at least that’s how i understand it.
the 80s action guy who’s totally justified in crashing dozens of cars during rush hour cause he kills the one bad guy in the end
Axel Foley is my hero!
It’s all entertainment - what I will never comprehend (though they are so simple it’s easy to understand) is how a glimpsed female nipple is a bigger problem “for the children” than GI Joe spraying a village with napalm and bullets.
MAGA conservatives are literally unable to feel empathy. There have been scientific studies showing the connection between the brain structures that feel empathy and political leaning
It is our duty to encourage empathy in others, otherwise waves arms
It’s not innate…
Innately humans are just animals. It takes effort to get people on the same page that cooperating is usually best
But we stopped teaching kids that in school 20 years ago.
That’s the sad truth about it. It’s not that the right corrupted a generation, just that between them an the neoliberals, no one wanted to help them. They both wanted brain dead tribalism because that’s what their mutual donors want
It honestly shouldn’t be that hard for everyone to follow the string back to "no child left behind’ but I remember pointing out this would happen 30 years ago, and I thought it was obvious back then too.
Animals work together very easily and frequently actually, same and different species, even things called symbiotic relationships. That argument is proving your point wrong and indicating that most hatred is indoctrination.
And they’re socialized for that too…
Take a social animal, raise it in isolation, and it will be almost impossible for it to integrate in a group after released as an adult…
You’ve never seen any of the videos of wildlife rehab hiding the fact that they’re human from an animal?
At least since the 60s/70s, it’s not new.
Wasn’t there segregation before the 70s? So it seems like a default state for USA since forever.
“Hate thy neighbor skin color”
https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/how-segregation-survived.html
You’re referring to the 1560s/70s, right?
Seriously, though, stripping away empathy has always been a tactic throughout history used by the greedy and selfish to get their way.
Ignore. Empathy is hot.
These values are cyclical in history. Mostly they persist until the system breaks down and then there is a surge of solidarity which sets things back on the path until people start thinking all their advantages came from their own ability and then the cycle repeats.
The early 1900’s was fairly communal but the great war and the 1920’s was filled with this sentiment of individuality until the depression crashed it out and then there was a split - a combo of Union efforts, reinvestment in government systems and extreme solidarity out of nessesity in the US/UK and the same time toxic individuality caused a canabalization of society in fascist areas of Europe. The World War created more extreme communal solidarity. In the areas where there was union resistance and communal solidarity legislation to keep businesses in check was installed and that gave way to pushback from business interest. As solidarity continued there was more general prosperity and you started seeing marginalized communities start to speak up. Racial communities, disability communities, queer communities - those who had been denied the comfort everyone else was taking for granted popped up and fought like hell for empathy and some made bigger wins than others…but then you start seeing the push back. Austerity gospel via Regan and Thatcher “there is no society just individuals and families” and all those safeguards and solidarity that were put in place to solve the crash of the 30’s started to be undone and slandered as “too much overreach”.
Looking at the UK if you go back even further you see this cycle repeat work backwards and you see it. Victorian workhouse systems replacing the welfare state and then being discarded as cruel. The Georgian fight for the poor law and charity and the industrial revolution’s runaway excess of the rich that fed people into the meat grinder of labour and erroded poor law to force compliance.
Empathy’s time will come again but apparently we need to be reminded by virtue of horror what the cost of this kind of inviduality is.
the cost of this kind of inviduality is.
The thing is, it’s a rare individual who “benefits” from the direction we are continuing to move in. Unless they’re a bunch of sadists who like watching the rest of the world suffer while they insulate themselves with security forces, that they can’t really trust, because where do you get the people to maintain the security?
A society where the richest can walk down High Street in London without a thought to “personal security” is better for the people at the top, too. Unless they’re sadists.
Independence can be weaponized to make people fight each other.
So can collectivism be used to manipulate people to sacrifice “for the common good”, like for example, forcing you to be in the military to “fight for our country” in foreign wars.
Me vs Us
Us vs Them
Both can be problematic.
But who’s the us and who’s the them? And why would a distinction necessarily force us to commit murder?!
If you decide on anything superficial (race and tribe, for instance), the bonds will be easily broken and the people will be easily manipulated. If you pick something like character and ideology, you can have a wider circle (these things are more flexible) and if you dislike the out group it is for actual reasons like a major moral disagreement and not the amount of melanin.
They’re sure trying their best.
right wing propaganda via news, shows and movies is very effectivive. its always seperating “in groups” against outgroups"aka poors, lgbtq+, homeless, drug addicts, prostitutes, vs a moral white guy that is always above average. or sometimes they show those wierd racist kinks, like white guy going after asian women. thats how they pacify americans.
This is largely an American problem, although it is spreading due to global media.
I blame it largely on Calvinism and the prosperity gospel:
“Good things come to good people” -> “If good things didn’t come to you, you’re not a good person” -> “Poor people are poor because they are bad people, and we should not help them” -> “It’s okay to help billionaires, they wouldn’t be rich if they weren’t good people”
A lot of poor people have this view in the US, which you would think would make them reconsider it, but they solve this with mental gymnastics: They and their in-group are good people, so obviously it’s okay to help them and the good things are coming any second. Another reason not to tax rich people, they’ll be one soon!
This is also true in Hinduism and Buddhism, it’s just always been convienient for rulers to convince peasents of this
Yes. We have become a nation of de facto sovereign citizens. The average American thinks of nothing past the crummy job, the soul breaking commute, the mortgage, and another Ben Franklin for the third star on the fourth stripe on little Ayngylynn’s tae kwon do white belt. Frank Freeway and Susie Soccermom are too wrapped up in themselves to care what kind of people we are.
Back in 1997, my sociology professor said the US would become the meanest society in history. And OMFFSM, I see it everywhere. There’s no more sense of community or even common courtesy. Hurt the other guy or get hurt. Violence over small things will soon be commonplace and inescapable. We will all have to be armed, much as we may hate it. This is all by design.
OMFFSM
What is this acronym
Oh my fucking god, where their god is the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Ohhhhh. Thanks boss
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These are age old comments, I heard all of them from a very young age. It’s been there the whole time.
And it’s been working. For a long time.
Is not about eliminating empathy. That party is a side effect of carpet bombing anything the left values. It’s just another “makes libs cry”
