These are ideas about communication after listening to The American Scandal Podcast about Ruby Ridge.
Humans feel more than they think.
Humans want to feel safe. Groups make humans feel safe. Humans feel the need to be members of a group.
Adolescent weirdness is part of this. Children have familial feelings, teens less-so. But everyone needs to be part of a group.
Humans join groups and then find adjacent groups. Viewers also watched.
Groups form worldviews.
Group members communicate well. Information is less idiosyncratic. Time is more. Quality forms from shared experiences.
Group to group collaboration requires more energy than group to individual or individual to individual. There’s more “mass”. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Groups are slow, but powerful.
Some of the groups involved at Ruby Ridge: white nationalists, the FBI, Federal Marshals, the United States government, the Weaver family (and extended family), Idaho neighbors, a hostage rescue team, the media, the legal system.
The Ruby Ridge story was a tragedy. It was a mess because of poor communication and unappreciated group dynamics. I’d forgotten the explosiveness of that time (Ruby Ridge ’92, Waco ’93, Oklahoma City ’95).
The American Scandal podcast ends with an episode about the threads of Ruby Ridge to current politics. That part felt less convincing that the narrative story. But in the summer of America’s semiquincentennial, I hope you find peace and joy.
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