Beat the Sharks!!
I am actually not a huge Jets fan in spite of my icon. I will be pulling for the Colts. The Colts offense plays fancy while the Jets defense plays ugly.
But I thought I would take this opportunity provided by the NY Jets play-off run in order to explain the metaphor I am trying to advance.
I perhaps get this metaphor from Somerby at the Daily Howler. I have been a Howler reader, sometimes off and on when I got too busy in DU, for perhaps seven years. Probably puts me in a minority in DU (again) where Somerby is not nearly as popular as KeithO who Somerby often criticizes.
I think the criticism is often valid, and it follows this metaphor. Somerby talks about "our tribe" and "their tribe".
http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh081109.shtml"SURPRISED ALL OVER AGAIN! Before we call the other tribe names, let’s see how our own tribe has functioned."
One of the things KeithO and many DUers like to do is talk about the tribes, or as I call them, the gangs. Our gang is the Jets. And Jets, of course, are totally awesome. We are intelligent, well read, tolerant, open-minded, compassionate, logical, honest, hard-working, generous, and modest. If there is a virtue, we possess it, in spades. And also in hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
Especially as compared to the Sharks, those scum-bags on the other side. They are stupid, functioanlly illiterate, bigotted, close-minded, hard-hearted, superstitious, liars, lazy, stingy, and arrogant. If there is a fault, they posses it, in spades.
Of course, both of those are slight exxagerations and some might be thinking or will chime in - "but it's mostly true" and trot out some famous examples "get a brain, morans!" Somerby says we used to call that 'nut-picking' when the other side did it, but then we turn around and do it ourselves. "See, there's a war protestor who is violent and hates America, so they all do." "See, there's two or three clearly racist signs at a tea party protest, they all are a bunch of racists."
Well, it is always easy to be conviced of something that you already believe. As many believe in the perfidity of the other gang - the Sharks, it is easy for them to find 'proof' for that belief.
The other side, of course, does the same thing. They can find a few DUers who have some problems and use it to show that all of us 'primitives' (or Jets, really) are really defective. Just like they can find a few lies that Obama has told, just by reading DU on most days, to be convinced that he is a liar.
This is classic sociology though, that groups will maintain cohesion by contrasting themselves with other 'outside' groups.
Of course, I futilely try to fight against it. I try to convince the other side that there are good people on my side and try to convince my side that there are good people on the other side. Perhaps even great people (see below). That if we want to win in politics we need to reach out and inform rather than name-call and demonize.
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