Does anyone think that it is in the best interest of the government and big business to keep people divided .?

There is the theory of divide and conquer. If we are so busy fighting with each other we are not as aware of what they are all up to. Believe it or not this is huge. Corporate America likes nothing better than to have us fight amongst ourselves so that we become dissatisfied and unhappy and go shopping. It goes much deeper that this. I suggest zeitgeistmovie.com. You might think it off topic for gender studies, but it goes the divide and conquer theory and I for one think I will get off that train and try to find a little more empathy and understanding.

To I'm nobody. Thank you for your help by giving me that reference. I am not as educated as a lot of you people so I'm very grateful when someone can show me that some of my instinctutal basic tenents have some validity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hi...

cooperation goes into the 3rd level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs,i.e. Love/Belonging/Social needs

read about it to understand how people can be hindered from establishing ties: usually by keeping them in the 2nd level of Safety needs

Thanks a lot.
Glad i could be of some help.
You ARE educated, your thought-provoking question is a sign. Keep up the good job. Report It

This is known as a 'conspiracy theory'. You mean to say the people at Coca-cola got together with the people at Gilette and Nike and...did WHAT, precisely?

Definatly - people talk about minorities being oppressed - truth is people of all races and both genders get done over for the benefit of ruling classes. For every women who has been denied education and the freedom to choose their own way in life, theres a man who died horrifically or killed a stranger in some war he didn't understand. The sooner people realise that people are grouped and marginalised to stop them working together the better.
It's not a conspiracy- just a commonly used strategy to maintain power- divide and conquer.

Corporate people...not "corporate America" are wanting to make money and are motivated by profit...more than anything else. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

People who use terms like "Corporate America" have been brainwashed by agenda driven people...who also want to divide out country into socialism vs capitalism....one is for the "good of the "group" and one is for the individual.

We are a nation of people who have individual freedom...freedom to worship, freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, freedom to own our own property, freedom to earn our own money and make a profit. ...yes even if others haven't made as much! Socialism wants to throw much of that out for the"common good"....which is virtually a lie...because those at the "top" always benefit at the expense of the little guy.

Divide and conquer is because when we stick together, we can keep those freedoms. Getting off that train is a very good idea. It is not what what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is all about! I want the freedom to try, the freedom to fail, the freedom to try again...and the freedom to benefit from my own efforts. Socialists what to tell you what you can and cannot do! Don't listen to them!

There's a lot of divide created artificially, but it's mainly in the political realm. Look at how people like Jessie Jackson have created racial divide where there is none. I know he does it mostly for money, but many other political types do it to get votes for their party.

I'm glad you've decided to be more understanding. That's a rare quality these days.

honestly i think the powers that be are too self absorbed to have any actual agenda to divide people. i am sure they are happy that people will and do divide themselves and i think they realize they gain votes on populist issues like abortion and gay rights -- but that doesn't mean they are out looking for new issues to divide the public with. the population divides itself too easily and they are just bottom feeders -- they dont have to make the food because we it ourselves -- and they can worry about other things. at the same time it is obvious that carl rove read machiavelli.

The answer lies within your own question. The connection you linked together when you wrote "government and big business". It's all about money! The rich get richer and the oppressed get more oppressed! They think it is in their best interest cause they are living for the here and now, and the spoils of war whether social political or whatever. It keeps their kids in the latest fashions with cellphones in each of their pockets, and so much money they have to invent more useless stuff to spend it on so they can live on to continue degrading humanity and this planet until they all cry "oops, look what's happened!"

I can't determine what or who causes such divisions, but it's evident who benefits from the effects they have.

Now your thinking for yourself, good move.

Somebody finally sees the light. Imagine this situation some 200 years ago. The ones talking of rebellion against the crown would have been labeled loony rednecks, while everybody was too busy fighting in court.
Objects of its Ire only because you are ingorant it doesnt mean it is true. It isnt corporation people though and certainly not Nike its more the big banker families like Rockefeller who single handedly funded feminism before things were set up the way to fuel it with taxpayers money. The goal isnt simply to segregate people, but to stem population growth. What better way to achieve that than to encourage women to develope physical (Dont shave dont submit to standards of beauty, wear mens clothes etc.) and characteristical atributes that will put men off, combined with a court system that punishes the man for getting married as soon as the woman wants out. There is a generation of boys hell bent on not becoming a sucker for some skank like it happend to their dad.

It seems to be working for Y!Answers.
Look at the divisiveness in Religion & Spirituality, Politics, GLBT as well as this forum.

It's a formula that has a long-standing track record of effectiveness.

We used to think governments had a vested interest in keeping people stupid, but along came the 'opium of the people' in the form of television. Even the intellectuals watch stupid programmes and take in all the advertisements at the same time. They are confident that it doesn't affect them, because they have a degree.

You have hit on something here - I blog about this below. (again, off topic for gender studies particularly). Any time someone is part of a group, and that group gains power, it tries to represent itself as having the full support of all of its members - demeaning individuals. Groups of all sorts are over-represented in our power structure.

As far as being divided, the only way to stop that if for each individual to choose what's more important: delineation or cooperation. It isn't always possible to cooperate, but that should be the exception, not the rule.

The principle is an old one and it works. The firm I used to work for would not let people who were friends sit together when they were at work and would not allow those who were living together to work in the same branch. This is a small-scale example but it shows that the thinking is still here.