Racism, ethnicism, xenophobia and ultranationalism are different manifestations of the same underlying problem that has caused enormous and widespread suffering throughout history.
These forms of groupisms usually fall into several categories:
Although the criteria for defining these groups differ, the underlying psychology is the same. Groups that despise each other often share nearly identical tribal attitudes, despite appearing different on the surface.
Even ultranationalists from two groups that hate each other to death are very similar in their tribal attitudes.
All harmful forms of clanism are part of the great family of toxic gregariousness, which also includes supremacist speciesism and exacerbated feelings of belonging to religions or ideologies. It is also related to toxic herd mentality and imperialism.
HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Let’s not be unscrupulous speciesists
FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HARM: Let’s not follow the herd into causing harm
THE ART OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let’s oppose imperialism, militarism and the cult of violence
Tribalism stems from a biological mechanism with which we are born, shaped by genetic selection that has taken place over thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years…read more.
A low or medium-low level of identity feeling is usually harmless or even beneficial, but when it is of medium-high intensity, it can become the antechamber of exacerbated and harmful groupism. It can remain latently calm and harmless until a conflict erupts and this feeling runs wild in many people (as that is how this natural instinct works) and can lead to harm to innocents and even atrocities.
Because nationalist and gregarious conflicts are like Pandora’s box: once opened, you know how they begin, but not how they will end. Therefore, it is important never to let down our guard against this always underlying threat. Germany provides an example of a country that learned its lesson after the disaster of Nazism and responded by successfully combating nationalism in the following ways:
1. Education, with a strong emphasis on teaching about the Holocaust and the crimes of Nazism.
2. Historical memory, preserved through museums and monuments.
LET’S REPAIR THE DAMAGE!: Historical damage as well
3. Legal prohibition of Nazism and hate speech.
THE REVOLUTION OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let’s not be antisemitic
LET’S LIVE WITHOUT HARMING! Let’s combat unfair aggressions against Jews
4. International cooperation.
Nationalism and displays of patriotism, such as waving national flags, may even be frowned upon.
Since tribalism is a biological mechanism that is part of our DNA, we are not to blame for being born with it, but we are responsible for channeling it positively, in the following ways:
1. Moving away from ultranationalism, which can be fanatical, aggressive and exclusionary, toward a healthy, respectful and open civic-mindedness that values both local community and cosmopolitan responsibility. Evolving from a tribalism that follows and is sometimes full of hatred towards innocents to a constructive attitude that contributes to the proper functioning of the place where we all live wishing well to all people.
2. Avoiding harmful gregariousness. Read more…
3. Undoing any identity indoctrination we may have received. Read more…
4. Questioning nationalist narratives. Read more…
5. Thinking for ourselves. Read more…
6. Traveling and, above all, living abroad for a period, and encouraging our children to do the same. Let’s take the example of Icelanders, Swiss, Norwegians, Dutch, Swedes, Danes and Finns in this regard.
7. Having friends of other nationalities, ethnicities and races.
8. Taking an interest in other cultures and learning from their positive aspects (though not the negative). Let’s imitate the curiosity for other cultures shown by the Dutch, Swedes or Germans.
LET’S BUILD A BETTER WORLD! Let’s strive for excellence to achieve it
9. Trying to be open-minded and have broad outlooks. Read more…
10. Fostering broader, more inclusive and universal identities, encompassing other human groups, species and nature, excluding only those whose level of abusiveness is excessive.
11. Not instilling identity narratives in children, but educating them in benign values such as respect, diversity, tolerance, justice, freedom, open-mindedness and generally the ethics of kindness. Read more…
All of the above constitute the ingredients of an antidote against the ultragregarious poison. However, it is necessary to use the appropriate doses, because if you add too much, you can end up falling into the abuse of giving privileges to disadvantaged races/ethnicities or other types of extremist “wokism.”
LIVE WITHOUT HARMING: Let’s give the same rights and no privileges to all races/ethnicities
HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING?: Let’s not fall into extremist wokeism
On the other hand, it is not xenophobia:
LET’S BE MORE GLOBAL CITIZENS AND HAVE A MORE UNIVERSAL SPIRIT!
To avoid toxic gregariousness in the world, you can also sign these campaigns to ask all governments to:
1. Protect and grant full equal rights to oppressed and discriminated ethnic, racial, national or other groups. Sign…
2. Recognize the right of children and teenagers not to receive harmful indoctrination. Sign…
3. Avoid hate speech and rejection of innocents. Sign…
And it is also advisable to share and convince others. Read more...
If you believe these tips can help prevent the horrors and abuses of the past and present from recurring, I encourage you to take action.
Thank you,
Xavier Paya
Live Without Harming initiative
LET’S NOT HARM ANYONE, except in legitimate self-defense against an aggressor.
With the Live Without Harming initiative we strive to prevent you, your loved ones, and others from being caused any kind of suffering or harm.
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