04/28/03: The Cult-like Mindset

juju · 04-28-2003, 03:32 AM

Yeah, that's true! Although in some cases it's not an actual person, but some horrible event that's going to happen. Like the end of the world, or whatever. I guess any movement needs a reason to exist.

There's also the concept of "The Other", which is usually some group of people that's not of your group, and probably imposes an imaginary (or real) threat of some kind. Like Russians, or Arabs, or Blacks, or Indians. You get the idea. Any group of people has some other group of people that they imagine is not like them and is therefore a threat. They don't know who they are, but by God, they're different.

It seems like "The Other" is often used as an excuse for all kinds of things, usually propagation of someone's political or religious philosophy.

I also read in relation to that concept that people often define themselves in relation to people who are not them. For example, there was a study that asked Canadians what it meant to be Canadian, and an overwhelming majority of them said "Not American". It's sort of like the English saying, "Well, at least I'm not French".

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04-28-2003, 03:32 AM	#1
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	Yeah, that's true! Although in some cases it's not an actual person, but some horrible event that's going to happen. Like the end of the world, or whatever. I guess any movement needs a reason to exist. There's also the concept of "The Other", which is usually some group of people that's not of your group, and probably imposes an imaginary (or real) threat of some kind. Like Russians, or Arabs, or Blacks, or Indians. You get the idea. Any group of people has some other group of people that they imagine is not like them and is therefore a threat. They don't know who they are, but by God, they're different. It seems like "The Other" is often used as an excuse for all kinds of things, usually propagation of someone's political or religious philosophy. I also read in relation to that concept that people often define themselves in relation to people who are not them. For example, there was a study that asked Canadians what it meant to be Canadian, and an overwhelming majority of them said "Not American". It's sort of like the English saying, "Well, at least I'm not French".

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