Read other letters about this article

• Monday, February 19, 2007 07:30 AM

  When authoritarians aggress...

  Somebody over in the Joe Conason thread posted a link to researcher Bob Altemeyer's online published book "The Authoritarians." Altemeyer was a primary source for John Dean in his recent New York Times bestseller "Conservatives without Conscience" about authoritarian followers and their leaders in the US.

  Altemeyer says something very interesting about authoritarian aggression that I think describes the people threatening Marcotte and McEwan:

  "Authoritarian followers usually avoid anything approaching a fair fight. Instead they aggress when they believe right and might are on their side. “Right” for them means, more than anything else, that their hostility is (in their minds) endorsed by established authority, or supports such authority. “Might” means they have a huge physical advantage over their target, in weaponry say, or in numbers, as in a lynch mob. It’s striking how often authoritarian aggression happens in dark and cowardly ways, in the dark, by cowards who later will do everything they possibly can to avoid responsibility for what they did. Women, children, and others unable to defend themselves are typical victims. Even more striking, the attackers typically feel morally superior to the people they are assaulting in an unfair fight."

  Does he describe to a tee the people who came after Marcotte or what? That's amazing to me...

  If you've got enough time and interest to be following this Marcotte thread, then you ought to go peruse Altemeyer's online book:

  http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

  —Johnalive Read Johnalive's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel