>We are also interested in historical differences and causal
>explanations of them as well. When and how did the myth of black
>men's sexual rapacity arise? What gave rise to it? What changes
>has the myth undergone? What caused the changes? When and how did
>the ideal of manliness as the ability and willingness to kill when
>you are ordered by your commanders to do so arise? What gave rise
>to it? What changes has the ideal undergone? What caused the
>changes? When and how did social identities based upon
>gender-specific roles arise? What gave rise to them? What changes
>have they undergone? What caused the changes? Historical changes
>are of interest to us, for the same reason we are interested in
>synchronic cultural differences; we want to remove the causes of the
>political problems.
All interesting questions, and completely compatible with the kinds of analyses I like and like to see. (Roediger does it very nicely, as I recall, though it's been a while.) "Myths of rapacity" could arise at specific historical moments because of specific social and political configurations, and then they circulate as part of the culture, readymade symptoms for individuals to latch onto.
Doug