The Czech Republic is obviously a country not well known by many in the U.S. or Canada. Yesterday on the the ferry several local people were asking a man from that country about his home. The name "Havel" came up, as lots of people may know of the former president, even if they know very little else about the Czech Republic. The Czech man mentioned the current president, and in doing so introduced several current "
tropes" into his comments that show the effect of how group think has taken over the minds of many people. Group think releases you from the necessity of thinking for yourself; you simply have to repeat phrases that people around you are saying, especially if they are saying these things as if they were the truth. As in
The New York Times or in American universities.
One trope is "businessman."
Business now means for many people
greed,
lack of concern for others,
selfishness, etc. If you are trying to tell another person what someone is like, if your first descriptive term is "businessman," then everyone gets the picture, right?
The comment that really captures group think, however, was the man's characterization of the current president of the Czech Republic as "
immigrant hating." Again, no need to think.
Hate closes off all discussion, e.g., of the subject of whether there might be a valid reason for limiting the number of immigrants that can enter a country.
Picture credit:
Shutterstock
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