CTTS and You

From: nattinso@nermal.santarosa.edu (Wandering)
Date: 18 Jul 1995 04:22:49 GMT
Organization: random...

             FACTSHEET TWO: THE US v. THEM FALLACY

     Humans seem to gain a great strength from banding together 
with what they perceive to be "their own kind"; this century has 
seen the rise of thousands of small organizations, clubs, cults, 
societies, associations, fraternities, teams, cliques, crowds, 
sects and the like. Anyone who has ever been a part of such a 
unit knows how heady and warm can be the feeling of belonging, 
how the big cold chaotic world makes sense in the light of 
shared perception. After all, we are social creatures, no matter 
how we may think of ourselves as independent.

     There is a side to all this social mitosis that always 
seems to be overlooked; a behavior that we at Obscure Research 
Labs call the Cooler-Than-Thou Syndrome. CTTS arises from the 
inevitable posturing that occurs when one band of humans begins 
to believe in (and then find evidence to support) its own 
superiority vis-a-vis all the other bands...

     Most people, at this point, are probably thinking of 
obvious examples such as the Nazis, the Inquisition, white 
supremacists, black supremacists, or any nation-state from 
ancient Akkad to the modern superpowers. While these are valid 
cases, such behavior can also be seen among such seemingly 
inocuous groupings as sports fans, users of one or another 
modern product such as soft-drinks or computers, listeners to a 
certain type of music, or even wearers of a particular style of 
clothing. In short, any set of shared behavior patterns has the 
potential, if adhered to strongly enough, of engendering the 
belief that the adherent is better ("cooler") than anyone else.

     The question, of course, is: Why does this happen?

     As far as we can tell, CTTS is found in individuals whose 
identity comes more from their affinity group than from 
themselves. Such individuals are usually deeply insecure; when 
this trait is recognized, the CTTS manifests as "team spirit" or 
"camaraderie"; there is no clear distinction between Us and 
Them, and no exclusion of those "not in the club." But when the 
insecurity is not recognized, or when it is perceived as a 
natural consequence of being excluded by some other group 
responsible for one's failures, CTTS achieves its most powerful 
manifestation. The Obscure Research Labs' Archives contains 
letters and other documents from CTTS sufferers as diverse as 
the poor, the hate-psychotic, the mystical, the rich, the 
"left", the "right", drug users, punks, the tattooed, the sober, 
religious fundamentalists, atheists, artists, writers, 
conspiracists, seers of visions and upholders of public 
morality. While there are many people who "belong" to one or 
another of the many divisions of humanity who do not suffer from 
CTTS, the majority of set-groupies do. Won't you help us find a 
cure for these needy and pathetic victims? Please send a cash 
donation of any size to:

                      Obscure Research Labs 
                           PO Box 15266 
                       Santa Rosa, CA 95402 

Thank you.