| psychol. |
психология осаждённой крепости (the siege mentality explains most of that group behavior these days New York Times: The siege mentality starts with a sense of collective victimhood. It's not just that our group has opponents. The whole "culture" or the whole world is irredeemably hostile. From this flows a deep sense of pessimism. Things are bad now. Our enemies are growing stronger. And things are about to get worse. The world our children inherit will be horrific. The siege mentality floats on deep fear. The odd thing is that the siege mentality feels kind of good to the people who grab on to it. It gives its proponents a straightforward way to interpret the world – the noble us versus the powerful them. It gives them a clear sense of group membership and a clear social identity. It offers a ready explanation for the bad things that happen in life. Most of all, it gives people a narrative to express their own false superiority: We may be losing, but at least we have the innocence of victimhood. We are victims in an unjust world. After all, this mentality encourages people to conform and follow orders. Resentment can be a strong motivator. It's us against the world. the siege mentality ends up being self-destructive. Groups smitten with the siege mentality filter out discordant facts and become more extreme versions of themselves, leading to further marginalization. They take mainstream loathing as a badge of honor and wind up taking pleasure in their most unattractive instincts. The siege mentality ends up displacing whatever creed the group started with. Alex_Odeychuk) |
