What Role Does Exclusion Play in Hate and Violence? Part 1

By Linda Fisher Thornton

“We need humility, kindness, and action to achieve any semblance of solidarity.”
Markkula Center For Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, Practicing Humility To Turn Back Hate

Hate speech and violence do not adhere to ethical values. An ethical person will quickly rule them out due to the harm they cause to others. But even when someone wants to be an ethical person, there are problems with human thinking that can enable hate and violence to happen. This week I’m sharing an interesting quote that tells this story.

“When automatic in-group and out-group distinctions replace conscious and thoughtful reflection, we are more likely to harm one another and behave unethically.”
In-Group/Out-Group, Ethics Unwrapped, McCombs School of Business, Utexas.edu

When we act without thinking and exclude others, we are not engaging the part of our brain that can do higher order processing and make ethical decisions. We are reacting in more of a protective way, defending our own interests.

When that happens, we don’t carefully consider our impact on others when making decisions or reacting to situations.

Watch for Part 2 of this post next week!