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When the flames of passion are ignited for a cause not your own, you can be assured that evolution is on your side. 'In-group' thinking has many components that together allow for a cohesive and functional group. Someone considering actions or thoughts not in line with consensus is subjected to mocking or economic or physical punishment to enforce compliance. The compliance is two-fold, that of the individual in question and that of the remainder of the group who sees what happened to the first person and derives the appropriate lesson. But evolution added a critical feature: righteous indignation. By firing up an adverse reaction to non-compliance or 'illegal' activity, members of the group are driven to react in a manner that will attempt to enforce societies rules whether physically, or by reporting the offense, or by jeering the person with feelings of contempt. And so society can have its checks and balances and the social order preserved. Those individually who had a propensity to function within those effective means of social order were more likely to survive (with all the benefits afforded by group living) and pass their genes on.So I spoke with a Righteous Indignator last night who 'lost respect' for me because of how I treated my best friend by going out with his ex-girlfriend shortly after their break up. Her role here: None. Yet she felt it was her place to not only feel passionately offended but moved to the point of expressing those denigrating thoughts to me concerning what she considered inappropriate behavior for friends or a group. I listened to her piece, told her she has a right to her opinion, that my life is not meant to be judged by the court of public opinion. She couldn't process any of my explanations for mitigating circumstances so I abruptly said that I just don't really care what others think or that she lost respect, it's not her business.
Modern society allows much more fluidity such that the consequences for defecting from the group-think is much lower. If I don't like this group or community, I can withdraw or leave or even find different friends. And while there is a lot of value I recognize and obtain by being in the group, I have an independent streak that will not be silenced.
But what ever you do, don't repeat anything I just wrote! In the immortal words of Ahmed the dead terrrorist: Silence! I kill you!