This topic has been in the media a lot in recent weeks and months. There seems to be increasing media hysteria about immigrants playing on some individuals irrational fear of people who happen to be slightly different from them.
Politicians like Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and newspapers like the Daily Mail attempt to create division and create us and them scenarios to put forward abhorrent political messages based on fear.
Steven Pinker has written many fascinating books including the Blank Slate, which is a really worthwhile and interesting read. In this book he talks about the difference between races of people. The conclusion was that given how large the human population is it is exceptionally homogeneous when compared to other species. The fact that most stuck in my mind was that there was a far greater difference genetically within races of people than between different races.
In other words we have far more in common than anything that separates.
Maybe we should bear that in mind and switch over when we hear extreme right wing politicians like Farage on their rants.
But this fear others, where does it stem from? A lack of self confidence perhaps?
Cheers
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