Who is Deserving?

This week, the Ingram & Schneider (2005) article really resonated with me, and felt especially relevant in our current political climate. 

While there have long been division among people for various religious, moral, and political differences, the "us vs. them" mentality seems stronger than every these past few years. The divisions also seemed to be fueled by the same mechanisms that are currently bringing people together, such as widespread internet usage and virtual mobilization. 

The "deservedness" discussed in the 2005 article refers mostly to who is and is not perceived to be deserving of good, positive things. But it also made me think of the way violence is justified against members of marginalized populations - the 17-year-old who shot and killed two people is justified in doing so because the protesters "attacked" him - they were deserving of death, and he is deserving of mercy. 

Ingram and Schneider (2005) also mention the tendency for groups to mobilize against a "common enemy" (p. 2). It's fascinating to see the myriad ways in which governments have convinced groups of people that they are each others enemies and effectively removed focus from those in power who are harming everyone. The best example I can think of for this is the way in which lower-middle-class folks will loudly protest against folks who use state assistance programs for food, rent, medical care, etc. They are so angry that some of their tax dollars are funding people who they perceive to be "lazy" that they never look to see where the majority of tax cuts are occurring, or think about how much of their tax dollars are funding already bloated budgets for, say, the military. By encouraging continued division among the people, governments and classes in power are able to even more securely hold onto that power to the detriment of most everyone else. 

It's hard to be optimistic that things will get better when they have only been getting worse for many years. But it reminds me of the concept of an "extinction burst" in behavioral modification - that when you are trying to eliminate undesirable behavior, it will often first increase as a reaction before it begins to fade. Perhaps that's where we're at - more and more people are fighting for true equality and are refusing to accept the status quo, and the reaction that upheaval is intense. However, I do try to cling to hope that my generation and the ones after us are ready to be in this for the long haul, and ready to keep pushing until we achieve our goals.