Authoritarians to the Left and Right

The divide between people on either side of the political aisle is now larger than at any point since 1994.

The share of Democrats expressing very unfavorable attitudes toward Republicans grew from 16 percent to 44 percent over that period, according to Pew Research Center. The percentage of Republicans holding very unfavorable views of Democrats rose from 17 percent to 45 percent.

New research in Public Opinion Quarterly identifies what could be a significant factor fueling this rise: Americans' authoritarian tendencies.

Authoritarians are predisposed toward a group-centrism that is grounded in a need for order and certainty. Partisanship, like religion, is a social identity that offers the psychological benefits of tribal membership.

The Colgate University political scientist Matthew Luttig analyzed four sets of survey data that probe respondents on these qualities. His combined results cast doubt on the conventional political science wisdom that Republicans are significantly more prone to authoritarianism than Democrats. To the contrary, he finds that authoritarians "gravitate to both parties' extremes."

http://reason.com/archives/2017/12/16/authoritarians-to-the-left-and

Those on the far left and right are not as different as they think. I see it here every day. Both sides love to impose their will on others, for the supposed good of others.

"The Colgate University",  is it  ???

A bit like the fabled "Pond's Institute" in Switzerland,  perchance  ???

Who could trust anything coming out of a university named after a brand of toothpaste  ?

Maddog wrote:The divide between people on either side of the political aisle is now larger than at any point since 1994.

Ya. It's the Trump factor, 100%.

He turned a small rift between lefties & righties .... into a mile-wide chasm.
Means to an end 'n all that eh, Donald? 

Jules wrote:

Maddog wrote:The divide between people on either side of the political aisle is now larger than at any point since 1994.

Ya. It's the Trump factor, 100%.

He turned a small rift between lefties & righties .... into a mile-wide chasm.
Means to an end 'n all that eh, Donald? 

Trump didn't do anything except get elected

It's the never trumps who are turning to hate and violence

Same as the Remainers in the UK

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

"The Colgate University",  is it  ???

A bit like the fabled "Pond's Institute" in Switzerland,  perchance  ???

Who could trust anything coming out of a university named after a brand of toothpaste  ?

I think the University was there first.

Jules wrote:

Maddog wrote:The divide between people on either side of the political aisle is now larger than at any point since 1994.

Ya. It's the Trump factor, 100%.

He turned a small rift between lefties & righties .... into a mile-wide chasm.
Means to an end 'n all that eh, Donald? 

This predates Trump. Trump may be the result of this, not the cause. To blame Trump for everything is intellectually lazy.

The divide between people on either side of the political aisle is now larger than at any point since 1994.

I think that this is wrong.  The divide has been there since the Civil War.  The political scientists only thought to measure it recently.

America is at least two, possibly three countries: 1) the south and 2) the north or rest, which is geographically divided between 2.a) the east and 2.b) the west.

I think we weren't aware of it until the advent of the Internet.  Then all of these divisions began cropping up, revealing nobody else believes what the south believes (racism, guns, white nationalism, etc.), but the east tolerates it, and only the west disapproves of it.

I predict the rifts will widen until another, much larger civil war breaks the nation up.  We see signs of it today, with Charlottesville and smaller incidents. But it will take some atrocity to see the divisions go radioactive.  Nevertheless, we are getting closer.

And Minneapolis is yet another US city heading towards a civil meltdown...

The police are running wild;  freely slaughtering innocent citizens, both whites and coloureds alike..

Their police force are among the most useless and incompetent, arrogantly corrupt and braindead fuckups on the planet today.

Not only do the good citizens of Minneapolis detest and distrust their scumbag faux-police force --  but they are increasingly fedup with a do-nothing city council, and lethargic state authorities..


Will one of these dysfunctional and simmering middle-Amerika powderkegs be a  potential starting point for the eventual breakup of the Divided States of Amerika  ???

Week-by-week, it increasingly seems like it will only be a matter of  "when,  not if..".

Exactly how do the Democrats seek to impose their will on others?

Anti-gay marriage, anti-pot, anti-immigration, pro-theocracy are all Republican values.

Democrats want gay people to be able to adopt, people to be freed from the financial ruin of catastrophic illness and to streamline a ridiculous immigration system.

I have always said that if Republicans want to live in the suburbs, have two and a half children, go to church every Sunday and put mayonnaise on everything they eat, that's fine by me. Just don't tell me I can't live in a ratty apartment getting stoned and having a bi-sexual three-way with people of different races and religions.

Ben Reilly wrote:Exactly how do the Democrats seek to impose their will on others?

Anti-gay marriage, anti-pot, anti-immigration, pro-theocracy are all Republican values.

Democrats want gay people to be able to adopt, people to be freed from the financial ruin of catastrophic illness and to streamline a ridiculous immigration system.

I have always said that if Republicans want to live in the suburbs, have two and a half children, go to church every Sunday and put mayonnaise on everything they eat, that's fine by me. Just don't tell me I can't live in a ratty apartment getting stoned and having a bi-sexual three-way with people of different races and religions.

Well lets just say that some on the left are imposing their will on others and not so much the Democrats. Even though many Democrat Senators and Presidents, have in fact supported Authortarian regemes.

So a list of things actively being forced by some of the left and some in the pipeline

Denying free speech on University campuses and in public in general. Making Universities not open places off learning but what the left deem as acceptable to read, listen to.

Protecting some groups and in fact spreading hate against people from others groups, based on their beliefs. When it should always be the beliefs themselves that is ridiculed and criticized with reason. Or people who have done wrongs.

A belief, that is okay to use violence to shut down any speakers, or protestors who's beliefs they do not like.
(which shows how clueless they are, in how such tactics make things even worse

http://www.newsfixboard.com/t22314-the-myth-of-cable-street)

They want to enforce speech and make it a criminal offense, if you refuse to. For example, Transgender Pronouns.

They want to single out only one country (the only Jewish state) for Boycotts to not only buisnesses, but Israeli's themselves. Thus not helping at all to bring about peace but instead target one state, with general lies. Where it has become acceptable and normalized by some on the left to claim Israel is comparable to Nazism and Aparthied (both ridiculous lies, which alow then people to feel more comfortable hating Zionists (in general Jews). Ignoring that there is hundreds of stateless people around the world and in many places areas that are occupied. Yet Israel sees constant calls from quarters on the left to deligitimize them, whilst continually ignoring that the Palestinians have rejected peace plans and a state 5 times.

To allow through law, discrimination and prejudice against Zionists and supporters of Israel's right to exist

https://www.jta.org/2017/12/19/news-opinion/united-states/berkeley-councilwoman-fires-commissioner-who-wouldnt-support-israel-boycott

How rightly, any hate and discrimination against Muslims is deemed as wrong/condemned, but again on the left, they in fact make the claim its acceptable to hate zionists and discriminate against them. A supporter of Zionism; a person who believes in the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.
Hardly a hateful belief system is it? Thus making it law to ban Zionism

Or people on the right are also classed with hate, as we see from right to the left also.

They are trying to replace equality laws, to ones that advantage certain groups

They would like to introduce a racist Bill, that would deem all White people as being born with white priviliage (a racist concept also) and to then create less rights for white people. In the dafest belief, it will equal out those who start out disavantaged disavantaged. Generally those born poor or into poverty, no matter their ethnic group. Ignoring also, that parents, siblings, grand parents play a key role in the developement of that child from the earliest ages, 1-5. So we already see this, when stupidly, some on the left create policies, that do away with equality for all under the law. By doing exactly what was done in the past, rendering one group as secondary citizens, based on skin colour. Thus simple reversing the problem from one group to another.

Make it law, that all people defined as white, will be collectivelly charged with the guilt for all former and future crimes committed in this world. This will include taking responsiblity for crimes in history, not carried out by people classed as white

Political correctness.

I could come up with more, but this will do for now

Ben Reilly wrote:Exactly how do the Democrats seek to impose their will on others?

Anti-gay marriage, anti-pot, anti-immigration, pro-theocracy are all Republican values.

Democrats want gay people to be able to adopt, people to be freed from the financial ruin of catastrophic illness and to streamline a ridiculous immigration system.

I have always said that if Republicans want to live in the suburbs, have two and a half children, go to church every Sunday and put mayonnaise on everything they eat, that's fine by me. Just don't tell me I can't live in a ratty apartment getting stoned and having a bi-sexual three-way with people of different races and religions.

Through higher taxation, gun control, free speech restrictions, forced association, forced health insurance.

Maddog wrote:

Jules wrote:


Ya. It's the Trump factor, 100%.

He turned a small rift between lefties & righties .... into a mile-wide chasm.
Means to an end 'n all that eh, Donald? 

This predates Trump.  Trump may be the result of this, not the cause. To blame Trump for everything is intellectually lazy.  

Intellectual laziness is something I often criticise too but this is one instance when I'm happy to be 'lazy.'  I have NO PROBLEMS making Trump the lighting rod for the wide political rift in the US. He went out of his way to split the country, driven by naked ambition alone.

Jules wrote:

Maddog wrote:

This predates Trump.  Trump may be the result of this, not the cause. To blame Trump for everything is intellectually lazy.  

Intellectual laziness is something I often criticise too but this is one instance when I'm happy to be 'lazy.'  I have NO PROBLEMS making Trump the lighting rod for the wide political rift in the US. He went out of his way to split the country, driven by naked ambition alone.

Well, you would be wrong. He took advantage of the wide political rift.

I didn't vote for Obama (or Trump), but I had hopes that Obama could tone down the widening split in America. Don't know if anyone was capable of doing it, but I know Obama didn't help the situation.

Maddog wrote:

Jules wrote:

Intellectual laziness is something I often criticise too but this is one instance when I'm happy to be 'lazy.'  I have NO PROBLEMS making Trump the lighting rod for the wide political rift in the US. He went out of his way to split the country, driven by naked ambition alone.

Well, you would be wrong. He took advantage of the wide political rift.

I didn't vote for Obama (or Trump), but I had hopes that Obama could tone down the widening split in America. Don't know if anyone was capable of doing it, but I know Obama didn't help the situation.  

Obama tried, give him credit.  He refused to prosecute Dick Cheney...WTF?!!  Oh to be above the law.

The only thing I criticize Obama for is he wasn't pugilistic enough.  I don't blame him; blacks are trained to be obsequious in this country.  Had I been in there, I'd have chopped off nuts, and shoved it down throats to see if one died of asphyxiation or exsanguination.  By being so passive, Obama invited the Mitch McConnell's and Paul Ryan's in to do their damage.

They, in turn, paved the way for Trump.

Ben Reilly wrote:Exactly how do the Democrats seek to impose their will on others?

Anti-gay marriage, anti-pot, anti-immigration, pro-theocracy are all Republican values.

Democrats want gay people to be able to adopt, people to be freed from the financial ruin of catastrophic illness and to streamline a ridiculous immigration system.

I have always said that if Republicans want to live in the suburbs, have two and a half children, go to church every Sunday and put mayonnaise on everything they eat, that's fine by me. Just don't tell me I can't live in a ratty apartment getting stoned and having a bi-sexual three-way with people of different races and religions.

Same way republicans do.

Same way any political party does.

If Democrats want to get stoned have bisexual three ways with people of different races and religions that's fine.

Republicans RWers have no issue with you, the issue comes when you tell us we have to accept your debauchery as normal and that we aren't allowed to criticise you for it.

That's how you impose your will, not by preventing them from doing what THEY want but by making them embrace what YOU want.