Right wingers are fucking weird, man. Like, the more I look at their politics, the more I think they're motivated by disgust and weird fantasies and imagery that has the barest connection to reality.
A big moral chasm between conservatives and leftists is the feeling of disgust; cons have low disgust thresholds (they are acutely sensitive to disgusting things or disgusting people) and leftists have high disgust thresholds (they can tolerate, even enjoy wallowing in, disgusting things). NYU professor Jonathan Haidt's explanation: the two tribes have different moral palates. What for conservatives counts as moral touchstones -- loyalty, respect, and sanctity -- gets perceived by leftists as "xenophobia, authoritarianism and Puritanism." Conservatives value in-group solidarity, deference to authority, and the protection of purity in mind and body. To liberals, those sincerely held values can look a lot like, in Dr. Haidt's words, "xenophobia, authoritarianism and Puritanism." This asymmetry is the fountainhead of mutual incomprehension and disdain.
Right wingers are fucking weird, man. Like, the more I look at their politics, the more I think they're motivated by disgust and weird fantasies and imagery that has the barest connection to reality.
A big moral chasm between conservatives and leftists is the feeling of disgust; cons have low disgust thresholds (they are acutely sensitive to disgusting things or disgusting people) and leftists have high disgust thresholds (they can tolerate, even enjoy wallowing in, disgusting things). NYU professor Jonathan Haidt's explanation: the two tribes have different moral palates. What for conservatives counts as moral touchstones -- loyalty, respect, and sanctity -- gets perceived by leftists as "xenophobia, authoritarianism and Puritanism." Conservatives value in-group solidarity, deference to authority, and the protection of purity in mind and body. To liberals, those sincerely held values can look a lot like, in Dr. Haidt's words, "xenophobia, authoritarianism and Puritanism." This asymmetry is the fountainhead of mutual incomprehension and disdain.