Trayvon Martin and more musings on Tribalism... So yeah, Tribalism! I speak and write about it a lot but I know from speaking to people that few of us really know what it is or the extent to which it aeffects us all. Anyone who can read can pick up a Dictionary and read meanings but knowing what it means and indeed knowing the DEPTH of what it means are different. Sometimes people could know a meaning but not be able to relate it to what they see in the real world and people from polarised communities will have much, much more difficulty seeing the reality of what certain things mean because their minds have a plethora of nonsense and social myth to get through before they can even start looking at the truth. How members of the two sides in Northern Ireland see each other is a good example of this. People who are negative or unstable or easily lead will have similar difficulties with seeing the truth, a lack of real education can also cause intolerance. Firstly something important… What is the difference between Racism and Tribalism? Well you can be Tribal without being Racist but you cannot be Racist without being Tribal. I am not sure who exactly made the classifications but hundreds of years ago someone classified human beings into three distinct groups, Caucasian - White European, Negroid - Black African and Mongoloid - Eastern Asian. The premise was that all human beings fell into one of these three categories and this is how we began to get the idea of different ‘Races’. The person who used this classification obviously used his or her Tribal instincts to differentiate in such a way. In reality there is but one race, the human race, but these outdated methods of human classification are still used to draw distinctions between peoples. Racism is a specific term but more than often nowadays Racism can be used to explain intolerance of foreigners or those of different religions as well as being specific to either of these old classes of peoples. I prefer to use the term ‘Intolerance’ because it covers all types of ism and saves the difficulty of getting bogged down by technicalities. The Trayvon Martin case in America throws up some very interesting aspects of Tribalism. If you’re unaware of this case just Google either Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman to get the background but don’t stop there, look for forums and blogs and Facebook pages related to the case and you will very clearly see the Tribal aftermath of it. People use the internet to express their opinions and it is clear that most of them really don’t look to much at the case or at the law before expressing said opinions. What people think about this case usually has more to do with what side of the fence they reside on in regard to Racial matters. The main thrust of my arguments here are not to take sides in the matter of this case but to highlight the subsequent manner in which human beings align themselves for or against something which had nothing whatsoever to do with them. This flippant assigning of opinions is all too common in the modern age and I believe that it is deeply unhelpful and very divisive. The Modern age is a confusing place. Peoples from everywhere are mixed in cities world wide, different religions, different cultures, different classes and among all these peoples there exist many distinct ideas and opinions as to exactly what and who they believe themselves to be. Add to that the innate confusion about what exactly they believe humanity to be and you end up with this fluctuating individual-collective where everything is and is not simultaneously! It is not easy to understand if you do not have a handle on what it really means to be human and how that translates itself to reality but once you know the rules for one individual and how she or he will relate to the world you can multiply exponentially and see how it all transpires. With regard to something else, our Political systems, I firmly believe that this way of running any society is deeply disturbing. I mean the majority may not necessarily do the right thing for the right reasons so the fact that we are still operating this way after so much experience and evidence that it honestly doesn’t work does nothing but highlight the deep flaws within our species. Of course when you mention this to people they just say “Well what can I do!” and as I have said before when you have a whole population repeating this nonsense you get exactly what we have now… Confusion… So what you see on forums and blogs and various other places online is people looking at this case and deciding whether what they think happened, never mind what really happened anyone who has an opinion on this matter is using what little they know about the case, and in probably the majority what little they understand about human nature, to form opinions about it. Never mind all the Racial talk for a moment lets just look at the technicalities of it. Trayvon Martin was unarmed and George Zimmerman had a gun. One shoots the other and then gets acquitted. That doesn’t sound right does it? Never mind who you think done what, being acquitted for such a direct murder seems suspect to me but it is America and their Justice system has long been one of great controversy, The Rodney King case, Emmett Till and I know I have read many others which I just cannot recall right now but the essence has always been one of disparity between Blacks and Whites, especially in the South and Florida could be considered as such. Race matters have always been at the forefront in American society and when you consider Americas past that is no surprise. The only reason why there are Black Africans present in America is because their ancestors were used as slaves hundreds of years ago and whites owned these slaves. Now you can say what you want about the present and about human nature but that disproportionate beginning is not something that can be easily ignored. With the modern age though comes change and there are Black Africans rising through the ranks in American society just as they are elsewhere, the president himself being a prime example. But as Ice T professed in the track ‘Race War’ from his album ‘Home Invasion’ in the early 1990’s… “…and when the shit hits there’s gonna be a lot of white kids rollin’ with the Africans, you can’t sweat skin and there’ll be a lot blacks that’s down with the Republicans…” Ice T - Race War This line predicts changes in the structuring of society and gives the clear impression that the world of the future will be more about wealth than Race but I really think we all need to be looking not at Race or religion or class in particular rather we need to begin recognising the human emotions and instincts which lie behind all that we do. People are far too quick to lend their support to matters that they often have no or little understanding of, they are much more likely to make decisions based upon their anger or fear or based upon which side they see themselves most aligned with but they will not admit this as they steadfastly argue that they are right and the others are wrong. Tribalism is a basic human instinct but people who behave in Tribal manner do not consider this whatsoever. Like I said earlier about isms they should really just be reclassified as ‘intolerance’ because when you strip it all to the lowest common denominators all these cases which appear unrelated have the same human elements at the core of them. People have been and maybe always will have the propensity to turn on one another. I hate to be the harbinger of ill tidings but if you look honestly at human History despite all the good we have ever done the terrible ways in which people treat one another always comes to the fore and I believe that by looking honestly at ourselves and accepting our instincts and emotions we can overcome these very human burdens. During any War, all Wars, the two sides always accuse one another and have reasons why it is not them who are the antagonists but in reality all War comes down to Tribalism, FACT. This truth is hidden because anyone who fights will never be able to see the point of view of the other side and therefore they are simply looking at a small part of the picture. We see ourselves differently to how we see others so we and Tribally minded people can only consider their own side above all others. You cannot tell them this though because, predictably, they will have answers as to what they believe is going on. Humanity is deeply divided and it will take a lot more than the likes of me to put it to right but if you read this and identify with it, pass the message on because at some point in the future there will come a time when rationally minded, tolerant individuals may have a chance to rule and when that time comes the truth will be all the need.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:22:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015