Saturday, January 26, 2008

Vanishing American on "Outsiders and Victims"

Vanishing American, with the help of Ron Guhname explains the patch-work quilt of 'identities" in American society...

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Outsiders and victims

Ron Guhname at Inductivist
writes an entry that has to do with the fact that, statistically, most immigrants, even upwardly-mobile immigrants, tend to vote Democrat. He ties this voting pattern to the immigrants' frequent self-perception as outsiders in American society. Most immigrants these days are non-white by a huge margin, so they tend to see themselves as outsiders. And the Democrats are the party of, by, and for outsiders. Racial and ethnic minorities, gays, the poor in general, immigrants, and extreme leftists, who view themselves as victims -- even when they are middle-class or better in economic terms -- these are the base of the Democrat Party. There are also the unions, although they have been a waning force, and they are now looking to the tidal wave of illegal (and legal) immigration to swell their ranks. They, too, see themselves as outsider/victims in an economic sense, even if they are white.Guhname mentions that it is hard for immigrants to psychologically move from their outsider status to the inside, and identify with the American old-stock majority. Guhname mentions the allure of the role of outsider and victim, a fact which is seldom addressed or analyzed, even though it plays a huge part in relations between the majority (whites) and minorities in America.

Someone who sees himself as an outsider also perceives himself as weak--the inside is where the power is. He naturally joins up with other self-perceived outsiders to play the role of David against Goliath. He is both insecure and morally superior at the same time. His stance is oppositional: he wants to tear down whatever it is that the giant wants to hold up. That role is a an alluring one, and the psychological payoff is large enough to keep its hold on a person, even after achieving economic success. The role is so appealing, the children of non-white immigrants are likely to adopt it, even though they were born here and may have enjoyed an easy life.

In this context, the Virginia Tech killer, Cho Seung Hui, comes to mind. He was Korean-born, and he very definitely exemplified the outsider/victim mentality. The video he mailed to the media before his rampage expressed his hatred of American society. Guhname continues:
People on the Right, by contrast, have no such insecurities: they belong here and they know it. The guys in suits are not your enemies: you're on the same team. But it is much easier to get to that place psychologically if you are white and Christian.''The crucial part in that passage above is the part about the moral superiority which accrues to victims in our society. He says that there is a large psychological payoff for the outsider/victim, and this is undeniable. There is a psychological payoff in that victims and outsiders are seen as morally righteous and noble, and they are seen as somehow heroic by their mere existence, serving as walking testimony to the injustice and 'unfairness' of the present system, which these groups usually define as evil and immoral.

The crucial part in that passage above is the part about the moral superiority which accrues to victims in our society. He says that there is a large psychological payoff for the outsider/victim, and this is undeniable. There is a psychological payoff in that victims and outsiders are seen as morally righteous and noble, and they are seen as somehow heroic by their mere existence, serving as walking testimony to the injustice and 'unfairness' of the present system, which these groups usually define as evil and immoral.

Read the rest at Vanishing American.