The New Sociable Brutality

There is a new tribalism about,
less the old binaries of  class vs class,
but multiples of groups of otherness,
each of which gets more critical
of what it is not, the more of them they are.

The height of criticism is brusquely
describing other people as 'sensitive'
whilst thinking of your own group as tough,
whilst denying that your toughness causes damage
is the oldest cliche, and adds to the cliches
of the accompanying media anger.

Defensiveness is like the tide,
it will not be denied;
it will cover everything.

I can't stop it, but I will resist the lies.