Matthew
Matthew
Jul 20, 2017 · 2 min read

I don’t know what “political tribalism” is.

Oh. Tribe = Party.

Humans are inherently tribal. The original human tribes were largely family-based, but that has changed as our living conditions have changed (due to technological progress). Now you can find all sorts of tribalism, including, but not limited to religion, sports, and politics. Sports tribalism is largely benign (Red Sox fans hating Yankees fans and vice versa), but religious and political tribalism can be dangerous.

That’s all obvious. I don’t see what it has to do with the election.

It was the most divisive in my lifetime, and one of the most divisive elections in US history. Both candidates were historically unpopular, yet had supporters who were (and still are) absolutely rabid.

Clinton supporters still can’t get over the fact that she lost and refuse to acknowledge that she was an awful presidential candidate, instead blaming everything under the sun, except for Hillary. Trump supporters refuse to acknowledge the fact that Trump is a lazy, lying, corrupt, attention-seeking, incompetent fraud who embodies zero conservative qualities. That combination of historical unpopularity and rabid support is the result of political tribalism.

For instance: Yes, I voted for Trump, despite his bad behavior (pussy grabbing). I did so because I am 62, and he is the least egregious of the three pussy-grabbers we have elected during my lifetime; the other two were Democrats.

So, since I was told during the 90’s that pussy-grabbing (or worse) shouldn’t disqualify one from the presidency, I took the people who told me that at their word.

It’s a shame that more people didn’t realize that there are a million other things that should have disqualified Trump from the presidency. Not that I wanted Clinton to win. That election was LOSE-LOSE.

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    Matthew

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    Matthew

    Contrarian. Relentlessly critical of my own beliefs. My feelings are, always have been, and always will be irrelevant.