http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/opinion/the-thrill-of-political-hating.html -------------------- The Thrill of Political Hating JUNE 8, 2015 Arthur C. Brooks
. . .
Political hate generally appears in one of three basic forms.
The first is what some psychologists call “hot hate,” based on anger. Imagine yourself yelling at the television, and you get the picture. Most Americans would be ashamed to say “I hate Republicans” or “I hate Democrats.” But our market preferences tell the true story. We reward professional political pundits who say or write that the other side is evil or stupid or both.
For some haters, the hot variety is a little too crude. They prefer “cool hate,” based on contempt, and express disgust for another person through sarcasm, dismissal or mockery. . .
The last variety is anonymous hate. . .
Before you dismiss this as harmless chatter, consider a 2014 article in the academic journal Personality and Individual Differences, titled “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun.” Three Canadian psychologists found that habitual Internet commenting is strongly correlated with hateful personality pathologies. The total amount of time spent posting comments online correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. And this held especially true for those who relished “trolling,” the anonymous posting of negative and destructive comments. The 5 percent of participants who listed trolling as their favorite activity earned the highest scores on those unsavory psychological measures. . .
Some dismiss it as simply inevitable. Others — myself included — see it as both damaging and regrettable, joining the Dalai Lama in the belief that all hate “is our true enemy,” with “no other function than simply destroying us, both in the immediate term and in the long term.” . . .
If you agree with the Dalai Lama and Jefferson. . . [d]eclare your independence by not consuming, celebrating or sharing the overheated outrage and negative punditry — even if it comes from those with whom you agree. Avoid indulging in snarky, contemptuous dismissals of Americans on the other side. . .
Arthur C. Brooks is the president of the American Enterprise Institute, author of the forthcoming “The Conservative Heart” and a contributing opinion writer. ====
The Dalai Lama, huh? Now what does this remind me of? Maybe this: IEET’s “Buddhist Right Speech” Policy http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/5911
(via http://amormundi.blogspot.com/2014/02/publish-or-cherish.html "White guy boutique Buddhism is so totally like spiritual you know?")
From today's New York Times:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/opinion/the-thrill-of-political-hating.html
--------------------
The Thrill of Political Hating
JUNE 8, 2015
Arthur C. Brooks
. . .
Political hate generally appears in one of three basic forms.
The first is what some psychologists call “hot hate,” based on anger.
Imagine yourself yelling at the television, and you get the picture.
Most Americans would be ashamed to say “I hate Republicans” or
“I hate Democrats.” But our market preferences tell the true story.
We reward professional political pundits who say or write that
the other side is evil or stupid or both.
For some haters, the hot variety is a little too crude. They prefer
“cool hate,” based on contempt, and express disgust for another
person through sarcasm, dismissal or mockery. . .
The last variety is anonymous hate. . .
Before you dismiss this as harmless chatter, consider a 2014
article in the academic journal Personality and Individual Differences,
titled “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun.” Three Canadian psychologists
found that habitual Internet commenting is strongly correlated
with hateful personality pathologies. The total amount of time
spent posting comments online correlated positively with sadism,
psychopathy and Machiavellianism. And this held especially true
for those who relished “trolling,” the anonymous posting of
negative and destructive comments. The 5 percent of participants
who listed trolling as their favorite activity earned the highest
scores on those unsavory psychological measures. . .
Some dismiss it as simply inevitable. Others — myself included — see
it as both damaging and regrettable, joining the Dalai Lama in the
belief that all hate “is our true enemy,” with “no other function
than simply destroying us, both in the immediate term and in the
long term.” . . .
If you agree with the Dalai Lama and Jefferson. . . [d]eclare your
independence by not consuming, celebrating or sharing the overheated
outrage and negative punditry — even if it comes from those with
whom you agree. Avoid indulging in snarky, contemptuous dismissals
of Americans on the other side. . .
Arthur C. Brooks is the president of the American Enterprise Institute,
author of the forthcoming “The Conservative Heart” and a contributing
opinion writer.
====
The Dalai Lama, huh? Now what does this remind me of? Maybe this:
IEET’s “Buddhist Right Speech” Policy
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/5911
(via
http://amormundi.blogspot.com/2014/02/publish-or-cherish.html
"White guy boutique Buddhism is so totally like spiritual you know?")
;->
So, "Machiavellianism" is a mental illness now?
ReplyDelete> So, "Machiavellianism" is a mental illness now?
ReplyDeleteOnly if somebody else is doing it. ;->