BEYOND THE TRIBE Public Opinion as Social power

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is there a greater EVIL that Thoughtlessness? Thoughtlessness, Group Identity, Manufactured Reality, and the Decline of Independent Judgment Ostracize (verb) Definition: To ostracize someone is to deliberately exclude, reject, ignore, isolate, or banish them from a social group, community, organization, or society, often as a form of punishment, disapproval, or social control. Etymology The word comes from the ancient Greek practice of ostracism. In ancient Athens, citizens could vote to exile a person from the city-state for ten years. Votes were written on broken pieces of pottery called ostraka. A person receiving enough votes would be expelled, not necessarily for a crime, but because they were considered a threat to social stability. Thus, ostracize originally meant: "To expel from the community." Over time the meaning evolved into social exclusion rather than physical exile. Ostracism is social exile. It is the punishment imposed by a group upon an indivi