Society's Child

Jonathan Haidt interview asks what is underlying the polarization in America?

Erich J. Prince
Merion West
Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:41 UTC

"In a sense, the Founding Fathers feared democracy because of the tendency of people to be carried away by their passion and easily led astray by demagogues, and I think that our modern polarization, augmented by social media, could well bring their worst fears to reality." - Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist whose research focuses on moral psychology. He is currently serving as the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the Stern School of Business of New York University. Much of Dr. Haidt's work had explored how different cultures viewed morality, before he began studying the different psychological features of progressives and conservatives. He has become an expert on political polarization. Although he was a progressive for much of his life, Dr. Haidt now examines all political groups with equal scrutiny and considers himself to be a centrist. He is the author of three books for general audiences: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, and, with Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind. Dr. Haidt is also the co-founder of the Heterodox Academy, an organization that encourages ideological diversity at universities. He joins Merion West's Erich Prince to discuss The Righteous Mind, political tribalism, his personal journey to the center of the political spectrum, and the sources of political division today.

Comment: More from Johnathan Haidt:

Sweetwater, FL. cops attack entire family during warrantless raid

Jessica Lipscomb
Miami New Times
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 18:01 UTC

On a Wednesday night in early January, about 20 officers wearing tactical vests and carrying assault rifles raided a family's home in Sweetwater.

Sweetwater police were looking for James Castro, a 40-year-old registered sex offender accused of slamming his car into a cop during a drug sting earlier that day. But Castro wasn't at home; instead, only his mother, two younger brothers, and pregnant girlfriend were there.

Surveillance footage from the home shows what happened next. One officer can be seen throwing punches at James Castro's brother Christian. When his mother, Ana Schaublin, tries to intervene, the cop pushes her aside and another officer holds her against the front door.

"They punched me and threw me away," Schaublin told WPLG the next day. "They're animals."

Parents protest alleged strip search of 4 middle school girls

Ashley Biviano
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Wed, 23 Jan 2019 17:48 UTC

© Ashley Biviano / Staff Photo
Tuesday's Binghamton School Board meeting was standing room only as the community demanded action regarding the alleged strip search of four middle school girls last week.

A firestorm of protest erupted at Tuesday's Binghamton school board meeting over an alleged strip search of four 12-year-old girls at East Middle School.

Nearly 200 community members packed the board room, leaving standing room only, to ask the school board why no action has been taken in response to last week's alleged searches.

Members of the community charged that four black female students were questioned and strip-searched by the school nurse and assistant principal after suspicion of possessing drugs. A statement distributed by local organization, Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow, alleged the girls were searched for "appearing hyper and giddy during their lunch hour."

"The children were instructed to remove their clothing, and felt shamed, humiliated and traumatized by the experience," according to the Progressive Leaders statement.

The school district late Wednesday afternoon issued a statement that said the matter was brought to its attention and was investigated.

Feminist charged with sexual assault after groping reporter on camera

Chris Menahan
Information Liberation
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:49 UTC

A feminist filmed allegedly sexually assaulting Infowars reporter Owen Shroyer while taking part in the Women's March earlier this month has been arrested, according to Shroyer.

He shared the news Wednesday on Facebook:

More MAGA hat madness: Restaurateur vows to refuse service to anyone wearing the 'racist' accessory

Naomi Lim
Washington Examiner
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:39 UTC

A California restaurateur will refuse service to any prospective patron donning a red "Make America Great Again" hat, according to reports.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the award-winning chef, cookbook author, and owner of a couple of restaurants south of San Francisco, claimed on social media over the weekend that the hats sold by President Trump's campaign were linked with racial animus.

"It hasn't happened yet, but if you come to my restaurant wearing a MAGA cap, you aren't getting served, same as if you come in wearing a swastika, white hood, or any other symbol of intolerance and hate," Lopez-Alt wrote in a now-deleted string of Twitter posts, multiple outlets reported. "MAGA hats are like white hoods except stupider because you can see exactly who is wearing them."

Comment: Trump Derangement Syndrome strikes again.

My mother, the psychopath: Daughter reveals how she was subject to 22 YEARS of abuse including beating and choking

Chloe Morgan
Daily Mail
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 16:57 UTC

A woman has revealed how she grew up in terror of her mother who appeared completely normal to the outside world, but subjected her to years of abuse in a harrowing new memoir.

In My Mother the Psychopath, British writer Olivia Rayne, now 27, reveals how she only realised the extent of her mother's issues as she entered adulthood.

Olivia, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, recalls how her French mother, Josephine, would lock her in the bathroom all night from the age of three as punishment for waking her up by crying.

Joesphine's behaviour was unpredictable and she could switch from being overly loving and generous to violent, beating Olivia, ripping her hair out, strangling her and telling her she was 'ashamed to be her mother'.

'I'm better now, it's true, but the damage done can never be undone. It's still there, itching quietly beneath the surface, like a sharp metal wire cutting into me for too long,' Olivia said.

Record fentanyl bust on US-Mexico border used as ammunition in heated Wall battle

RT
Fri, 01 Feb 2019 08:49 UTC

US Customs & Border Patrol agents caught a truck at the Mexican border loaded with meth and enough fentanyl to kill 57 million Americans. The bust was used by both President Donald Trump and his critics in the border wall battle.

On Thursday, the CBP made public that its agents in Arizona had found 254 pounds (115 kg) of fentanyl and 395 pounds (179 kg) of methamphetamine on a tractor-trailer transporting cucumbers from Mexico. The contraband was discovered by a CBP canine at the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales, just past noon on Saturday.

While the fentanyl has been sent to the laboratory for detailed analysis, the substance is so lethal that this amount has been estimated as enough to kill 57 million Americans - roughly a fifth of the entire population, currently estimated at 325.7 million.

"This is the largest fentanyl seizure in any port of entry" and "in the history of CBP," Guadalupe Ramirez, acting director of field operations in Tucson told the Arizona Republic.

'John of God' cult leader allegedly ran child sex slave farm

Nika Shakhnazarova
NY Post
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 19:50 UTC

A cult leader known as "John of God" has been accused of running a sex slave farm and selling babies to the highest bidder on the black market.

Joao Teixeira de Faria was arrested a week after over 600 allegations were made against him in what prosecutors say could be the worst serial crimes case in Brazil's history.

The 77-year-old's renowned spiritual world crumbled in December after he was accused of sexually abusing a Dutch woman on live TV.

The woman's claims prompted over 600 similar allegations to arise from around the world from countless women - all of which Faria has denied.

Blood chilling 'vampire' caught posing as doctor in Russian city of Chelyabinsk

RT
Fri, 01 Feb 2019 16:12 UTC

A man was caught posing as a doctor in a clinic in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Obtaining a fake diploma turned out to be the least of his crimes, however, as he had committed a blood-chilling murder two decades ago.

The man, identified as Boris Kondrashin, had been working in one of the city's state clinics as a GP since November. He was arrested this week for producing fake documents in relation to his medical training, as well as storing a large stash of illegal drugs in his apartment, according to Russian investigators.

While this part of the story was scandalous enough on its own, it turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg, and the fake doctor had a blood-chilling background. When he was just 16, he murdered a classmate in a vicious ritual killing.

Back then, he was a rather strange schoolboy, who was keen on exploring the occult and black-magic rituals, according to an article by a local newspaper dating back to 2000. Kondrashin identified himself as 'Baron fon Ginczel' - and apparently did actually have links to nobility - and lived with his father, who was a psychiatrist.

Racism, re-examined

Coleman Hughes
Columbia Daily Spectator
Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:26 UTC

In the spring semester of my first year, I experienced racism on campus.

I was in the Writing Center at Philosophy Hall, waiting outside my professor's office while he finished meeting with another student. As I sat there wearing a plain white tee, ratty black jeans, and a pair of worn leather shoes with mismatched laces, I noticed a pair of eyes glaring at me from across the room. Eventually the owner of those eyes walked over and asked, with barely concealed suspicion, "Who are you here to see?" I said my professor's name and pointed to his office. But my answer didn't seem to satisfy the man, so he entered the office and spoke with my professor to verify that I was telling the truth. No other student in the Writing Center was subjected to any scrutiny whatsoever.

Whether it's driving while black, barbecuing while black, or swimming while black, many black people can recall a similar experience--a time when a white person treated them with suspicion because of their skin color. In those moments, when the sting of racism is fresh, it's easy to become pessimistic about the state of racial progress in America. After my experience in the Writing Center, for instance, it might have been tempting to conclude that Columbia, for all its pretension to diversity and inclusion, functions, in effect, as a vessel for systemic racism.

But I didn't come to that conclusion, and here's why.

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Society's Child

Jonathan Haidt interview asks what is underlying the polarization in America?

Sweetwater, FL. cops attack entire family during warrantless raid

Parents protest alleged strip search of 4 middle school girls

Feminist charged with sexual assault after groping reporter on camera

More MAGA hat madness: Restaurateur vows to refuse service to anyone wearing the 'racist' accessory

My mother, the psychopath: Daughter reveals how she was subject to 22 YEARS of abuse including beating and choking

Record fentanyl bust on US-Mexico border used as ammunition in heated Wall battle

'John of God' cult leader allegedly ran child sex slave farm

Blood chilling 'vampire' caught posing as doctor in Russian city of Chelyabinsk

Racism, re-examined

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