linquana's+Fear

One part of racism is fear. Fear is the ultimate human motivator because it causes people to be on the offensive. When negotiating with people, you try to bridge differences by bringing out similarities. In spreading hate, people do the opposite. They single out a people as different and hide the similarities, bringing fear to people because there is nothing worse for people than the unknown. For example, take current presidential candidate Barack Obama. From the moment he began his campaign, internet rumors surfaced that he was a muslim, the fact that his middle name happened to be Hussein (also the name of former Iraqi dictator and US enemy) was exploited and repeated, the unfortunate fact that his last name rhymed with "Osama" (the leader of terrorist organization Al Qaeda that was responsible for the September 9th (2001) world trade center attack), and the fact that he is very different from any president this nation has ever had has been the centerpiece of attacks on his campaign. An interview with a Pennsylvania voter by CNN provides the ultimate example: "they are matching with all the people who have gone before them…” The impact of this statement is that while this is not a symbol of racism or prejudice, it is a statement that illustrates the root of the problem. People want similarity because it gives them a sense of safety and security. Whether you support Barack Obama or not, it is agreeable that his differences, some of them being perceived differences, are causing people to support or hate him en masse. People hate insecurity, and fear dominates the decisions they make.