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Comment by whack | Hacker News Reader

It's scary that even here on HN, a comment like this would get downvoted. Seeing the world through a lens of "us" and "them", and seeing "them" as being less worthy of our humanity & consideration, has led to more human-atrocities throughout history, than almost anything else.

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It's pretty clear that the grandparent meant that for better or worse, ingroup-outgroup bias is a very real thing in human psychology abd sociology, and there wouldn't be many wars without demonization of the outgroup. I saw no indication that they actually thought that this is a good distinction to make. Is-ought problem.

But there has to be an "us" and "them" unless we live in a truly post-scarcity society.

Does there have to be? It seems more accurate to say that we like there to be.

You can label whatever group you find yourself in to be "us", and the rest as "them", but they're no different than you. You're just being selfish in valuing your life more than theirs.

This selfishness if of course natural for any human, but that does not make it better.

It is naive to think we are all one happy human race. I wish it were so but it isn't. The "others" will have no problem killing you and dance on your grave. I guess that is why the saying goes "If you want peace, prepare for war"

Usually, and judging by the numbers, it's the inverse.

It's the self justified "us" than do most damage, not some "others".

> The "others" will have no problem killing you and dance on your grave.

Any evidence for that?

Read a history book. The human nature is well documented.

You're not reading the same history books, obviously.

Because again and again, humans are well-documented to NOT dance on each other's graves. We consistently pull back from the brink of destroying the "other" and not only let them live, but help them rebuild.

It doesn't matter which army is battling me, whether it is Russian, Chinese or American. They will have no problem killing me, because that's their job, and there is war. Dancing on my grave would be difficult, because that would require retrieving my body.

I'm not saying that war is not necessary, but pretending that you're fighting zombies thirsting for nothing but your blood is idiotic. The soldiers you're fighting joined their army to protect their people. The people itself most likely just want to passively continue with their life, not understanding what the war is about, knowing nothing but the date of the first bomb. The people that started the war is sitting somewhere cozy, out of reach.

> The soldiers you're fighting joined their army to protect their people.

Simply not true in the case of, say, an aggressor who initiates conflict by invading other countries.

Many a times there is definitely a right an wrong in war.

The side which is right has no choice but to respond with aggression. Fight, or else be laughably annihilated for the sake of a pacifist ideology.

>Seeing the world through a lens of "us" and "them"

And yet you demonstrate it yourself with, "I expect them to do it, but not us in the HN community. We're different here."

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