Poll: Is hate our natural answer to the unknown?

[Gwarr]

The poll might seemed narrowed down to 2 simple options , but I really don't see any other way of answering this question even if it's a complex one .

So , here's the thing , when I say unknown I mean everything from race , cultures , music etc . Is it in our genes to hate that which we don't know nothing about and find strange or that's just a excuse people make to justify racism ?

I am asking this because I am in a dilemma . I always considered myself a die hard activist for equality among every person on this planet until today when I thought to myself . Am I doing this because I want to or is my education telling me to do what's right , inhibiting my natural impulse ?

I am for gay-right but I really don't have any gay friends and I still do the occasional gay-jokes , to be honest the only conversation I had with a homosexual was with a women in bar I tried to hit on (it turned out she was lesbian) and that was very strange for me ( besides the first shock ).

I don't like how people are treating immigrants like they are automatically criminals just because they wanted a better life but I always am extra cautious when I walk in immigrant full neighborhoods.

I never , ever expressed hate for these groups but , if I was uneducated , would I do the same thing? or would I be a hate mongering thug that goes on racist rallies and attacks people because they have darker skin?

PS: Please don't derail this thread into a islamophobia or homophobia discussion . If that happens , I hope a moderator could lock it . Keep it clean and on the subject , no need for hate speech.

 

[TiloXofXTanto]

While hate is our natural response to the unknown, it is only born out of fear.
As children, we are scared of the dark and the monsters our imagination makes within it, because we don't know what could be there, if we become older and do not come over the concept, but do overcome the fear, it develops into hatred.
Natural response though it may be, it does not make it right. My natural response to a terrible person is to charge at them and attack, though I've never done this because I know it is the incorrect way to deal with such a problem.

Hatred is only justified in the face of unjustified hatred. Just because our instincts hate the unknown, does not mean we should allow ourselves to close our minds to the possibility that the person, object, or phenomenon in question is benign or benevolent.

 

[IkeGreil29]

I think it's actually fear. Fear is the path to the darkside. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.
Seriously though, I think because we fear we hate it. Because people fear facing their parents when a math test (something many people dread because they don't understand it) goes wrong or just simply showing up to take it, they hate math.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I can't speak for anyone else, but to me, the unknown is something to be discovered.
When walking home one night, I heard what sounded like a gun being fired. This being a small welsh (UK) village, guns are very rarely seen, let alone fired. So I walked towards it. Never did find anything...
Anyway, I heard something that could be dangerous, and I explored it anyway. It's how I roll.

 

[Yokai]

It depends on the person, I think. There are the closed-minded, who are unable to accept change and believe their way is the only right way, and there are the open-minded, who actively search for new and interesting things they don't know much about. I'm one of the latter.

 

[Akytalusia]

not hate. it's fear. for most people. some of us still thrive on exploration though.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I don't think hate is the initial answer to the unknown, it more like fear I think. Example should the alien landed on Earth there would be some gun ready to fire at them but it's in fear should the alien arrive to invade us. If hate is the first reaction it would be us shooting the aliens on sight.
This can be said again how often people make jokes that Skynet is going to happen every single time when a computer intelligent is heading toward sentient. Yes they joke but it is still the underlining fear when the technology turn against us.

 

[Cowabungaa]

No, fear is our natural answer to the unknown. Hate is our defence against the unknown, fueled by fear.

 

[BabySinclair]

No, fear is our natural answer to the unknown. Hate is our defence against the unknown, fueled by fear.

We have a winner. So yes, hate is an answer but it not the only one.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

No, I think fear is our natural response to the unknown. It's just that it's also our natural tendency to hate what we fear.

 

[subtlefuge]

People treat illegal immigrants like criminals because it's a rational response.

Just wanting a better life means that they have nothing to lose. As such, a family of 6 can mow down a pedestrian in broad daylight and keep driving, because they just want to make a better life.

Fear and hate are a conditioned answer to the unknown, not a natural one.

 

[signingupforgames]

Nope, i believe it's a conditioned response from us in order to preserve the order that we know. If we were exposed to constant differences as a child, seeing someone different from us seems less scary. So i believe that the hatred is seen moreso as a reaction towards something that people deem dangerous.

 

[Son of a Mitch]

I said yes, but that is only for humans as a whole. Personally, I'm kind of weirded out by new/different things and wait to see what they are like.

 

[Grand_Arcana]

Yes. Humans, like most animals, are instinctually predisposed to fearing new or unknown ideas, people, objects, ect. And like most animals, fear is the root of aggressive instinct, which we call anger & hate. Though there is good news: compared to most other species, humans are more tolerant of the unknown because we are also very curious. Curiosity is a defining trait in juvenile animals, but domesticated animals retain their curiosity well into adulthood. Humans are thus considered to be a self-domesticated species and this is likely the key to our success.

 

[Spoonius]

In addition to what's already been said, I'd like to state that hate is often our reaction to the known, and that curiosity is more common a reaction to the unknown than fear. We must recognise something in order to fear it.

For example, darkness. We recognise darkness, and (some of us) fear the onset of the sensory-deprivation and psychological effects that we understand to be associated with darkness. We can't fear something we don't actually recognise, as fear is based entirely upon our extrapolation of available data (foresight).

 

[Gladiateher]

While hate is our natural response to the unknown, it is only born out of fear.
As children, we are scared of the dark and the monsters our imagination makes within it, because we don't know what could be there, if we become older and do not come over the concept, but do overcome the fear, it develops into hatred.
Natural response though it may be, it does not make it right. My natural response to a terrible person is to charge at them and attack, though I've never done this because I know it is the incorrect way to deal with such a problem.

Hatred is only justified in the face of unjustified hatred. Just because our instincts hate the unknown, does not mean we should allow ourselves to close our minds to the possibility that the person, object, or phenomenon in question is benign or benevolent.

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate... leads to suffering.

 

[Galaxy Roll]

Not for me. I'm Mr Curious.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Depends on the person. Fear (leading to hatred) is a widespread response to the new and unknown, but it is only one response. Curiosity is another, and happens to be mine. Apathy is yet another... There are so many ways to react to new things. It's just the anger is one of the more noticeable ones.