[lbo-talk] Re: how's it feel?

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

At 5:16 PM -0400 4/17/03, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>  > to hassle anti-war protesters.  After the war began, support did
>>  climb, but the source of support is mainly the desire not to make US
>>  soldiers feel guilty.  The reasoning is that if you oppose the war
>>  vocally, you may end up making US soldiers -- during or after the war
>>  -- bear the psychological burden of guilt, the guilt of killing or
>>  having killed without moral support.  Paradoxically, they express
>>  support for the war _because_ they know that killing is a horrifying
>>  act that leaves an unbearable memory if unsanctioned by the majority
>>  of society.  They say they support the war _because_ they don't want
>  > young American men and women to fight an unpopular war.
>
>That looks like a very convoluted explanation.  The truth is much 
>simpler - herding behavior.  People support the war for the same 
>reason they root for the home team - because thay have ben trained 
>to do so since pre-school.  Being an outcast was always punished by 
>ostracism or bullying.  For males, moreover, participation in 
>collective violence (virtual or actual) is a ritual affirming their 
>manhood in front of their peers - refusal to participate would be 
>seen as a sign of weakness and lower their rank vis a vis other 
>males.

Support didn't translate into a clear majority until the war began, 
though.  Look at the change between January 3 and April 9: 
<http://www.gallup.com/poll/specialReports/pollSummaries/sr030224.asp>. 
If rooting for "the home team" were the point, folks would be always 
rooting for it to the same degree.  Attempts at ostracism and 
bullying have not been zero, but they have not been even remotely 
close to overwhelming pressures.  The population who are most likely 
to be subject to pro-war bullying -- Arabs and Muslims in the USA -- 
have not changed their opinions.  Blacks remained steadfast in their 
opposition as well (unlike at the time of the first Gulf War): 
<http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030404.asp>.
-- 
Yoshie

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