Conservatives tend to have much larger amygdalas, which makes sense, as their worldview is based around fear. The brain/ amygdala treats threats to personal identity with the same fear response as physical threats.
A 15-minute city means you don’t need a car, and it’s far less convenient to have one. But for a lot of people, especially the conservative folks, their car (or bro-dozer) is their identity, or at least a huge part of it. Their identity is fragile enough already, it can’t withstand removing a big chunk of it. (How would a man know he’s a man without a truck to perform masculinity in?)
Therefore, a walkable city is s threat to their vehicle, which is a threat to their identity, which is just as frightening as a physical threat, like being hunted for sport.
The brain/ amygdala treats threats to personal identity with the same fear response as physical threats.
Yeah this is the statement of a person who’s not been in physical danger before. The response to physical threat is so fucking far beyond that of a threat to personal identity.
I’m a conservative specifically because I know there is a whole different level of fear beyond social fear and the fear of work or boredom or identity confusion. I became a conservative the moment I encountered malicious violence for the first time, the first and only time I ever experienced mortal terror.
Realizing that there was an emotion I had never felt before, but that had been in reserve, ready to go when I got that close to
being killed, that changed my worldview.
You know what kind of life experience makes a person’s amygdala bigger? Trauma. Having been through shit is what makes a person’s amygdala bigger.
That’s odd, I have experienced mortal terror a few times, and it somehow didn’t magically turn me into a conservative. Anyway, I’ll note that my comment contained no physical threats, yet still seems to have triggered a fight-or-flight response.
Here’s how I interpret their reactions:
Conservatives tend to have much larger amygdalas, which makes sense, as their worldview is based around fear. The brain/ amygdala treats threats to personal identity with the same fear response as physical threats.
A 15-minute city means you don’t need a car, and it’s far less convenient to have one. But for a lot of people, especially the conservative folks, their car (or bro-dozer) is their identity, or at least a huge part of it. Their identity is fragile enough already, it can’t withstand removing a big chunk of it. (How would a man know he’s a man without a truck to perform masculinity in?)
Therefore, a walkable city is s threat to their vehicle, which is a threat to their identity, which is just as frightening as a physical threat, like being hunted for sport.
Yeah this is the statement of a person who’s not been in physical danger before. The response to physical threat is so fucking far beyond that of a threat to personal identity.
I’m a conservative specifically because I know there is a whole different level of fear beyond social fear and the fear of work or boredom or identity confusion. I became a conservative the moment I encountered malicious violence for the first time, the first and only time I ever experienced mortal terror.
Realizing that there was an emotion I had never felt before, but that had been in reserve, ready to go when I got that close to being killed, that changed my worldview.
You know what kind of life experience makes a person’s amygdala bigger? Trauma. Having been through shit is what makes a person’s amygdala bigger.
That’s odd, I have experienced mortal terror a few times, and it somehow didn’t magically turn me into a conservative. Anyway, I’ll note that my comment contained no physical threats, yet still seems to have triggered a fight-or-flight response.
Whoosh. Stick to that straw man.