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Peter's avatar

Again, thanks to Morgan Housel for leading me to this article. It explains so many things I have been wrestling with like how to deal with narcissistic behavior (they seem to be the ultimate status seekers with no truth filter), how two groups so close in ideology and linked by history can be so at odds with each other when there are so many other factions that seem to be far more at odds with both groups (Middle East, Pakistan and India, uighers, Tutsi and Hutu, snowboarders and skiers :). Red v blue. Ford v Chevy. Etc. I guess it brings new meaning to the phrase “The truth shall set you free”. Free from enjoying too many friendships. It explains momentum investing and the GameStop phenomenon, it explains why local rivalries can get so explosive. My education is engineering and finance which seem more truth seeking, less group joining, group status seeking and it helps explain why technical skills become less valuable as I rise up in a big company where loyalty and groupthink are valued above “truthful” analysis. I am feeling both empowered by the insight and, simultaneously filled with dread and sorrow.

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hunterwalk's avatar

on "Abolish the Police" - i get the x-group signaling aspect that you point out but want to suggest another motivation, which probably doesn't drive the discourse in this specific case, but might apply to others.

let's assume that some % of people who are saying "abolish the police" are dreamers - people who imagine a better state of the world where police are generally not needed because we're living in some sort of harmony. Where would that fit into this model.

Maybe the song Imagine is a better example of this? I know I'm mixing a ton of different ideas here, but can extreme statements also be in a 2x2 of "aspirational/tribal" as opposed to, let's say, "confrontation/tribal" ?

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