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Comment by vlehto | Hacker News Reader

There has to be some reason for Xenophobia. Plain "stupidity" might allow it, but doesn't explain it completely. This is global phenomena that has occurred over and over again for at least two millennia across all cultures.

What do you think explains it?

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There is always a reason. There's always a neural correlate, a psycho-social construct, a genetic component, an environmental variable.

Of course there is.

It would be truly astonishing if there wasn't.

Finding it might prove hard, though. And anyway, so what? If we did find those neural correlates and genetic components we'd... do what, exactly? Invent a pill, a therapy?

In the meantime, we can rationalise simply that xenophobia is destructive, and we can determine effective interventions.

Should we tackle what our understanding currently allows, rather than waiting to uncover an explanation?

Legal racism has been dealt with and schools teach students that racism is bad all over the west. Apparently this is not enough as there is this fuss about racism in the western world.

If we go further fighting racism, what are those effective interventions? Can we even trust that current relatively good situation will continue? Is there any way to reliably export western anti-racism?

Racism is passed from parent to child. Taught. It isn't a phenomena, nor can a school cirriculum undo what is taught at home.

So the only thing we can anymore effectively do to racism is to take children to foster care?

Alternatively we just accept the current levels. Maybe express disappointment on Facebook.

Same reasons the Jews were blamed when Germany was economically and spiritually crushed by the Treaty of Versailles.

Scapegoat? (Ironically term with Jewish origin.)

If this scapegoating phenomena is somehow built in feature of human beings, what/who would be the healthiest possible target for it?

If it's not built in feature, how can it be eradicated?

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