Quote:
Originally Posted by Cretaceous Bob
I don't think we find differences in each other because we innately try to; people are naturally different. Religion and culture are not superficial differences.
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Not superficial, but arbitrary. What we choose to focus on as an insurmountable difference that makes us a team and anyone else "Other" is completely arbitrary. It gets to the ridiculous point where different kinds of Christians hate each other. If there were no racial differences or religious differences, we'd focus on something else. Ear shape. Hair color. Height. And it is definitely an instinctive survival mechanism that goes back to early man, when not recognizing an outsider on sight could mean death. Tribalism is what the phenomenon is called:
Tribalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
But, humans can and do strive to surpass some of our more stupid animal qualities. Don't take this to mean that I'm justifying racism or religious persecution, because I'm definitely not.