Intended Message Of Validation: The Us Against Them Mentality

The Remedial Process Towards Unwinding The Strands Of Hate- Part IV (The intended message of validation and the influences of "the us against them" mentality)

---

In every community or group, validation is required of its members. In a family, your DNA or adoption certificate validates you as a member. At your work, the interview, the probationary period, and your commitment to your contract are some of the factors that validate you as an employee. In the gang, the initiation and your commitment to the duties assigned give you validation. Intended message of validation is therefore communicated to us through our participation in daily events within a particular collective circle we belong.

Take any territorial gang wars in any part of the world. The rules are that you cannot cross territorial lines of your rivals to do business. For this reason, the gang members are expected to defend their territory and by committing to that task, the member gains validation. This becomes a feat for the members to aim because it signifies that one is putting in work.

Members imbibe an “us against them” mentality which they translate as "the pious against the infidel" where they the members, assume the role of the pious and claim total responsibility for maintaining orderliness.

When the rivals begin to defy territorial boundaries, that is deemed as utter disrespect, so anger is sparked and issues are pressed, scuffles occur, loses are incurred, and thus activating emotions to the level of utter hostile aggression with the sole mission of eliminating the rivals whenever, wherever and with whatever.

When such battle lines are drawn, members are demanded to put in work to defend the pride and honour of their gang, and those who take up the task gain respect and rise through the ranks. That’s validation! New members may also be demanded to go eliminate the rivals as an initiation into the gang, and such accomplishment is also validation.

Take a family or a community whose members believe they are of a superior heritage than others so they don’t allow inter marriages, business partnership or intermingling with non-members; these values will incite the members into an attitude full of detestation towards non-members and inspire a system of segregation against non-members.

Attempts of Members breaking these boundaries or outsiders infiltrating is considered as defiance, an attack and an act of injustice which sparks anger and a drive in the rest of the membership to eliminate this defiance. Members imbibe an “us against them” mentality which they translate as "the pious against the infidel" where they the members, assume the role of the pious and claim total responsibility for maintaining orderliness.

This pious role becomes a message of validation which inspires them to launch attack with utter hate deemed as necessary. In other words, the validation becomes inspiration for terror and destruction of the infidels. Intended message of validation often works hand in hand with intended messages like instigation, indoctrination, and manipulation.

In fact, throughout the history of mankind, this combination of intended messages has always been the ultimate approach used by hate groups, cults, fundamentalist groups, dictators, and fascist rulers in their agenda to impose orderliness and dominance.

In this agenda, the “other” (i.e., the infidel) becomes an object of violation until they become powerful enough to stay on their ground and successfully resist, or until there is a change in civic values that promote empathy and interconnectedness. If not, the violation will continue.

Well, this brings us to the intended message of violation, but we will leave that for the next post. Until then, let’s keep our hearts Locked in Over and over Vigorously bonding until Eternity.