Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Globalisation may help to make people more aware of global issues.

Dīvide et īmpera on the other hand (Latin meaning “divide and rule”) is a military/political and sociological strategy based on maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. The concept refers to a strategy that breaks up existing power structures, and especially prevents smaller power groups from linking up, causing rivalries and fomenting discord among the people (and Facebook came to life).

God created Earth and, as far as we know, he also selected that ‘earthlings’ should have no other rival or opponent. Should we ever find any other ‘creatures’ in distant galaxies, will we open dialogue or will we show aggression towards them?  As it happens, earthlings seem to have great difficulties at well-founded communication and, based on the ‘dīvide et īmpera’ strategy, aggression, often based on ignorance, is very likely to be the easy solution.

Europeans, some 750 millions, are mostly proud to be Europeans, with our own identities and cultures we are somewhat different from the inhabitants of the other six Continents.

There are 50 Countries in Europe and each Country has its own Regions. So, someone that lives in England has some cultural differences from the other ”States” in United Kingdom, from other European Countries and other Continents.

There are 48 Counties in England and the residents of Cumbria have little in common with the ones from Kent. The “circles of belonging” will still narrow down further with ‘groups’ like politics (Labour or Conservative), religion (catholic or protestant), football (Chelsea or Fulham), social status (upper class or middle class), education (primary or university), clubs (bingo or golf), work (waiter or lawyer), narrowing it down to ‘local pubs’, entertainment, age groups, hobbies and… the Internet.

Facebook, or sites like MeetUp, are also divided into thousands of groups. We might belong to a few of them but we certainly resent, don’t like, the ‘others’. We don’t like those that do not share our views and our opinions. This is mainly because we know that we are always right – and the others don’t know what they are talking about! Right?

One of many groups that I know of on Facebook is called “Northfields Friends”. This group has over 16’000 members. What mainly unites them is “location” – they should all belong to an area which is in and around Northfields in West London.

This group addresses many different topics but apart from their home or business location there is actually very little in common between most of the users. In fact, even the organizers have their own personal agenda, and anyone disagreeing with them is swiftly ejected from the Group. It is their “page” and they dictate rules and regulations based on their personal knowledge, assumptions and beliefs.

Should you insert “partisan” posts, it will not take long before a cackle of hyenas not only will disagree with you but will also insult you. Because, in case you forgot – they know it all and are always right!

All of this brings us to some very interesting points:

1) Esteem needs are for a higher position within a group. If people respect us, we have or we feel we have greater power. Esteem can have a range of levels, from faint praise to adulation it can raise the receiving person to a position of virtual godhood. This will allow those with low self-esteem to join the “cackle” most suited to them as they can now finally feel a belonging.
2) Identity – when people are part of a group, they can lose their sense of individual identity. There is always a leader, we allow them to be a leader and we often look up to his/her performance and behaviour as they have qualities that we don’t have but would like to emulate.
3) Emotions – being part of a group can lead to heightened emotional states, would that be excitement, anger, hostility, etc. – It is important to remember that the group is not “Northfield Friends” but a conglomerate of individuals that will make them into a Herd, Nest, Troop, Colony, Flock, Litter, Kine, Pack, Mob or else of singular groups. Belligerent towards each other as there is no space for outsiders (they are not allowed to invade their territory), and will be hostile if comments made do not meet their standards and beliefs or meet with their ignorance. [The noun ignorance is not a synonym for “stupidity,” since its meaning is closer to “being uninformed” than “being unintelligent.” Ignorance implies that a person or group needs to be educated on a particular subject. You might have heard the phrase “ignorance is bliss,” which means that sometimes it’s easier when you don’t know the whole truth about something and can be blissfully happy, unaware of unpleasant realities].
4) Deindividuation – when people are part of a group, they experience a loss of self-awareness. At this point we embrace the beliefs of those that share our own beliefs. Our children go to the same school, we meet at the same church or at the same playground, pub or coffee shop every week. People belonging to their “crowd” (often sharing similar beliefs and knowledge) create a lessened sense of awareness of individuality and a reduced sense of guilt, or fear of punishment. The bigger the crowd, the more this will become more evident [Dr. Philip Zimbardo, “The Lucifer Effect, How Good People Turn Evil”, 2008]. There is no guilt in offending others as our “mob” will back our comments – they simply agree to what we have to say.
5) Belonging needs introduce our tribal nature: a need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships; the need for frequent, non aversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond [Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs]. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation. This is based on studies that show how people balance their need to be included in social groups with their need to be different and distinctive. [Brewer, M. B., Manzi, J., & Shaw, J. (1993). In group identification as a function of depersonalisation, distinctiveness and status. Psychological Science]
6) Diffusion of Responsibility – being part of a group creates the perception that violent or unacceptable behaviour is not a personal responsibility but a group responsibility.
7) Anonymity – people feel anonymous within a large group, which reduces their sense of responsibility and accountability.
8) Acceptability – behaviours that are usually seen as unacceptable suddenly become acceptable when others, within a group, are seen to be carrying them out.

Professor Peters, in his book “The Chimp Paradox” points to the fact that our Chimp response is a natural, if unhelpful response [in modern times my current name for the Chimp is…Terrorist]. And this is what goes on with most groups. Instead of exercising rational, calm, controlled, logical (human) responses, “our terrorist”, with his own interest for survival and based on personal Ego, swiftly goes for irrational conflicts, own assumptions, defensive thoughts, while encouraging aggression and arrogance towards others. This applies to some more than others.

Arrogance also means: egotism, conceit, grandiosity, and self-importance (a person thinks himself to be higher in status than other ordinary ‘mortals’). Arrogance is a way of manipulating others’ perceptions of ourselves in order to avoid taking a “hit” to our self-esteem.

We (Chimp) do this by drawing attention to and exaggerating one’s own strengths, successes and specialness while diminishing, hiding and denying one’s own weaknesses and failings, disapproving any outright criticism from others.

The basic strategy for coping with this fear of vulnerability to others’ perceptions, is to manipulate others’ perceptions—to ensure that there is never anything for them to disapprove of or to criticise. I must always appear to be “better” in some way than my rivals. If I show any of my real weaknesses, failings or imperfections, it could be disastrous. For this reason, it would be best, for all, to learn and be constructive and this includes:

• Not easy for most, the best way to progress (social media or life) is to enter with a plan to engage (be solution focused);
• There should not be and it is not about an agenda “to win or lose” but one to reach a sensible outcome (views from others might be challenging or different but they are not obsolete, untrue or fictional);
• Interacting with others also means working with logic (knowledge refers to awareness of or familiarity with various objects, events, ideas, or ways of doing things and what we often don’t know, based on our beliefs and assumptions, scares us);
• Most humans, and not the terrorists, should base their needs on social stimulation and intellectual challenges.

Moving forward and away from “dīvide et īmpera”, we really ought to accept the views of others maybe only questioning their sources, understanding concepts and knowledge of their comments/posts.

There are several individuals that, cocooned by their own ignorance and backed up by those similar to them, are quick to thrust opinions – very often, perfectly misguided.

What if we could learn to share knowledge and be less judgemental?

Article by A B M Procaccini © – Psychologist, Counsellor, Naturopathist