Leader oct 30

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Create an enemy and define yourself

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chadenfreude: pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. $ TXLFN Ă€OO LQ WKH EODQN H[HUFLVH LI you will: Vikings/Packers fans are __________. Republicans/Democrats are _________. Public/private sector employees are ______. Union members are _____. Rich/poor people are ______. Liberals/conservatives are _______. Homosexuals are _______. Is your dander up at all? If not, try a different combination, and consider the following excerpt from a very real sports blog I changed just slightly in order to make my point: “ ... We Packers/liberals/Republicans get to bask in the joy and ecstasy of not just a victory, but also in the delicious schadenfreude that comes from a debilitating Vikings/conservatives/Democrats loss. That makes it twice as sweet! Their loss and pain is our gain. Why? Because the Vikings/unions/conservatives and their fans/supporters are our enemies. They and so many of their fans/supporters epitomize all that is soulless and wrong, albeit inept.

:H WHDFK ZH OHDUQ Chris Wondra “Given the good nature of most Packers/liberals/private-sector employees, the importance of this is sometimes lost. We know how to love our Packers/ Republicans/union members, but sometimes we forget how – or why – to hate the Vikings/liberals/public employees and those who support them.â€? Now, relax. This propagandizing is just all in good fun right? To be fair, surely Vikings/Democrats/conservatives use this sort of language too. And so do Bears fans and Pistons fans, and Minnesota drivers, and deer hunters, DQG ORJJHUV DQG '15 RIĂ€FLDOV DQG business owners, and city council members, and terrorists and hate groups. The key step here – and it’s amazing how easy this is to do – is to separate or distance oneself from another in order to create an “other,â€? an entity that different from you. Once that distinction has been made, this “otherâ€? just naturally becomes less human, more monstrous and much easier to hate or fear.

Rattlesnakes on the border

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attlesnakes on the border. Some of you might think this is another JULP WDOH DERXW WKH FDUWHOV DQG JXQÀJKWV in the Mexican border states. It’s not. Most all roads coming north to connect with the freeway have a manned border patrol checkpoint. The object is to deter illegal immigrants and drug smuggling. A good deal of the borderland is ranching country. Two young daywork cowboys had been helping gather cows. They put in a good day and were headed home. Devon was drivin’ and twilight was still hangin’ on as they headed north on Arizona’s Hwy. 191. His compadrÊ was Duke. They hung out a lot. Each was ridin’ colts for whoever needed it and somehow made the payments – Duke on his rent and Devon on his truck.

They were livin’ the cowboy dream, which is to be able to support yourself your entire life without ever having to get a job! They also collected live rattlesnakes for a herpetologist. He paid $20 live, $5 dead but with the head intact. Although they were a team, Devon was ophidiophobic ‌ scairt of snakes! He held the bag. Sure ‘nuf, down 191, there in the headlights they saw a rattler crossing the road. Devon was going purty fast as they whizzed by, but Duke said, “Did you see that, Dev, he musta been 15 feet long, probably got 30 to 40 rattles! I never seen one so big, ‘less it was the

This “otherâ€? then easily becomes the enemy, and the more pain and misfortune he or she suffers, the better. In any contest, we prefer the side that is more like us. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as the association principle. The distinguished and proOLĂ€F DXWKRU ,VDDF $VLPRY SXW LW WKLV ZD\ “All things being equal, you root for your own sex, your own culture, your own locality ... and what you want to prove is that you are better than the other person. Whomever you root for represents you; and when he (or she) wins, you win.â€? The ego-self is clearly at stake. Our prestige rises when our side wins, and it falls when our side loses. We feel real and escalating emotions of joy and pride the higher the perceived stakes. Just listen to the language fans use after a victory. We say, “We won!â€? and “We’re number one!â€? not “They’re number one!â€? or “Our team is number one!â€? Unless, that is, our team has just lost, in which case we will often distance and protect our fragile ego-self by saying, “They lost.â€? The devil is in the pronoun. Looked at objectively, this is insane. Seen through the lens of a sports fan or political junky or religious fanatic, however, not only does this make perfect sense, it’s an admired trait! The more emotionally invested a person, the bet-

ter fan or voter or follower he or she is. The more pain they feel after a loss, the more euphoria they feel after a win. We call these people true and die-hard fans/constituents/believers. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should admit that I am Viking fan/public employee myself. Over the years, this association has given me the unique opportunity to feel very real and physical stress responses during the course of any game, political contest, and professional career – muscle tension, increased heart rate, sweaty palms – as well as the emotions of joy and agony – lately, mostly agony. Love me or hate me, it is clear that somewhere deep within our warped and fragile psyches, we believe that the Vikings and public servants everywhere really are me. For many, this makes me less human, more monstrous, easier to kick when I’m down. The enemy. Perhaps, however, bigger questions loom like, Who are you? Are we really that much different? Do our associations really make us winners and losers? And, what is it, exactly, that you win, when I lose? Founder of WeTeachWeLearn.org, Chris Wondra is just another Wisconsin public schoolteacher. Find We Teach We Learn on Facebook and Twitter for daily tips on getting the most out of your brain.

one that got loose in your cab that time. Âś0HPEHU" :H KDG WR Ă€VK KLP RXW IURP behind the seat, dang near got kilt!â€? Devon kept his eyes on the road and his foot on the gas. Rasslin’ snakes in broad daylight was bad enough, much less trying to do it in the dark. “Man,â€? whined Duke, “Ol Doc might even pay us more ‘cause it’s so big! What ya say? Think we better turn around afore we git too far gone ‌ there’s still time. Long as he was, it might take him 20 minutes to cross the road! What ya think? What ya think? What ya think!â€? “All right!â€? said Devon. He slammed RQ WKH EUDNHV Ă€VKWDLOHG UHYHUVHG GLrection and peeled out like a scalded tomcat! He barely noticed the line of Ă XRUHVFHQW FRQHV GRZQ WKH PLGGOH RI the road directing drivers to bear to the right. The three border patrol agents had their quiet evening shattered! You

can imagine what they thought ‌ smugglers on their way north suddenly realizing their GPS went dreadfully wrong? Giant prison spotlights glared, 17 border patrol vehicles cranked up, WKUHZ JUDYHO UHG OLJKWV Ă DVKLQJ DQG VLrens blaring in hot pursuit! It took them two minutes to have our cowboys pulled over. The big bullhorn was directing them to stay in their vehicle. “Lemme handle this,â€? said Duke. “Don’t move a muscle,â€? warned Devon. “Ah, what the heck, they can’t take this seriously,â€? said Duke as he opened the passenger door and stepped out. ´/LVVHQ RIĂ€FHUV , NLQ H[SODLQ 6HH ZH were huntin’ rattlesnakes and ‌â€? “Look at your shirt,â€? said Devon, a word at a time. Duke did. There were three red dots between the pocket snaps.

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David and Judy Weiss voted Habitat Volunteers of the Year WISCONSIN DELLS - Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin is pleased to announce that Dave and Judy Weiss of Osceola have been named Volunteers of the Year for Habitat’s Northwest Wisconsin region. The Weisses are both longtime volunteers for Wild Rivers Habitat for Humanity, which serves Burnett, Polk, Washburn and Rusk counties, and they received the award recently at the What Wisconsin Builds volunteer awards banquet at Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin’s annual statewide conference in Wisconsin Dells. “Dave and Judy are real blessings to Habitat and to our community,â€? stated Eric Kube, executive director of Wild Rivers Habitat for Humanity. “Both serve on the board, are involved in builds and our ReStores, and were instrumental in KHOSLQJ WKH DIĂ€OLDWH PHUJH ZLWK WZR RWKHU QHLJKERULQJ DIĂ€OLDWHV WKLV SDVW \HDU Âľ “Dave and Judy are wonderful examples of how volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization,â€? said Sara Kierzek, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin. “Their dedication to the mission of Habitat is an inspiration, and this award is so richly deserved.â€? The Weisses were chosen from nomiQHHV IURP +DELWDW DIĂ€OLDWHV WKURXJKRXW WKH northwestern portion of Wisconsin. Bill Schroeder, former wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, was on hand to present the awards. There are currently 41 ORFDO +DELWDW DIĂ€OLDWHV LQ WKH VWDWH ZLWK several thousand local volunteers helping support the mission of Habitat each year. Maurice “Reeseâ€? Hayes, Amery, was also recognized at the state conference after being selected as ReStore Volunteer

+DELWDW YROXQWHHUV RI WKH \HDU 'DYLG DQG -XG\ :HLVV VWDQG ZLWK %LOO 6FKURHGHU IRUPHU ZLGH UHFHLYHU IRU WKH *UHHQ %D\ 3DFNHUV ZKR SUHVHQWHG DZDUGV DW WKH DQQXDO VWDWHZLGH FRQIHUHQFH of the Year this year. Hayes has volunteered over 1,900 hours in the ReStore in St. Croix Falls. “Reese helps in many ways,� said Pat Kytola, assistant ReStore manager. “His primary focus is on deconstructing items and sorting metal parts from the materials we scrap at the store. His knowledge of the various metals and willingness to take the time to do this work has greatly increased the value we receive from recycling.�

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Hayes also tints the paint for Habitat homes and A Brush With Kindness projects. Last year when Habitat painted 40 homes in a week, Hayes made a commitment to put in the time needed to tint all of the paint, which amounted to over 500 gallons. His ability to organize and keep accurate records played a huge part in the success of this project. To date, he has tinted over 700 gallons of paint for Habitat. “We’re so grateful for Reese’s commit-

Connect to your community

5H6WRUH 9ROXQWHHU RI WKH <HDU 5HHVH +D\HV KDV WLQWHG RYHU JDOORQV RI SDLQW WR EH XVHG RQ +DELWDW KRPHV DQG $ %UXVK :LWK .LQGQHVV SURMHFWV z 3KRWRV VXEPLWWHG ment,� said Kytola. “We know we can count on him.� – from Wild Rivers Habitat for Humanity

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