Are You Mentally Prepared?

Over at "Don't Tread On Me", Silver Shield writes "5 Reasons Why American Riots Will Be The Worst In The World".

It is my thought that Silver Shield leaves out something very important. Tribalism.

Americans, who frequently like to put on the happy face of a united front against any aggressor, are in reality a deeply divided people. We divide along race, ethnicity, national origin, language, belief systems, age, political affiliation, and income brackets. Even sports teams, schools, neighborhoods, cities, states, what car you drive, what designer labels you wear, where you shop can lead to a divide being created between people.

Recently this has been highlighted by the beating of a San Francisco Giant's fan at the Los Angeles Dodger's stadium following the game between the two teams. This was followed by "Beat A Dodger Day" promoted on Craigslist where

"I support the murder of a Dodgers fan" says:

When the Dodgers come to AT@T,..some Mexican in Dodger gear,..fuck it, do it,..nobody would blame you...might even be rewarded.

Violence at sporting events between fans is nothing new, and often spills out into post game riots. It has always amazed me that something as trivial and inconsequential as children's games being played by adults would result in such asinine behavior.

Even among new immigrants, illegal or otherwise, old divisions are brought to this land.

Sword Fight At Sikh Temple




But that's not all:

Kids get killed over shoes.

Man killed over wearing the wrong color jacket.

Beat Up A White Kid Day

Concealing Black Hate Crimes - Investors Business Daily of all places

White Kids Kill Black Man

You ever wonder why there are places called "China Town", "Little Italy", and similar? All you have to do is look around. People like living with people who are similar. It is comfortable and familiar. It feels safe. The problem is, if you're an outsider, things can be very bad.