I’m intrigued by the concept of affective polarization.
My views are probably more moderate and this point in my life than they’ve ever been. I’ve said somewhat recently that “I’m an anarchist that’s been mugged by reality.”
My politics and attitudes from 20 years ago are close to what what you might find trending on Twitter, but a bit more extreme.
This will sound crazy, but at times I’ve wondered if I’m not in some kind of after-life or “simulation jail” where I have to deal with millions and millions of people in the US making noises very similar to my own from two decades prior and if it’s it like… some kind of cosmic revenge or the universe trying to teach me a painful lesson. It feels uncanny at times.
That’s kind of a tangent, but maybe relevant background to say myself and others of similar stripes I knew had a lot of extreme points of view at one time, but we were mostly self-marginalized and we’re ineffective because of them. I’d guess this was because we were much more of a minority at the time.
It’s different now in that what was once alienating beliefs and behaviors are now an entry ticket for safe harbor—it means you can express your beliefs and find shelter, even if it’s tenuous and always moving like a peloton.
I have to think that this is ultimately what social media provides, the ability to “move” very efficiently in a herd and in a way that’s the maximally rewarding, but contingent on being maximally harassing to another herd.
I’m intrigued by the concept of affective polarization.
My views are probably more moderate and this point in my life than they’ve ever been. I’ve said somewhat recently that “I’m an anarchist that’s been mugged by reality.”
My politics and attitudes from 20 years ago are close to what what you might find trending on Twitter, but a bit more extreme.
This will sound crazy, but at times I’ve wondered if I’m not in some kind of after-life or “simulation jail” where I have to deal with millions and millions of people in the US making noises very similar to my own from two decades prior and if it’s it like… some kind of cosmic revenge or the universe trying to teach me a painful lesson. It feels uncanny at times.
That’s kind of a tangent, but maybe relevant background to say myself and others of similar stripes I knew had a lot of extreme points of view at one time, but we were mostly self-marginalized and we’re ineffective because of them. I’d guess this was because we were much more of a minority at the time.
It’s different now in that what was once alienating beliefs and behaviors are now an entry ticket for safe harbor—it means you can express your beliefs and find shelter, even if it’s tenuous and always moving like a peloton.
I have to think that this is ultimately what social media provides, the ability to “move” very efficiently in a herd and in a way that’s the maximally rewarding, but contingent on being maximally harassing to another herd.
It feels like refuge, but it’s all a fugazi.