Perceived official lies radicalized residents into distrusting their government.

Evidence

Part of this radicalization comes from the fact that the struggle has made many participants skeptical of their government. For some, the process was slow and triggered by small events—noticing a lie by a government official, for example. Eduardo Montoya first realized that government officials were lying to the people of Buttonwillow when, in a meeting of the LAC, a State environmental official claimed to have never heard of a notorious toxic waste dump at Casmalia in nearby Santa Barbara County that had been closed down by the State because it was leaking and causing serious health consequences to the community. “It was impossible for a high-ranking EPA official not to know where Casmalia was,” says Montoya. This realization, compounded by other, similar events, made Montoya a skeptic. “More than anything, I was disillusioned. Because I really believed that the United States government was different than the Mexican government,” says Montoya. “The only difference is that, in Mexico they do what they do outside of the law. And in the U.S. they want to make the laws legitimate what they do. In other words, they want to make things appear legal.” — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 482

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Political pressure, not the court judgment alone, deterred an appeal — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 84; Officials’ dismissive responses convert residents’ fear into sustained oppositional anger.; Noticing official lies radicalized EJ activists into government skepticism (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Extremists reject current authorities they see as betraying higher ones #expands (0.82) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 134
• Perceived betrayal of fundamental authorities justifies rejection of normal ones. #expands (0.80) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 134
• Distrust of government may follow rather than cause civic disengagement #complicates (0.75) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1215
• Skepticism toward government lies can convert into apathy rather than critique. #qualifies (0.70) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1018