Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Interfaith Group
Related: About this forumPundits who decry 'tribalism' know nothing about real tribes
Pundits who decry tribalism know nothing about real tribesTheir rhetoric has more to do with Western stereotypes than tribal reality
The Washington Post
Perspective by Christine Mungai
Christine Mungai is a writer and journalist in Nairobi, Kenya. She was a 2018 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
January 30, 2019 at 10:21 a.m. EST
The U.S. electorate, commentator Andrew Sullivan wrote recently, has devolved into two tribes whose mutual incomprehension and loathing can drown out their love of country. In the New Yorker, George Packer argued last fall that politics today requires a word as primal as tribe to get at the blind allegiances and huge passions of partisan affiliation.
Tribalism has become an inescapable concept in American politics, partly because the partisan divide in Americas public sphere is becoming more shrill and polarized (though the hyper-partisanship is asymmetrical: The right leans further right than the left leans left).
But theres a significant problem with using the words tribal and tribalism to describe this trend: The usage is historically inaccurate when you consider the actual behavior of indigenous peoples, whether African, Native American or Asian. The current use of tribal is based on a racist stereotype about how groups of such peoples have interacted historically, and even today.
I know something about tribalism, since I was born and raised in Kenya, a country made up of 44 different ethnic groups. My parents are Kikuyu, but they raised my siblings and me in a cosmopolitan, urban environment. My experience with tribes, and my historical knowledge of them, do not resemble what I read about in the writings of political pundits.
snip--- (much, much more at link)
Gifted article, no subscription necessary: https://wapo.st/3sjf3vy
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1379 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Pundits who decry 'tribalism' know nothing about real tribes (Original Post)
stuck in the middle
Aug 2023
OP
Racist stereotypes in the West aren't stereotypes anymore, they are integrated into the system.
Alexander Of Assyria
Aug 2023
#1
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)1. Racist stereotypes in the West aren't stereotypes anymore, they are integrated into the system.
The Great Open Dance
(34 posts)2. We all need a tribe
Yes, I agree, we all need a tribe, and real tribes don't necessarily conflict with their neighboring tribes. More often, they trade, mingle, and mate. Alas, "tribalism" has become the go to word for intense in-group loyalty and out-group hatred. Can anyone come up with a synonym?
Thanks,
Jon Paul Sydnor