For Effective Advocacy, Shame the Policy, Not the Person [psmag.com]

Alicia Doktor 6/28/188:45 AM

Public shaming has a long history in America, gradually diminishing following a peak in the colonial era. But it has enjoyed a resurgence in recent days, when two high-profile Trump administration officials had their dinners interrupted—one by shouting protesters (Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen) the second by the restaurant's owner (White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders).

The incidents, and another on Tuesday targeting President Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller, certainly captured the nation's attention. But did they accomplish anything, beyond making Trump supporters feel more aggrieved? Historian Peter Stearns, who has extensively studied the emotion, is doubtful.

"Shame is a tricky and sometimes dangerous emotion," he warns in a phone interview with Pacific Standard. "You can make things worse, even if you didn't intend to."

[For more on this story by Tom Jacobs, go to https://psmag.com/news/for-eff...acy-shame-the-policy]

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