[andreyf]

There is an interesting reframing of "us versus them" here [1]:

It's the side of tribalism -- the primitive instinct that says your "group" has to win at all costs, and I honestly don't care how you define your group (race, religion, country, way of life) because ultimately I think there are the only two sides:

A. Those who think their tribe has to dominate Earth; B. Those who think tribes can coexist.

It's especially interesting to see that even when offered revenge on the people who took the life of his family immediately, Hajji chose the longer and more abstract fight against the entire organization whose flag he believes they were operating under.

1. http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-keep-terrorists-from-r...

[mikeash]

I find it ironic hat the author is dividing all of humanity into two tribes (A and B) and then stating that they cannot coexist.

[tines]

The philosopher Karl Popper wrote about this and called it the Paradox of Tolerance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

[nickbauman]

Except that A by definition has a mandate of non-coexistence.

[mikeash]

I'm sure plenty of "it's us or them" people justify it on the basis that the other group thinks "it's us or them."

In any case, I'm not criticizing the author. This sort of thing is a fundamental paradox of tolerance. It's hard to tolerate those who would not tolerate you.