“Blaming a large and diverse group of individuals for the terrifying actions of a scant minority is wrong. Fearing people because they look or move or dress differently than you is also wrong. That fear is what keeps us apart; that fear is what destroys understanding and leads to arguments and fistfights and endless, endless, endless wars.
Don’t let this fear rule you; recognize it when it happens, accept that these assumptions exist within you, and learn to see the circumstances of it clearly. Why am I feeling this way? Where is the feeling coming from? Is my fear appropriate to this situation? Fear is kneejerk — it relies on adrenaline and a lack of critical thinking. It is best fought with compassion and an open mind.”
The full entry is here.
It reminded me of another that I really like, from Babylon 5.
Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, oh no, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.
