Warp wrote:
>   The problem is not really your ideology, but how extremist you are.
> No matter what the ideology, if you take to an extreme, bad things will
> happen.

I think we're in violent agreement here. :-)

> supporting that ideology start believing it's the *only* correct
> solution to every problem, that's when things start going bad.

That's one of the problems with monotheism. When your god is the *only* 
god, you *obviously* have to do something to fix all the unbelievers. 
When your gods are the Greek gods, and their gods are the Roman gods, 
well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

>   I have always wondered why humanity likes extremes so much.

Probably survival instincts. Maybe only one out of 20 snakes is 
poisonous. But if you react badly to all of them, you do far less damage 
to yourself than guessing wrong one out of 20 times.

>   Another common problem seems to be that people always need someone
> to hate, someone to blame, someone to be accused of all the problems,
> someone to be recipient of their extremist hatred. During the entire
> history there has always been a group of people, often chosen quite
> randomly, which has got its turn in being this scapegoat and receiver
> of all the hatred. Sometimes the group of people is completely innocent
> and the hatred completely unjust and prejudiced, sometimes the group
> of people is not completely innocent, but their crimes are hugely
> exaggerated through fear-mongering.

Possibly. Certainly moreso in recent history when communication is fast 
and spreads more widely.  I'm trying to figure out who the (say) Greeks 
or Romans hated.  I'm wondering if slavery (not based on racial 
characteristics, perhaps) takes the edge off such.  Or if living in a 
dangerous brutal world (say, aboriginies of various stripes) reduces it.

And of course, even in peacetime, people are afraid of demons, evil 
spirits, stuff like that. I suspect that's the same sort of thing, to 
some extent.

>   Sometimes some people would like to do something about it and try
> to push the "can't we just all get along" ideology. The hippie movement
> is a very good example of this. Sadly, even the hippie movement can be
> and has been taken to an extreme, with all the negative repercussions.

Again, part of it may be that if you're trying to get along with me, and 
I'm trying to take advantage of you, I'm more likely to win.

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
  Helpful housekeeping hints:
   Check your feather pillows for holes
    before putting them in the washing machine.

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