Why Do People Fear And Reject Others Who Are Different?

Individuals may hurt others since they’re different, as they may feel threatened or they just don’t understand. They may feel more empowered or confident as they’re being spiteful towards the victim. A great example is in the story “Agua Viva,’ A Sculpture by Alfredo Gonzalez” the boys in the neighborhood who were constantly taunting Fredo, didn’t understand him and would call him a monster.

One example that clearly illustrates this hatred is Jeanne’s Caucasian teacher at Boyle Heights. Jeanne writes, “She would have nothing to do with me...This was the first time I had felt outright hostility from a Caucasian,” (Wakatsuki Houston; 12). This hatred was a first for

The phobia of anything different is evident in today’s world in many places, some call for higher walls, some resort to violence, but few speak out against violence, and fewer welcome the different with open arms; instead, most are more apt to put them in a mental closet, forgotten and kept far from the sun’s rays of compassion and

In the Ted talk, Haidt talks about how people are afraid of being different than other people surrounding them. In the Ted talk it explains, “ It's about culture. There's wonderful work by a political scientist named Karen Stenner, who shows that when people have a sense that we are all united, we're all the same, there are many people who have a predisposition to authoritarianism. Those people aren't particularly racist when they feel as though there's not a threat to our social and moral order. But if you prime them experimentally by thinking we're coming apart, people are getting more different, then they get more racist, homophobic, they want to kick out the deviants.” (Haidt.) It is not hard for one to agree on the Ted talks perspective on this topic. An individual is much more comfortable and confident when he or she is in an environment in which the people around them are just like them. When someone just moved into a new school district, or got a new job, the rest of the school or work atmosphere are more likely to accept that new person if they share the same beliefs and values. However, the school or work will be more likely to shun the new person away if they do not share the same beliefs and values as the rest of the school or

Humans often act in ways they know to be incorrect or wrong for their own social benefit, often because we fear being different. One example of this is the Asch Conformity Experiment, where 75% of participants would choose the wrong answer on an obvious question just to not stand out from the crowd. After the experiment, all said they felt self-conscious and feared disapproval from the group. Another example is when those in a social group have preferences or choices differ from the rest of the group, they will often conform to the rest of the group's opinion. Nobody wants to be the only person to dislike a certain food or think a certain way, they fear they will be judged negatively for it. As social creatures, we seek for and strive other

Some humans can’t accept difference. Most humans are locked up in a world where everyone has to be just like them. The novel Downsiders by Neal Shusterman is an example of this. The novel has the theme that when people separate into groups and cultures, they have a hard time understanding the opposite and tend to judge. But those who accept, benefit greatly.

Prejudice is explained and illustrated with examples deriving from culture and treatment of African Americans and how society perceives them to be. The definition of Prejudice is, “An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason”(Dictionary.com) The majority of humans tend to judge individuals by appearance rather than personality. Prejudice and appearance are prevalent in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as well as today’s culture which has consequences regarding race, age, religion, etc.

Growing up on an Indian reservation, Wind-Wolf “has been taught to watch and study the changes in nature.” (Lake, 1990, p.78) His father informs the teacher, “...he may be looking out the window as if daydreaming.” (Lake, 1990, p.78) But that is because it is part of his culture to observe the world and nature around him. His culture values nature and especially the season of fall because that is the time of year they gather meat and herbs. However, Wind-Wolf also chose to assimilate with the new cultures around him at school. He chose to cut his hair because his classmates “make fun of his long hair.” (Lake, 1990, p.78) His father explains to the teacher, “...in our culture, long hair is a sign of masculinity and balance and is a source of power.” But Wind-Wolf decided to give up that part of his culture and assimilate to the new culture around him. Cultural heritage shapes perception and can largely influence a person’s identity, but a person also has the choice to assimilate to parts of other

This same concept is seen throughout human society, as historically we have viewed people who look different than us as monsters. For example, during the African-American Civil Rights movement, African-American people were discriminated against because their skin color was different. In the 1870s, the Jim Crow Laws were

In The Chrysalids, the majority of the characters have an intense and irrational dislike or fear of strangers and foreigners. Even the main character, David, who is in fact a mutant had prejudiced fears towards his first encounter with the fringes people. He expects them all to have a frightening, and disgusting appearance. Also, the villagers in Waknuk are so scared of mutants that they hang sayings on their wall. David declares, “The largest was the one on the back wall, hung to face the door which led to the yard. It reminded everyone who came in: WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!” (12) In response, the citizens of Waknuk isolate themselves from deviations and mutations because they think that mutants are not considered pure and do not reflect the true image. Contrarily, people should not be punished or killed for not falling into a category or stereotype made by society. In the days of Old Jacob’s father, all deviations including humans, were burnt. Later, the society’s ideals lead to the destruction of their own community in the battle between the Fringe people and the Waknuk people. This proves how isolating a person from others causes violence, pain and war. Individuals have to learn the importance of believing in one’s own thoughts and not letting a controlling society decide one’s fate. Human beings should try to accept others and

Ray Bradbury shows us that people with a difference are ostracised and hated with the example of how the children treat Margot differently for being different to them. He explains by using contrasting sensory imagery just how much just the way that a person acts can make them look different to everyone else and how much they stand out in a crowd. He is also implying to us that just because someone is different it doesn’t mean we have to exclude them just because that’s what normally happens because you might just cost them the joy for the next seven years to

One of the most prominent human weaknesses that is revealed when conflict arises between the individual and the collective is fear. Arthur Miller explores human weakness caused by fear in his play The Crucible through false accusations and writes about this weakness in his article “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics.” Patrick Henry also addresses fear in individuals that arise from struggles with the collective in his speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death (1775).” Ultimately, these texts all address the fear of being different, which drives people to match their beliefs with the beliefs of the collective, because those who do not conform to the norms of the collective receive differential and unequal treatment, thus suggesting that people who have different beliefs or practices from the majority tend to be silenced since it is difficult for them to overcome the collective’s discrimination against them.

A last possible root of xenophobia in children is schools. First, classmates may treat each other differently according to what they learn at home, leading to insults. Teachers may also influence this attitude by not helping children to understand cultural differences. For instance, when Sherman Alexie passed out at a dance because of exhaustion, the teacher assumed he had been drinking because he was Indian (Alexie, 2014). Overall, students might learn the fear of differences through their peers or teachers in

The study of prejudice, stereotyping, and racism has been a major theme in social psychology reflecting concerns of society (Jost & Kay, 2010). History of colonization contributed to Europeans’ prejudice against people of color (Tuffin, 2004). For centuries, racism was used to justify the advancement of European nations. In the 18th century, the

Like stars on earth, the title of Taare Zameen Par movie, is giving us a new perspective view of dyslexia how children are being treated-to accept there is nothing wrong being different from everybody. The movie was about how a dyslexia boy was being lazy and troublemaker, and his dad would takes his time to find what was his problem in school. Gifted child were not acceptable in our society. Society is ready to judge people without even taking the time to get to know others better. Indian parents focus on their children being perfect rather accepting an imperfect child. The father of Ishaan was ashamed of Ishaan. Ishaan tried to figure out what he could have done differently. His mother tried to figure out what she could have done differently, too.