Community leaders publicly excuse internal aggression to preserve a unified front

Evidence

Rather than disassociate themselves from the deeply embarrassing spectacle unfolding before them and from the negative portrayal of their community being shown to the viewing public, Roseau and Coll instead sought to diffuse the situation by defending and justifying Di Costanzo’s behavior. ‘Roland, we’re all friends’, Roseau repeatedly asserted as he tried to point that out that that RECOURS’ lobbying strategy, although not perfect, had at least brought some gains to the wider community. Coll similarly referred to Di Costanzo as ‘my friend’ several times during his attempts to calm him. Furthermore, in seeking to explain the ‘anger’ of his co-panelist to the audience, Coll argued that this was the product of a media that consistently ignored the pied-noir community, leaving them with few opportunities to express their views, hence the inevitable buildup and explosion of frustrations that they were all witnessing. This point was supported by Roseau who described Di Costanzo as someone who ‘sincerely expresses the suffering of a great part of the [pied-noir] community’. — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 659

Categorization

• SEED: Strong essay angle: how the public ‘image of unity’ imperative forces even victimized leaders (Roseau himself) to defend those attacking them — the cost solidarity exacts on individuals.
• XREF: connects to: Groups invoke external enemies to justify the suppression of internal disunity — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 649; Seiged communities reinforce the very practices outsiders condemn; Group members enforce extreme attitudes by punishing those with balanced views — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2019 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Groups invoke external enemies to justify the suppression of internal disunity #expands (0.85) — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 649
• Seiged communities reinforce the very practices outsiders condemn #expands (0.80)
• Group members enforce extreme attitudes by punishing those with balanced views #complicates (0.75) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2019