“I am astounded by the hatefulness that is being thrown around”

How fortunate that the weather is not as overheated as the politicians at election time and by extension the people who vote for them will soon be. I am baffled by the hatefulness being thrown around. From snide remarks to perfidious swearing that has no other cause than powerlessness, frustration and, I fear, psychological motivations that can be traced back to profound childish fears.

70 percent of our compatriots prefer an authoritarian leader, a strong daddy whom every child longs for, a God the Father who will protect and guide you and whom you must follow blindly. This was evident from research published by RTBF and Le Soir. There are important sociological trends, and one of them is ‘retribalization’, a highly exaggerated form of tribalism. This is characterized by turning back on yourself, the family or the group.

About 50 percent are in favor of an authoritarian government and reject our democratic system in whole or in part. Nearly 69 percent believe that the country should be ruled by a strong personality who does not take democracy or parliament into account. And just like that, 71 percent of Belgians believe that the (wrongly) supposed elites should be done away with: economic, financial and political elites and the media, because they act against “real people like me”.

These people experience the society around them as hostile, feel powerless and are furious with everything and everyone. To channel those sentiments, a scapegoat must be found.

Let that sink in!

It makes me feel short of breath.

The media plays on all this doom-mongering and often does nothing more than stir things up, I have the impression. Its consequences can be read on social media and reflected in the language used by politicians. Courtesy is in short supply.

I can handle it less and less well. The villainous and gratuitous taunt creeps in like a deadly poison. I have to stop my obnoxious habit of checking social media in the morning to see if there’s anything good to read, because within five minutes I’m knocked out and groggily stumbling into the day.