RE: Extremism and protests against extremism

[agmoore]

A poll by the University of Virginia October, 2023:

And a University of Virginia poll released in October found that 41% of Biden supporters and 38% of Trump supporters said the other side is so extreme that it’s OK to use violence to stop them.

I think if we look back in history, we can see an analog for the political climate of our time in the 1930s (I'm not the first person to say that).

What drove extremist then? Disorder after WWI and the Great Depression?

What drives it now? The one common denominator seems to be immigration. The world is a little lopsided when it comes to privilege. Millions of people want to join the advantaged countries. Many people in those advantaged countries feel threatened by the influx.

Who are the extremists? The ones who welcome immigrants or the ones who resist them? Of course a protest is not necessarily violent, but it's hardly passive.

This may have been a longer answer than you expected, but I found your blog intriguing and relevant to the political climate in the U. S.

Comments

[zuerich]

Thank you for your thought-provoking comment, @agmoore!

And a University of Virginia poll released in October found that 41% of Biden supporters and 38% of Trump supporters said the other side is so extreme that it’s OK to use violence to stop them.

• hmm, perhaps both claims are right 😉

I think if we look back in history, we can see an analog for the political climate of our time in the 1930s (I'm not the first person to say that).

• Yes, I agree. Besides immigration I think that "emigration of jobs" (especially to China) is another reason. Plus increasing financialization of the economy which grows the gap between rich and poor.

Who are the extremists? The ones who welcome immigrants or the ones who resist them?

• Oh, this is a daring and good question. Many people (especially here in Europe) would even consider the question (if people who welcome immigrants could be extremists) extremist.

What a polarized world...

[agmoore]

What a polarized world

Yes...🙁