Why do some people hate the dixie chicks now?
They upset their primarily right-wing fan base by criticizing President Bush in public (e.g. stating that they were ashamed of him, etc. These folks are not very tolerant of opinions which run counter to their cultural biases.) A psychological note on this sort of thing: the Dixie Chicks really got the fans riled up; more so than they would be if the Chicks had been, say, the Massachusetts Chicks. It was seen as a betrayal rather than an assault by outsiders. Humans hate those who leave the herd much more than they hate outsiders, because it reminds them that the line between “us and them” is rather arbitrary. That makes the herd nervous, because a belief that the line is absolute and “real” is essential to the maintenance of their identity.
