By VictorM: Why do right-wingers feel that some gun controls mean we’re taking away their guns? Why are safety laws an intrusion into their lives? Why would gays being allowed to marry threaten their own marriages? Why if you’re not religious you threaten all of society with lawlessness and lust? Why are they supporting the reckless war in Iraq?

The simple answer is FEAR! Right-winger attitudes have roots in terrifying fear that sees anyone not like themselves a threat that must be destroyed, not just opposed. To gain a better understand of the dynamics that cause this attitude, read "The Authoritarians", by Bob Altemeyer. You can read the whole book online for free by going here, but this quote gives us the general idea:

High RWAs [right wing authoritarians] are, in general, more afraid than most people are... we do know that they were raised by their parents to be afraid of others, because both the parents and their children tell us so. Sometimes it’s all rather predictable: authoritarians’ parents taught fear of homosexuals, radicals, atheists and pornographers. But they also warned their children, more than most parents did, about kidnappers, reckless drivers, bullies and drunks--bad guys who would seem to threaten everyone’s children. So authoritarian followers, when growing up, probably lived in a scarier world than most kids do, with a lot more boogeymen hiding in dark places, and they’re still scared as adults. For them, gay marriage is not just unthinkable on religious grounds, and unnerving because it means making the "abnormal" acceptable. It’s yet one more sign that perversion is corrupting society from the inside-out, leading to total chaos. Many things, from stem cell research to right-to-die legislation, say to them, "This is the last straw; soon we’ll be plunged into the abyss." So probably did, in earlier times, women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, sex education and Sunday shopping.

Thanks to JuliaAnn for pointing out this book and website.

Labels: Authoritarians, Bob Altemeyer, fear, right-wing

By Glenn Greenwald: Whatever else you might think of him, John Stossel has an excellent article in Real Clear Politics this morning, entitled Fear of Terrorism Overblown?, in which he notes that various political movements, the "terrorism industry," and the media all work in confederation, with some shared motives and some disparate ones, to greatly exaggerate Americans' fears of terrorism beyond what is remotely justified by reason. That is not news to many people, but it is always encouraging when the exploitation of the terrorist threat -- one of the principal weapons used by those who have sought to radically alter our country -- is discussed in mainstream venues.

Labels: fear, glenn greenwald, john stossel, terrorism

By VictorM: Officials for a Fort Meyers, Florida school banned the marching band from traveling to England for a parade because the kids would be "safer in America." But with the help of governor Jeb Bush, the pupils forced a vote by their families, who overturned the ban. The students raised the money and are now in England where they will lead the parade. Bob Bone, the parade's executive director, said of the person who set the ban: "Here is an educator that seems to delight in the knowledge that he is ignorant of the facts. London is not a city under siege... Fort Myers's murder rate is several times higher than that in London and you are three times as likely to be the victim of rape or violent crime," Mr Bone said.

This story is a good example of what fear does to people.

Labels: fear, london, marching band