Richard, my Facebook friend, thought I might be interested in Rene Girard, because he writes about human sacrifice and scapegoating, things that often occur in communities and social media, and have been happening to me lately because of my support for Trump. On Facebook, I am routinely called a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic creep, none of which I am. It is the preparation for the human sacrifice or scapegoating.
So I’m reading I See Satan Fall Like Lightning. Girard says that violence among human beings is caused by what he calls “mimetic desire”, i.e., desire caused by the human way of imitating those around us.
Girard boils down the tenth commandment to Thou Shalt not Desire Anything that Anybody else has. Whoa! Pretty tough commandment. It makes Thou Shalt not Kill look like Don’t Chew Gum in Class. It pretty much includes all of the other nine.
He says mimetic desire is not instinctual and can be undone. I haven’t got to that part yet.