The opinions of society are not led by judgments, reasonable arguments, or logical conclusions, but instead by images, associations, and generalizations. Imagine, for example, a representative of any northern nation who has never seen glass. They know that ice is transparent and will melt in their mouth. It is understandable that they will assume the same for any object that is transparent, including glass.
The majority of humanity conducts themselves in the same manner. An individual janitor or, even more so, an individual academic can realize that the characteristics of one or a few people cannot be used to judge an entire group. But when 10 janitors or 10 academics gather (including on a virtual platform), unwillingly become emotional and gather all black people, all Turks, all Muslims, all people who wear glasses, or all atomic physicists in the same box.
The way people treat political parties is the same. When people say, “the RPA, Pan-Armenian National Movement, and the communists robbed and destroyed the country,” they mean that there are people belonging to those parties who have issues with the law (by the way, these tend to be people who change their party affiliation in accordance with changes in the situation). However, society will not separate this group from another. If we are to continue with the comparison, they will think that all transparent objects are ice.
Convincing the masses is very difficult, and the path is perhaps the same: accepting the “darkness” in someone, condemn it, and limit oneself to only seeing that. In the case of the RPA, its members need to say, “ok, these were the people who robbed the country, and we have nothing to do with them.” But, of course, that is easier said than done. For example, when it’s said that all journalists write judgmental articles for money, I know specifically whom they are referring to, but I do not have any desire to focus too much on that issue since it will end in an ugly and unnecessary fight. The difference is that I can avoid making such generalizations. However, political party members cannot, since they periodically (including now) go and request votes from voters.
Here’s another generalization that is more up-to-date. The elite of the ruling parties is arrogant, haughty, and only surprised with themselves. That is not only a generalization, but a summarization of the past several years. But it can describe another ruling party or another elite, right?
Aram Abrahamyan
