se of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-

My parents grew up in Nazi Austria. My father was nine in 1939, when the Nazis came to power in Austria (part invasion, but local support as well). After the war, he found out what had happened to the Jews – including to the lone Jewish family in his village. Death.

In 1955, he emigrated to Canada. By then he had a wife and two small daughters. To show he wasn't anti-Semitic, my father chose an apartment in the middle of an Orthodox Jewish community.

As you may well imagine, my sister and I were not welcomed with open arms. My father could not hear that at all – it was out of his range of understanding. According to him, people who have been the victims of prejudice know all too well how much prejudice hurts, and so could never do unto others what has been done to them.

My sister and I survived.

****

My unusual experience has had a lifelong impact, however – an acute sensitivity to how wrong and hurtful prejudice is, for one thing. Anti-racist movements, feminism, gay rights movements – the importance of these movements was so very obvious to me.

But there was more I took with me, though this further impact took far longer for me to acknowledge and express.

I grew up just as the separatist movement was gaining momentum in Quebec – a time when many French Canadians were against anyone not French Canadian. It didn't matter that I spoke French (with an accent), or that my ancestors were thousands of miles away when the British conquered the French, or that I had no English background at all. It mattered that I wasn't one of "them." Counter-prejudice, once again.

Now, looking back, I am amazed that it took me decades to recognize counter-prejudice as a powerful and damaging force. As a child I identified with the Jewish perspective. I felt, deep inside myself, that Jews had the right to be prejudiced against all Germans and Austrians. I knew I had not been born during the Holocaust. I knew even more deeply that six million Jews had been murdered. In high school, I completely understood the Jewish classmate who told me that he could not possibly take me home to his parents. It had nothing to do with religion. I was one of "them."

****

Quebec has changed over the past several decades. It's a mellower place. I no longer feel (very rarely, anyway) hostility coming at me from French Canadians because I am not French Canadian.

But I have become more and more aware of what I call the rage of the so-called righteous. Muslims in rage against anyone who dares do or say what they don't done or said. Blacks contemptuous of whites as "crackers". And so on.

I taught Women's Studies for years. It's relatively easy in our society to support the rights of the oppressed. True, many people don't want discrimination to change, and even more people deny it exists. But by and large, when one talks about prejudice and discrimination, one is talking about something where one gets a lot more support than if one also pays attention to counter-hostility.

There are, of course, those ready to find counter-hostility anywhere and everywhere, whether it exists or not. "Watch out. They just want to put the shoe on the other foot." A common charge leveled at anyone who works against discrimination. People on the hunt for slightest hint of counter-prejudice aren't people I want to align myself with. In my experience, they don't want equality. Instead, they're hunting for anything that could be a weapon to use against people who want a fair deal.

On the other hand, the people against discrimination are often ready to attack if one alludes to anything like counter-prejudice.

So one is tredding into a tangled messy patch of thorns and brambles if one brings it up.

Those least eager to hear about counter-prejudice, in my experience, have been black students caught in the grip of it against whites. And those most eager to pounce on any suggestion of it, again in my experience, have been male students with their antennae out for any hint of female anger at males.

Recently I've been thinking and writing about the rage of the righteous – meaning the rage of people very sure that their anger is justified, that they have been hurt and have every right to strike back. Over the past half year, Muslim rage has most caught my attention. Everyone has wronged them; everyone deserves whatever they can dish out.

****

More generally, I've been intriqued by the shell against perception around so many people.

The shell. In my mind's eye I see an egg. A very hard shell. Necessary to shelter a chick, so it can develop until it's strong enough to peck its own way out.

One needs shells, filters – or one would be overwhelmed by all the information coming in. But the shells I'm referring to aren't protection from an overdose of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-

I grew up just as the separatist movement was gaining momentum in Quebec – a time when many French Canadians were against anyone not French Canadian. It didn't matter that I spoke French (with an accent), or that my ancestors were thousands of miles away when the British conquered the French, or that I had no English background at all. It mattered that I wasn't one of "them." Counter-prejudice, once again.

Now, looking back, I am amazed that it took me decades to recognize counter-prejudice as a powerful and damaging force. As a child I identified with the Jewish perspective. I felt, deep inside myself, that Jews had the right to be prejudiced against all Germans and Austrians. I knew I had not been born during the Holocaust. I knew even more deeply that six million Jews had been murdered. In high school, I completely understood the Jewish classmate who told me that he could not possibly take me home to his parents. It had nothing to do with religion. I was one of "them."

****

Quebec has changed over the past several decades. It's a mellower place. I no longer feel (very rarely, anyway) hostility coming at me from French Canadians because I am not French Canadian.

But I have become more and more aware of what I call the rage of the so-called righteous. Muslims in rage against anyone who dares do or say what they don't done or said. Blacks contemptuous of whites as "crackers". And so on.

I taught Women's Studies for years. It's relatively easy in our society to support the rights of the oppressed. True, many people don't want discrimination to change, and even more people deny it exists. But by and large, when one talks about prejudice and discrimination, one is talking about something where one gets a lot more support than if one also pays attention to counter-hostility.

There are, of course, those ready to find counter-hostility anywhere and everywhere, whether it exists or not. "Watch out. They just want to put the shoe on the other foot." A common charge leveled at anyone who works against discrimination. People on the hunt for slightest hint of counter-prejudice aren't people I want to align myself with. In my experience, they don't want equality. Instead, they're hunting for anything that could be a weapon to use against people who want a fair deal.

On the other hand, the people against discrimination are often ready to attack if one alludes to anything like counter-prejudice.

So one is tredding into a tangled messy patch of thorns and brambles if one brings it up.

Those least eager to hear about counter-prejudice, in my experience, have been black students caught in the grip of it against whites. And those most eager to pounce on any suggestion of it, again in my experience, have been male students with their antennae out for any hint of female anger at males.

Recently I've been thinking and writing about the rage of the righteous – meaning the rage of people very sure that their anger is justified, that they have been hurt and have every right to strike back. Over the past half year, Muslim rage has most caught my attention. Everyone has wronged them; everyone deserves whatever they can dish out.

****

More generally, I've been intriqued by the shell against perception around so many people.

The shell. In my mind's eye I see an egg. A very hard shell. Necessary to shelter a chick, so it can develop until it's strong enough to peck its own way out.

One needs shells, filters – or one would be overwhelmed by all the information coming in. But the shells I'm referring to aren't protection from an overdose of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-

become more and more aware of what I call the rage of the so-called righteous. Muslims in rage against anyone who dares do or say what they don't done or said. Blacks contemptuous of whites as "crackers". And so on.

I taught Women's Studies for years. It's relatively easy in our society to support the rights of the oppressed. True, many people don't want discrimination to change, and even more people deny it exists. But by and large, when one talks about prejudice and discrimination, one is talking about something where one gets a lot more support than if one also pays attention to counter-hostility.

There are, of course, those ready to find counter-hostility anywhere and everywhere, whether it exists or not. "Watch out. They just want to put the shoe on the other foot." A common charge leveled at anyone who works against discrimination. People on the hunt for slightest hint of counter-prejudice aren't people I want to align myself with. In my experience, they don't want equality. Instead, they're hunting for anything that could be a weapon to use against people who want a fair deal.

On the other hand, the people against discrimination are often ready to attack if one alludes to anything like counter-prejudice.

So one is tredding into a tangled messy patch of thorns and brambles if one brings it up.

Those least eager to hear about counter-prejudice, in my experience, have been black students caught in the grip of it against whites. And those most eager to pounce on any suggestion of it, again in my experience, have been male students with their antennae out for any hint of female anger at males.

Recently I've been thinking and writing about the rage of the righteous – meaning the rage of people very sure that their anger is justified, that they have been hurt and have every right to strike back. Over the past half year, Muslim rage has most caught my attention. Everyone has wronged them; everyone deserves whatever they can dish out.

****

More generally, I've been intriqued by the shell against perception around so many people.

The shell. In my mind's eye I see an egg. A very hard shell. Necessary to shelter a chick, so it can develop until it's strong enough to peck its own way out.

One needs shells, filters – or one would be overwhelmed by all the information coming in. But the shells I'm referring to aren't protection from an overdose of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-

ything like counter-prejudice.

So one is tredding into a tangled messy patch of thorns and brambles if one brings it up.

Those least eager to hear about counter-prejudice, in my experience, have been black students caught in the grip of it against whites. And those most eager to pounce on any suggestion of it, again in my experience, have been male students with their antennae out for any hint of female anger at males.

Recently I've been thinking and writing about the rage of the righteous – meaning the rage of people very sure that their anger is justified, that they have been hurt and have every right to strike back. Over the past half year, Muslim rage has most caught my attention. Everyone has wronged them; everyone deserves whatever they can dish out.

****

More generally, I've been intriqued by the shell against perception around so many people.

The shell. In my mind's eye I see an egg. A very hard shell. Necessary to shelter a chick, so it can develop until it's strong enough to peck its own way out.

One needs shells, filters – or one would be overwhelmed by all the information coming in. But the shells I'm referring to aren't protection from an overdose of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-

se of information. They're a defense against reality, against something that would disturb beliefs, feelings, a learned way of being. This shell wards off with anger, hatred, fear, warped thinking patterns. It gets thicker and thicker.

It isn't like an eggshell, with a smooth surface. Nasty barbs, poisonous darts, and so on are often all to ready to defend the shell – whether it's the shell of prejudice or counter-prejudice. It rarely just melts away like ice cream in the sun. And rarely is a heatlhy chick pecking its way out.

****

An egg shell can shatter with the right kind of blow.

I'm still trying to figure out the best strategies for dealing with the Shell-Spell of Righteousness, whether it's the shell of self-righteous prejudice or self-righteous counter-prejudice.

****

I had a hard time figuring out what to call this piece. What was I describing, I ended up asking myself.

The Feel-Good Part of Hating Back and Hurting Back -

because that's something else I've noticed, how good it seems to make people feel, having this legitimized, socially sanctioned right to anger;

Crazy Justifications for Counter-Hostility -

particularly the self-rghteous anger at a whole group, whether or not an individual has done anything, when the same people would be outraged at the thought of putting a child in jail for the crimes of a parent;

The Pain of Being Hurt for the Wrongs Done by Others;

The Lure of Self-Righteous Anger.

In the end I went with, A Dangerous Temptation. This anger is tempting and dangerous, both tempting and dangerous for those caught in it, and just plain dangerous for those who are the target. I remember it from childhood. I still carry within me vestiges - I am much more tolerant of Jewish anti-German sentiments than of any German or Austrian prejudices. I have my own antennae out when I meet Germans and Austrians.

Weird, the legacies we carry from childhood.

On the plus side, I may be extra ready to notice counter-prejudice because deep inside me I know how much it can hurt. So when the Western media in general made it seem that Muslims were justified to rage against a Danish cartoon when Muslims were not outraged by Muslim murders in the name of their religion (new car bombs in Baghdad almost daily, it seems - thirty dead here, fifty dead there), everything in me said, this makes no sense, this is wrong, totally wrong.

In no way was I tempted to go along. The spell of the raging righteous had no hold on me.

Maybe soon ever fewer people will go along.

****

UNDERLYING IDEA:

"It is a fact readily acknowledged, that for humans, an idea is much more powerful than a fact." I don't know who said that - but I remember how those words struck me when I read them. One idea: just as ideas can close our minds, they can open them to new worlds and visions. Ideas pull things togheter or keep them apart. They help us organize experiences, help us make sense of things - or block us from making sense of things. So I hope you got something from what I've written. Comments and further thoughts welcome.

****

Something else I look at, quite different but linked, is STUPID OPINONS, meaning opinions that don't make sense, like the opinon that all opinions are equal, or that we are all exactly where we are meant to be:

http://www.elsas-word-story-image-idea-music-emporium.com/the-idea-emporium-stupid-opinion-1.html

Poor thinking - it can make me gnash my teeth.

****