One dynamic that you see a lot is a chain of circular reasoning designed to reinforce an argument: "person Y argues X. X is an outgroup belief therefore person Y is in the outgroup. Why is it an outgroup belief? Well, see, outgroup members like Y espouse it"
I think there's two basic dynamics underpinning shitty mob behavior online, and the Sky Marchini/Will Stancil stuff is an unfortunate example of each. The first is a feeding frenzy - when a post is over-interpreted or just straightforwardly misinterpreted, and especially when it escapes context.
January 5, 2026 at 4:50 PM
One dynamic that you see a lot is a chain of circular reasoning designed to reinforce an argument: "person Y argues X. X is an outgroup belief therefore person Y is in the outgroup. Why is it an outgroup belief? Well, see, outgroup members like Y espouse it"
Does ingroup love lead to outgroup hate?
I often tell people that identifying with ingroups does not always lead to outgroup discrimination. I call this the "Myth of tribalism". A new paper provides strong and robust evidence for a positive relationship between ingroup and outgroup prosociality.!
I often tell people that identifying with ingroups does not always lead to outgroup discrimination. I call this the "Myth of tribalism". A new paper provides strong and robust evidence for a positive relationship between ingroup and outgroup prosociality.!
September 21, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Does ingroup love lead to outgroup hate?
I often tell people that identifying with ingroups does not always lead to outgroup discrimination. I call this the "Myth of tribalism". A new paper provides strong and robust evidence for a positive relationship between ingroup and outgroup prosociality.!
I often tell people that identifying with ingroups does not always lead to outgroup discrimination. I call this the "Myth of tribalism". A new paper provides strong and robust evidence for a positive relationship between ingroup and outgroup prosociality.!
Unfortunately I think there’s always an outgroup. Look at the Nazis. they found more than a few.
October 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Unfortunately I think there’s always an outgroup. Look at the Nazis. they found more than a few.
It's just local tribalism and ingroup/outgroup dynamics all the way down.
September 21, 2026 at 4:44 PM
It's just local tribalism and ingroup/outgroup dynamics all the way down.
it just depends on the outgroup
September 25, 2026 at 3:37 AM
it just depends on the outgroup
an ingroup that the law protects but does not bind, an outgroup that the law binds but does not protect
Ironic in a vacuum yes but also completely straightforward and congruent when the philosophy is: it’s only legal when my friends and i do it
The irony is not lost on many in Washington that Trump says spitting on a DC cop is justification for hitting/punching back "hard" when he pardoned hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted those same cops — and said attacks on them that day were "minor."
August 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
an ingroup that the law protects but does not bind, an outgroup that the law binds but does not protect
Member of Clique Agrees With Rest Of Clique About Outgroup They're All Picking On Now
September 26, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Member of Clique Agrees With Rest Of Clique About Outgroup They're All Picking On Now
This is what fascism looks like - using a conspiracy theory about a dehumanized outgroup as a pretext for seizing political power and wielding arbitrary authority. What you read about in the history books is happening right here, right now.
Trump declares war on cities
“We must expand efforts to detain & deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as LA, Chicago, & NY, where Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, & other Cities, are core of the Dem Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base”
“We must expand efforts to detain & deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as LA, Chicago, & NY, where Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, & other Cities, are core of the Dem Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base”
June 16, 2025 at 1:40 AM
This is what fascism looks like - using a conspiracy theory about a dehumanized outgroup as a pretext for seizing political power and wielding arbitrary authority. What you read about in the history books is happening right here, right now.
By the way, a common strategy for cults to reinforce ingroup-outgroup divisions is to encourage their members to seek out members of the outgroup and behave in ways that predictably incite backlash.
May 12, 2026 at 2:25 PM
By the way, a common strategy for cults to reinforce ingroup-outgroup divisions is to encourage their members to seek out members of the outgroup and behave in ways that predictably incite backlash.
Dogpiles exist to give everyone a nice hit of dopamine, but it's also a way to punish outgroups AND as a way to keep the ingroup in line.
After all: if you see the horrible shit the ingroup does to the outgroup, you're incentivized strongly to not end up in the outgroup.
After all: if you see the horrible shit the ingroup does to the outgroup, you're incentivized strongly to not end up in the outgroup.
May 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Dogpiles exist to give everyone a nice hit of dopamine, but it's also a way to punish outgroups AND as a way to keep the ingroup in line.
After all: if you see the horrible shit the ingroup does to the outgroup, you're incentivized strongly to not end up in the outgroup.
After all: if you see the horrible shit the ingroup does to the outgroup, you're incentivized strongly to not end up in the outgroup.
People are more pro-social than we think
An experiment in which 5,980 lost letters were dispersed in communities found that return rates for ingroup (Italian) & outgroup (foreign) recipients were the same
Places that returned more letters to ingroup members also returned more to outgroup members
An experiment in which 5,980 lost letters were dispersed in communities found that return rates for ingroup (Italian) & outgroup (foreign) recipients were the same
Places that returned more letters to ingroup members also returned more to outgroup members
September 24, 2026 at 4:17 PM
People are more pro-social than we think
An experiment in which 5,980 lost letters were dispersed in communities found that return rates for ingroup (Italian) & outgroup (foreign) recipients were the same
Places that returned more letters to ingroup members also returned more to outgroup members
An experiment in which 5,980 lost letters were dispersed in communities found that return rates for ingroup (Italian) & outgroup (foreign) recipients were the same
Places that returned more letters to ingroup members also returned more to outgroup members
imagine if there was an outgroup the law protected and did not simply bind?
February 3, 2026 at 4:09 PM
imagine if there was an outgroup the law protected and did not simply bind?
you think they'd give him some credit for having a large hand in helping their whole right wing movement grow and flourish but no, they hate him because he's part of the outgroup just like they hate every other person who is part of an outgroup.
August 28, 2026 at 6:13 PM
you think they'd give him some credit for having a large hand in helping their whole right wing movement grow and flourish but no, they hate him because he's part of the outgroup just like they hate every other person who is part of an outgroup.
I hate the outgroup >:( oh they're the ingroup now this feels kind of nice :) oh they're the outgroup again >:( ough they're the in group again :) outgroup group >:( ingroup :) outgroup >:( ingr- ohh ahhh f-fuck 😖 that feels so good keep going
March 15, 2026 at 7:16 PM
I hate the outgroup >:( oh they're the ingroup now this feels kind of nice :) oh they're the outgroup again >:( ough they're the in group again :) outgroup group >:( ingroup :) outgroup >:( ingr- ohh ahhh f-fuck 😖 that feels so good keep going
outgroups that outgroup other outgroups are the reason Neimoller wrote that fucking poem.
I want to reiterate: trans people will not survive a world without Jews. Everyone who calls themselves a “trans ally” while dabbling in lies and slander against the Jewish people told by Jew haters who’ve convinced them to cook their brains on anti-Jewish propaganda is trying to kill me too
March 25, 2026 at 6:56 PM
outgroups that outgroup other outgroups are the reason Neimoller wrote that fucking poem.
Any form of content depicting a suffering outgroup
December 7, 2023 at 12:33 AM
Any form of content depicting a suffering outgroup
Left-wing vs right-wing populism in one picture.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
November 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Left-wing vs right-wing populism in one picture.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
Honestly we are much more sheep than wolves - intensely political, terrified of anything new in the environment, and extremely hostile to outgroup sheep who arrive as newcomers and try to join the flock.
November 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Honestly we are much more sheep than wolves - intensely political, terrified of anything new in the environment, and extremely hostile to outgroup sheep who arrive as newcomers and try to join the flock.
it is easier to go after the outgroup then it is to actually engage in the task of countering this violent demonic extremism
August 27, 2025 at 7:37 PM
it is easier to go after the outgroup then it is to actually engage in the task of countering this violent demonic extremism
It’s almost as if this kind of rhetorical litmus testing is about creating an outgroup for abuse rather than forming any kind of coalition with people who broadly share your concerns about the world
March 23, 2026 at 5:26 PM
It’s almost as if this kind of rhetorical litmus testing is about creating an outgroup for abuse rather than forming any kind of coalition with people who broadly share your concerns about the world
![[An edited comic panel (from Spider-Man and the X-Men #2 (2015)) of the humanoid pterosaur Sauron from X-Men speaking:]
"But I Don't Want To Build A Coalition. I Want To Dunk On The Outgroup"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4djfp3b27soxcfkxhirydi6d/bafkreiabzggh3evitubhhaumcth75geotrpuryj7ekn2mkb57uhugie6hi)
Our best, and v plausible, hope is in they purity test each other to the point the outgroup is so large that they can't win any elections.
There is a more general context which is that the current hard right has two unifying political demands, which are freedom from consequences for them and punishment for the (increasingly broadly defined) outgroup
December 29, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Our best, and v plausible, hope is in they purity test each other to the point the outgroup is so large that they can't win any elections.
Authoritarians use performative lying to mark who is for, and more importantly, against their regimes.
The point isn’t determining truth. The point is creating an ingroup whose loyalty is assured through ritually denying reality and an easily recognizable outgroup that refuses the delusion.
The point isn’t determining truth. The point is creating an ingroup whose loyalty is assured through ritually denying reality and an easily recognizable outgroup that refuses the delusion.
The shooting is shocking enough but the government's response is off the charts when you consider that this incident is forensically documented on video.
January 8, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Authoritarians use performative lying to mark who is for, and more importantly, against their regimes.
The point isn’t determining truth. The point is creating an ingroup whose loyalty is assured through ritually denying reality and an easily recognizable outgroup that refuses the delusion.
The point isn’t determining truth. The point is creating an ingroup whose loyalty is assured through ritually denying reality and an easily recognizable outgroup that refuses the delusion.