Aconform, you know all this self-identify when compaired to the "other" is atificial right? There really isn't a difference people just make one in their mind. So when I say bosnians are muslim serbs and croats it really is that simple. There isn't anythign demonizing about that. If I were to say bosnians are cowards, theives, yada yada yada then I would be demonizing them.
My comment was not directed at anyone in particular. Just that the way Self and national identity works.
Ones self identity shift and is more like an onion with many layers. Global > continental > regional > religion > national > lingual > urban/rural > city > and so fourth down to the individual self and what sets him apart from the hole world.
All the identities we have surface in relation to others be that in a positive manor or negative. Normal every day people will usual find a common denominator to interact with each other in a positive manor.
Base human desire is peace and positive interaction now to override this leaders have used or should I say abused, this base human desire.
What has happened in the Balkans is a prime example of this. In reality they have more in conmen then that witch separates them… Still it was possible to create a strong self identity, problem was that it went over board and ended up demonizing that witch was not a part of that self identity. With the tragic result that was the wars in the Balkan.
Self identity is fluid I would not go so far as to call it artificial… even the people the Balkan have a common regional identity… On a thread here I saw an example of that. Were the argument was heated and one outside of the Balkan Indented made negative remarks to that. And the ones arguing fell back to common identity… saying something in the lines of: <Today we fight tomorrow we drink raki together and have fun. That’s how it is with us Balkan people>.
My argument is that our self identity is fluid and is more governed by our interaction with the outside world. And my intent is that people realize this so that they are less likely to me pushed toward negative actions.
I’m a rather surprised that in this day and age that people still are easily manipulated. All tragic event in our human history are contributed to results not the root cause. WW2 was National Socialism the root cause of Genocide? Or the creation of this identity formulation? The root conmen dominator was: we suffer because of the Jews and WW1. But could just as easy been anything ells. In Russian it was Social class. In America it was communism.
So if someone wants power he was to promise people a result to gain that power and to get the people to believe in the result. You need to form an identity using anything of the elements I mentioned at the start. And this is base formula for all good and bad thing we humans have ever done.
