Comments by "Laurence Fraser" (@laurencefraser) on "The Critical Drinker"
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Diversity absolutely can be a strength... Provided there is also unity. When there is instead division it is a weakness just as absolute.
Likewise, multiculturalism is a good thing... Because a functional and healthy process of immigration and integration produces a multicultural society simply as a result of the rolling midpoint of that process, and, as noted, diversity coupled with unity is strength. Unfortunately, if you (general sense of the word) refuse to accept that and see integration (or, for that matter, the inevitable changes to the society being integrated into as a result) as somehow evil, and try to Force multiculturalism as an End State (or force immigrants into a permanent underclass which Cannot integrate, be it due to racism or exploitation founded on greed), then the result is again division, and weakness.
Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of people who profit from using division as a tool to screw over others for their own gain, and setting up some group or another as "the enemy" makes it easier to hide this. Those currently at the top, and those currently at the bottom make for the easiest targets, depending on your methods, goals, and audience.
This is true on both sides of the political spectrum. (It happens less in the centre mostly because those who have been radicalised are easier to manipulate, and it's harder to sound like a reasonable moderate while doing this sort of thing, but it's not unheard of there either)
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'course, doesn't help that the American political right has gone utterly insane at the same time. Usually, if the far left or the far right is gaining too much traction, you put the moderates on the other side in power for a couple of terms to reign them in. Doesn't really work when your choices are "moderate right that needs to pander to the far left just to get sufficient support to do anything at all" and "radical right who have no interest in actually having a functional nationstate at the end if they're not in charge of it and benefiting at everyone else's expense"... Makes it very easy for the crazy part of the left to hide behind the entirely legitimate threat of the far right fucking everything up, only far, far quicker. (The loud and crazy part of the far left hates everything and everyone, but wants to be seen as the good guys (if only because that automatically makes their opponents the bad guys and let them get away with more awful shit). The far right simply doesn't give a crap if you starve to death so long as they're observably better off than you. Doesn't help that the supporters of the far right usually don't give a crap if they have to live in a cardboard box and live off bread and water so long as the groups they lable as "the other" are starving and don't even get a box. (The supporters of the far left tend to be of the opinion that boxes aren't good enough for Anyone if better is possible,but if they have to live in a box, then damnit, no one else gets to live in a better box! Noticeably, if you're not part of the "in" group of those in power, the latter is better most of the time. Doesn't change the fact that they're both complete shit.)
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