🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sun, 2 May 2004 16:37:38 +0000 (UTC), Merlin Dorfman
<dorfman@rahul.net> wrote:


>     Or are you saying that an insult isn't an insult if it's
>true?  Because that changes the subject completely...and leads
>me to reiterate the question you say I should have asked.

Why should the truth be an `insult'?

>: >: I iterate the term `tribal sophistry' was intended to apply to the
>: >: group in general, it does not rule out a few exceptions - but you do
>: >: not individually appear to be an exception. And I iterate sophistry
>: >: does imply plausible but faulty and misleading. And clannish, yes that
>: >: is a characteristic of tribes anywhere they occur.
>: >
>: >     Some of your best friends are tribal people who do not exhibit
>: >the typical tribal sophistry and xenophobia?
>
>: I did not make or infer that old saw.  I believe anyone who utters it
>: is suspect.
>
>     Finally something we can agree on.
>
>: >     I would also like you to elaborate on who are "tribal peoples"
>: >and who are not.  It would seem that everybody is a member of some
>: >tribe or other.
>
>: Many clannish people are members of a `tribe'.  In the present
>: instance, it is my impression that we are discussing the jewish tribe,
>
>     I inferred that that is what you meant by your bigoted
>remarks.
>
>: since they were the subject of your remarks and `questions'. Not all
>: peoples are quite so clannish.  Certainly palestinians and arab
>: terrorists seem to be.
>
>     Are all Palestinians and Arab terrorists members of the same
>tribe?  Or how many different tribes?

It seems very obvious.

>     Is everybody a member of some tribe or other?

No I don't think so.  Irish and Scots tend to be. Northern Germans
(Prussians) are.  French appear to be.  Tribes are wide spread in
Africa. Japanese are, but Chinese much less so.  American Indians and
Asian Indians try to be .  The crucial difference seems to be if a
people can cope with diversity and be tolerant of others without too
much resentment. Tribes offer some support not otherwise available to
their fellow members.  I am not using `tribe' as a scientific theory,
just as a statement of reality that can be observed in human
societies.  Amish communities would be another example.
This has nothing what ever to do with Hitler's delusion about `aryan'
superiority.  I don't believe in `races' - but pragmatic observation
does show varying cohesiveness in some societal groups and I call this
a `tribe'. Tribes tend to look down on others who are not members of
the tribe.
Some people who consider that they are social elites and look down on
others, often hide their prejudice from others and often themselves as
well by using the stale old phrase: `Some of my best friends
are.....'.  Such a statement is almost never the truth or it wouldn't
be necessary to start with.  Perhaps they should be considered members
of a tribe.