- 26 Apr 2017 06:33
#14800297
If you read the unibomber's manifesto (not PC, I know) he suggests (if I try to condense it down to a couple sentences) that extreme liberals possess deep seated feelings of inadequacy and hostility but that their "oversocialization" prevents them from directly expressing these feelings, so that they will instead express them in the only socially acceptable way they can think of; namely, to hold everyone else to an impossibly high version of their societies' own standards. These high standards may be impossible to attain, or destructive to adhere to but since their goal is to satisfy their hostility and ameliorate feelings of inadequacy, that is fine by them. Attempts to cope with feelings of inadequacy and suppression of their real selves also generates distracting psychological mechanisms, such as baseless arrogance, hedonism, sadism and an attempt to generate new identities (gender theories, identifying according to a sexual deviance, etc.). Finally, liberal behaviors such as protesting by trying to get hit by cars passing by are also a side effect of their feelings of inadequacy and hostility bleeding into masochism and the guilt-tripping of other people.
One of the things that strikes me about this theory is how the same argument could explain the psychology of radical Muslim suicide bombers. They, too, suffer from a mixture of malice and self-loathing. While the western liberal can get away with being an extreme form of western values, thereby semi-satisfying his inner demons, a Muslim with the same issues would theoretically become an extreme version of Muslim values. From there comes his desire to kill everyone who isn't a Muslim, the suicide bombers (an Islamic version of blocking the street, hoping someone hits you with their car) and this even explains the reason that radical leftists sympathize with radical Muslims, and why ISIS tries to recruit from Western liberals. Despite ostensibly being opposites of each other, they mutually recognize each other as being oversocialized hostile people who found an out by being extreme versions of their own people's values.
The suicide bomber and the person who lies down in the middle of the street are both expressing their inferiority complex. The radical Muslim and the extreme liberal are both "oversocialized" hostile people.
Finally, one of the points where I personally disagree with the unibomber (besides the obvious) is that I have little sympathy for people who feel a need to camouflague their anger in a socially acceptable way. It is indeed hard to find a way to make yourself feel adequate in a world with no pressing yet easily solved problems but hurting other people as a result of those feelings about yourself isn't an acceptable answer.
One of the things that strikes me about this theory is how the same argument could explain the psychology of radical Muslim suicide bombers. They, too, suffer from a mixture of malice and self-loathing. While the western liberal can get away with being an extreme form of western values, thereby semi-satisfying his inner demons, a Muslim with the same issues would theoretically become an extreme version of Muslim values. From there comes his desire to kill everyone who isn't a Muslim, the suicide bombers (an Islamic version of blocking the street, hoping someone hits you with their car) and this even explains the reason that radical leftists sympathize with radical Muslims, and why ISIS tries to recruit from Western liberals. Despite ostensibly being opposites of each other, they mutually recognize each other as being oversocialized hostile people who found an out by being extreme versions of their own people's values.
The suicide bomber and the person who lies down in the middle of the street are both expressing their inferiority complex. The radical Muslim and the extreme liberal are both "oversocialized" hostile people.
Finally, one of the points where I personally disagree with the unibomber (besides the obvious) is that I have little sympathy for people who feel a need to camouflague their anger in a socially acceptable way. It is indeed hard to find a way to make yourself feel adequate in a world with no pressing yet easily solved problems but hurting other people as a result of those feelings about yourself isn't an acceptable answer.
Orb Team Re-Assemble!