As expected, the reaction from some of the more extreme Trump supporters on social media was horrific to put it kindly. Calling the South American undocumented immigrants violent criminals, animals, dogs, vermin, and an infestation. The lack of ability to see these people as fellow humans who in many cases were just trying to make a better life for their family was frankly depressing.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of examples of Trump supporters who felt terribly for these people but simply prioritized our national safety above their lives. While I disagree with these people, I can understand their feelings.

In the eyes of some of these Trump supporters however, these people had been reduced to a status that was somewhere just shy of human. They were utterly unable to distinguish the fact that these asylum seekers were real people who felt that they were in such danger or desperation that they needed to pack up their family and what little they could carry, and flee to another country. Leaving everything and everyone they know behind. To those extreme Trump Supporters, these people were no longer people, but simply a scourge, an evil, a group to be removed for the good of the country. Nothing more.

This process of "othering" can in it's worst cases lead to individuals who become violently radicalized against people outside of the social group with whom they identify. This is the mechanism which was weaponized by the Nazi's during the holocaust, leading to the ostracization, then internment, and then eventually death of 6 million Jewish people. Lest you think we are past this kind of horrific activity, it's still in use to this day in places like Darfur, where a policy of ethnic cleansing has resulted in the deaths of nearly a half of a million people.

Unfortunately, this tendency towards othering (at least to some degree) is part of the fabric of our humanity. Humans have always tended towards our tribal nature in one way or another. From packs of hunter-gatherers millennia ago, to todays nations, religions, and even sports teams. It's our nature to seek out groups of like-minded people with whom you can identify. It’s one of the major reasons sports are so influential in our culture. We all yearn for a team to root for and a team to vilify. But as our culture becomes more global, and the world gets smaller, it becomes much more important to make sure we do as much as we can to not insulate ourselves. and to treat our "others" with empathy.

Unfortunately, the more I look, the less empathy I see.

Studies have shown that Liberal/Progressively Minded people tend to be generally speaking more empathetic than conservatives, who tend to be more pragmatic. But that liberal sense of empathy is trumped (pun intended) by our affiliations to our political groups. So, I’m sorry Liberals, but we are just as guilty in this death of empathy as anyone else.

The group liberals show the least empathy towards is none other than the Trump supporting Republicans themselves. They are our “other”.

In fact, I bet some of the more liberal minded among you read the earlier parts of this article thinking to yourself about how terrible and evil those Trump loving Republicans are. After all, how can anyone who is capable of thinking things that horrific have morals? How could anyone agree with their stance? The people who do agree must be just as bad, Right? How nice would it be to turn on that nightly news and not have to hear the horrible things that President Trump and his supporters say on a daily basis? I mean nothing that they say is of any real worth right?



Perhaps, you've even thought about how this country would be better if they were just gone altogether. Never to be seen again?

Congratulations! You’ve become exactly who and what you hate.

Don't feel bad. This path is a slippery downhill slope. It’s not hard to make one mistake, and slip a little, or make another, and slip even farther. Falling until you no longer recognize where (or perhaps even who) you are.

It’s easier than ever these days to find yourself hating and then slowly dehumanizing the people you disagree with.

That means that in these most trying times, it’s more important than ever to remember that the people you argue and disagree with are still people. People with loves, hatreds, interests, families. You can disagree with them, dislike what they say, dislike what they stand for. Heck you can dislike them entirely as people. But please never forget that they are just that. People.

And maybe, just maybe, we can try to remind those that we disagree with that WE are people as well. We all could do with a bit more empathy. I’d hate to see it die out for good. Because, when it does, I fear we will not be far behind.

Now some food for thought: