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"... War was really bad, unless your guy backed it. [A] common
reaction to the flyers in O-Land was 'But it's Bush's wars!' This is
bizarre. Obama campaigned promising to escalate war in Afghanistan.
He's now escalated war in Afghanistan. Bush has been gone for longer
than most U.S. wars have lasted from beginning to end. What in the
world does Congress or Obama have to do to get ownership of the
wars?"<br>
<br>
A Tale of Two Tribes<br>
By David Swanson <br>
Posted on 30 October 2010<br>
<br>
On Friday evening, Charlottesville, Virginia's liberals were lined
up the length of the pedestrian street known as the Downtown Mall
waiting to get into an event with President Obama and Congressman
Tom Perriello. Meanwhile the rightwingers (or some of them, because
the Tea Party had an event elsewhere) were at an Americans for
Prosperity event in a nearby park. And we misfits were handing the
same flyers to both groups and observing the different reactions.<br>
<br>
We were unable to find a single person who was on hand for the
purpose of urging elected officials to do better, to move in a
preferred direction on any important policy. In fact, attendees of
the Democratic rally were forbidden to bring signs and saw no
problem with that at all. We discovered that people had shown up in
order to be part of a communal deification or demonization of
elected officials, not to lobby them. This was not about policy, but
about group identity. These two crowds were not voting the lesser of
two evils, whichever candidate they deemed that to be. They were
backing heroes and condemning evildoers, from both sides in a form
of tribal madness.<br>
<br>
I handed the same flyer to members of the Tribe of O and of the
Tribe of No. The flyers read:<br>
<br>
"Jobs NOT Wars<br>
<br>
"Tom Votes for War $ — Obama Shows Up<br>
<br>
"On July 27, 2010, 115 congress members voted against a $33 billion
escalation of the War on Afghanistan. Tom Perriello voted for it.<br>
<br>
"On July 1, 2010, 100 congress members voted to fund only withdrawal
from Afghanistan. Perriello voted against that amendment.<br>
<br>
"On March 10, 2010, 65 congress members voted to end the War on
Afghanistan. Perriello voted to keep it going.<br>
<br>
"In May 2009, 60 congress members voted against dumping another $97
billion into the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Perriello voted for
it. Then, in June 2009, 202 congress members voted against that same
war funding combined with a massive bailout for East European
bankers. Perriello voted for both.<br>
<br>
"136 congress members have signed a letter promising not to cut
Social Security. Perriello has not.<br>
<br>
"Tom Perriello: he listens to Obama. Does he listen to us?<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WarIsACrime.org.">"http://WarIsACrime.org."</a><br>
<br>
Members of the Tribe of No all wore stickers that said "Cut
Spending," so I asked them if they'd like to cut the single biggest
piece of spending. Several of them, when they figured out what that
was, said that they certainly would not and began denouncing me as a
member of the Tribe of O. I confess that it drives me crazy to
listen to people yell about cutting spending when they favor both
the largest and the most harmful spending program we have: the
Pentagon. So, I suggested they take their stickers off, and they
suggested I leave.<br>
<br>
Of course, I don't leave places if someone wants me to, so they told
me I had to leave because they had a permit for the park. When that
didn't work they threatened to call the police, which I encouraged
them to do. But cameras were starting to circle like vultures, and
an amicable Republican Party guy quickly stepped in and advised his
brethren that I should be allowed to stay because I was
"anti-Perriello." I made sure he understood that I was anti-Hurt,
but that crisis had passed.<br>
<br>
I had some conversations with people in the Tribe of No who agreed
with me, and others who were open to doing so. And it worked as long
as we talked about the wars and the financial cost of the military.
If we strayed to any other topic, such as schools, or the right to
bear automatic weapons, or whatever, they quickly spotted me as a
member of the Tribe of O, and collaboration then became risky if not
treasonous.<br>
<br>
While I was talking to one Nomian, a young man came up and quickly
began yelling about the need to fund the military or die, and the
need to support our wars. Eventually he showed me his war scars, but
what he really wanted to stress repeatedly was that he had been at
the World Trade Center on 9-11. I'm not a doctor, but when someone
goes from zero to screaming in under 6 seconds, I suspect they may
have more to worry about than flawed political arguments.<br>
<br>
There was nobody like that in the much larger Tribe of O. The Omians
were all against war, as far as I could learn. They read the first
line of the flyer and eagerly took it. Then they read part or all of
the remaining text, and, in many, possibly most, cases, they gave it
back or crumpled it up and threw it on the ground. They sometimes
claimed the facts were wrong, but that was just a baseless
exclamation. Much more often they were simply angry that the facts
were right or considered relevant.<br>
<br>
One rational woman said that she understood but "still liked him
anyway." Even in this case, it wasn't a question of calculating the
political gain to be had in voting for a flawed candidate. It was a
question of "liking him" or not. This was the tribe of the candidate
backed by the NRA, but all the NRA hats were over in the park on the
heads of the Nomians. This was liberal territory. War was really
bad, unless your guy backed it.<br>
<br>
Another common reaction to the flyers in O-Land was "But it's Bush's
wars!" This is bizarre. Obama campaigned promising to escalate war
in Afghanistan. He's now escalated war in Afghanistan. Bush has been
gone for longer than most U.S. wars have lasted from beginning to
end. What in the world does Congress or Obama have to do to get
ownership of the wars?<br>
<br>
Who knows? The important thing was that my friends and I were
clearly from the other tribe, and we were consequently denounced as
supporting the Republican candidate, Robert Hurt.<br>
<br>
In fact, I voted for the third-party guy who has no chance because
I'd promised Perriello I would not support him if he kept funding
wars. But if you want to vote for the lesser of the two evils, which
is clearly Perriello, knock yourself out. And if you want to send me
more Emails about how you'll protest him AFTER the election, hey, I
can't stop you. But I can remind you to uphold that bargain. And I
can encourage you to declare your independence from tribal madness
as soon as possible.<br>
<br>
On 10/29/10 4:10 PM, John W. wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTi=WeCujCnyhvt+txW=HkQfB-=nF3zaK3sMMP-hY@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 4:07 PM, C. G.
Estabrook <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:galliher@illinois.edu">galliher@illinois.edu</a>></span>
wrote:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);
padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> The aptly-named Mort?</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Nope. You're so far out on the fringe, Carl, I'm not sure
you know who the REAL Beelzebub is any more. Seriously.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);
padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<div>
<div class="h5">On 10/29/10 3:48 PM, John W. wrote:
<blockquote type="cite"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 3:38
PM, C. G. Estabrook <span dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:galliher@illinois.edu"
target="_blank">galliher@illinois.edu</a>></span>
wrote:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt
0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204,
204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> If they are
in fact convinced that War is a Bad Thing, how
can they defend The One Who is responsible for
it? (My text today is Judges 4.6ff...)</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>While some there are who are non-believers, I
have seen no one on this list actively defending
Beelzebub.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt
0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204,
204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<div>
<div>On 10/29/10 3:14 PM, John W. wrote:
<blockquote type="cite">Thank you, Carl. I
believe I speak for everyone on this list
when I say that you've succeeded in
convincing us, at long last, that War Is a
Bad Thing. We owe you a profound debt of
gratitude. Or is it a debt of profound
gratitude?
<div> <br>
</div>
<div>Reverently.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>John</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 27,
2010 at 5:15 PM, C. G. Estabrook <span
dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:galliher@illinois.edu"
target="_blank">galliher@illinois.edu</a>></span>
wrote:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;
border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204,
204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff"
text="#000000"> "...Obama is
forever 'murdering' people around
the world rather than that his
(administration's) policies indeed
lead to the slaughter of
innocents..." <br>
--M. Brussel<br>
<br>
"Killing one person is murder;
killing thousands is foreign
policy"<br>
--bumper sticker purchased from
AWARE table at Farmers' Market <br>
<br>
I met Murder on the way -<br>
He had a mask like Castlereagh* -<br>
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;<br>
Seven blood-hounds followed him:<br>
<br>
All were fat; and well they might<br>
Be in admirable plight,<br>
For one by one, and two by two,<br>
He tossed the human hearts to chew<br>
Which from his wide cloak he drew.<br>
<br>
Next came Fraud, and he had on,<br>
Like Eldon, an ermined gown;<br>
His big tears, for he wept well,<br>
Turned to mill-stones as they
fell.<br>
<br>
And the little children, who<br>
Round his feet played to and fro,<br>
Thinking every tear a gem,<br>
Had their brains knocked out by
them...<br>
<br>
'And that slaughter to the Nation<br>
Shall steam up like inspiration,<br>
Eloquent, oracular;<br>
A volcano heard afar.<br>
<br>
'And these words shall then become<br>
Like Oppression's thundered doom<br>
Ringing through each heart and
brain,<br>
Heard again - again - again -<br>
<br>
'Rise like Lions after slumber<br>
In unvanquishable number -<br>
Shake your chains to earth like
dew<br>
Which in sleep had fallen on you -<br>
Ye are many - they are few.'<br>
<br>
--from "The Masque of Anarchy," by
Percy Bysshe Shelley, written on
the occasion of the "Peterloo
Massacre" carried out by the
British Government at St Peter's
Field, Manchester, on 16 August
1819, when cavalry charged into a
crowd of 60,000–80,000 gathered at
a meeting to demand the reform of
parliamentary representation. (Cf.
the attack on the unarmed Bonus
Expeditionary Force - 43,000
marchers, including 17,000 World
War I veterans and their families
- in Washington DC on 28 July 1932
by US army infantry and cavalry
supported by six tanks, and
commanded by Army Chief of Staff
General Douglas MacArthur; Major,
later President, Dwight D.
Eisenhower was his liaison with
Washington police, and Major
George Patton led the cavalry.)<br>
___________<br>
<br>
*British Foreign Minister who
eventually killed himself by
cutting his throat with a
letter-opener.<br>
<br>
<span style="white-space:
pre-wrap;"><br>
<br>
</span></div>
</blockquote>
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