On why the most intolerant win. Or why Emily in Paris leads to Jihad. Now that I have your attention with a seemingly entirely random non sequitur there is actually a very real connection of how status is accrued in groups and how it directly leads to moral signalling spirals.
A fashion conscious American girl in France and a Syrian "freedom fighter" may appear to have nothing in common but within their respective peer groups they both serve as social vanguards whose raisin d'etre is to make their peers feel provincial and less. To diminish the status
of others and elevate their own via proximity to purity/authenticity. This role is as necessary for the would be class queen, the revolutionary, or the aspiring non resident fellow. People instinctively respond positively to conviction real or feigned and the more effective you
are in communicating what is essentially street cred, the more you are able to command loyalty and tenor of the conversation. This isn't done by reasoned debate or intellectualism, it is accomplished by being an abrasive jackass who drives competitors away by being the most
obnoxious and browbeating others into silence. It's not fair, just, or rational, but it is how our lizard brains function in the quick and dirty when trying to figure out hierarchies.
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