Chlorophyll

http://green-jenni.livejournal.com

This is a very interesting study. Missing from the article were the number of subjects used, which gives you an idea if the sample was large enough to make a good generalization.

I'd also be willing to bet that the results would have been different pre-9/11. I've noticed in times of stress, or when extremism or a lack of compromise is present in the "opposing" view, the other side can harden along partisan lines as well.

A good example of this was the split here in the Green Party here in Utah in 2004.

It started off with the "Nader" side having a very strong and unmoving stance, and the "Cobb" side trying to discuss and compromise. But as time went on with no movement or attempts at compromise from the "Nader" side, the "Cobb" side started to become just as hardened in it's stance. I saw this happen with myself. It took many discussions with my husband who would play devil's advocate -- he has witnessed many, many splits within progressive organizations he's been involved with over the years and was very sad to see the same thing happening here. Over time these discussions had some effect on my thinking, and while I still lean to one side, I can see ways we could have handled things better.

Nationally, we went from Clinton the centrist to Bush the extremist. I know that I panicked as I saw all the things that Bush was doing. I'm sure the rest of the progressive/liberal country did as well. The political climate of the country is so different now than it was in 2000.

This kind of unbending stance is bad for greens. It can lead to splits, like we've seen here; and it also leads to dems continuing to support bad candidates and attacking greens for spoiling for those bad candidates rather than joining us.

This study is a good reminder of how we can fall into partisan traps to give us the self-righteous high.

Long ago, the Green movement was founded in large part to escape the rigid dogmatism of of the old, authoritarian Left. Being guided by values, instead of a hardline ideology, has earned us a reputation for being a little mushy, but I think there's strength in that flexibility. We can be committed without being assholes about it.

Like you, Jenni, I watched others - and myself - fall into the tribalist mindset in 2004. I've struggled to pull myself out of it, and to reach out to former rivals. My discussion with Kevin Zeese a while back was one such attempt, strained as it was.

It's one thing to have honest disagreements. It's another to become embittered. We all need to struggle against that every day.

http://green-jenni.livejournal.com

"It's one thing to have honest disagreements. It's another to become embittered. We all need to struggle against that every day."

Well said!

Life's lessons teach us that there are always ways that "we could have done things better or differently."

(For lack of better terminology, I am referring to "Nader" and "Cobb" sides. It is not my preferred verbiage, nonetheless it creates simplicity in expressing my opinion here at this point.)

Today was a sad day for me. I became quite depressed as I saw one more Green leave the national committee in disgust of those on the "Nader" side continuing to have an "unmoving stance" while those on the "Cobb" side continue to be subject to brutal treatment, causing really, really devoted to green values people to leave. This type of behavior has been occuring for nearly a year (or more). The people on the "Nader" side are pursuing the impeachment of the Steering Committee which has caused much turmoil. To the SC's credit, they have called for the tribunal to move forward and let "be what will be".

This exodus of a green who I hold in high esteem, and a relative newcomer to the GPUS, left me with the same pit in my stomach I had when the split in Utah occured.

To that end, I respectfully disagree with Jenni that the "Cobb" side in Utah became "hardened." I view the situation, rather, that those on the "Cobb" side made a decision to hold those unwilling to bend and who breached the trust of the membership accountable for their actions. Every effort was made to make amends and ask for accountability. True, those on the "Cobb" side could have continued to hold out, continue to be subject to brutal accusations and treatment, continue to witness the degradation of the key values, but I guarantee you, had that type of behavior been allowed to continue, no one on the "Cobb" side would be around today as an involved member of the Green Party...including me. As it turns out, however, the "Cobb" side that insisted on accountability from the "Nader" side is now viewed as "the bad guys" by more than just a few people.

I wonder....if it had turned out to be the case if the same treatment by activists in the community, who were once a cohesive group, would have been bestowed upon the "Nader" side as has been bestowed upon those on the "Cobb" side.

I wonder.

I also wonder how many more years continued analyses of this will be haunting the movement. It seems like the order of the day is regression instead of progression.

The "Cobb" side here in Utah has moved on, in my opinion, despite public attacks and harassment by members of the "Nader" side. Folks on the "Nader" side have every right to stand up for their beliefs. So do folks on the "Cobb" side.

Ironically, folks on the "Cobb" side, on more than one occasion, agreed to mediation. The "Nader" side refused.

There are many things I regret in my life. I regret not becoming vegetarian earlier in my life than I did. I regret making some life-altering decisions in my younger days. I regret not taking a stand for myself before the age of 35.

And I regret that I lacked some skills to help prevent a split from happening in the GPUT - TWICE. Had I, and others, handled things differently perhaps....just perhaps....the outcome would have been different. I am not proud, nor am I happy, that a split occured in Utah. It is highly unfortunate. Just as I am able to be peripherally assoicated with folks who were on the "opposite side" in the first GPUT split now, I somewhat sure (not entirely) the same scenario will occur someday with folks involved on opposite "sides" from the second split.

"Life is what happens while you are making other plans."
~ John Lennon