[Erlich_Bachman]

This doesn't really explain anything, does it? Fear is such a universal emotion that it can be present in any are of life, and more importantly not going anywhere any time soon. It can also be easily adjusted to any topic, because every topic can be viewed from the two perspectives - if something is good, we can strive towards it or be fearful of it's lack, and vice versa. The more important the topic, the more chances of being fearful about it.

[jacquesm]

Fear of the other has been one of the most powerful agents in terms of getting people to do things that they really should not (genocide, for one example).

There is no flip side to that where fear of something else would counteract that. Many of those things that are influenced by a powerful emotion such as fear are like that, they only work one way or at best are very asymmetrical when you try to imagine the opposite.

So it definitely explains something. Just look to history for some pretty good examples of the end results.

[patrec]

> There is no flip side to that where fear of something else would counteract that.

This is so obviously untrue that I find it difficult to believe it would take you long to come up with counterexamples yourself if you tried.

[jacquesm]

I'm not seeing any counterexamples in your comment either.

[patrec]

Are you saying you tried to come up with a counterexample but couldn't or are you saying that I shouldn't make this claim without one?

[tylerjwilk00]

You refuted his point but without anything supporting your claim.

What is your counterexample?

[patrec]

People rightly fear being labelled as X-phobic for various values of X because it can easily ruin their careers or lives.

This fear likely constitutes a more effective mechanism for turning large numbers of people away from genocidal hatred of various forms of "otherness" than rewarding positive behavior or making a reasoned case because it scales better. So the claim that fear of otherness can't be counteracted by other fears seems implausible to me.

[mistermann]

> Fear of the other has been one of the most powerful agents in terms of getting people to do things that they really should not (genocide, for one example).

This is true, but it is also true, increasingly so, that [accusations of "fear of the other" as being the underlying motive behind those who simply have genuine concerns] is being used as an incredibly effective rhetorical technique to shape people's thinking.