Us vs Them

Why hating people from other places hurts everyone

Imagine you see a runaway train speeding down a track. It’s about to hit five people, but you can stop it by pushing one person onto the track. Most people wouldn’t do that—even to save five lives—because hurting others feels wrong.

That’s why it’s so shocking when people attack others just for being different. Last Saturday, a man named Charanpreet Singh was beaten up in Australia. A few hours later, another Indian man was attacked in Ireland. These seem like hate crimes—when someone is hurt just because of their race, religion, or where they come from. Sadly, these kinds of attacks are happening more often.

In the past, things were even worse. Over 100 years ago, the U.S. passed a law that stopped people from China from moving there for 60 years. That law seems unthinkable now—but just because things look better doesn’t mean hate is gone. In fact, hate crimes in some big U.S. cities went up 13% in just one year.

People everywhere sometimes fear or dislike outsiders—those who talk, dress, or live differently. That doesn’t make it okay. Hurting people over it is wrong and damaging.

Why do people do it? Sometimes, hateful ideas are spread by powerful people. In Nazi Germany, such ideas led to terrible violence. Even today, some leaders use fear of immigrants to gain support.

But hate has a cost—not just for the people hurt, but for entire communities. A professor named Michael Martell showed how expensive hate can be. In 2012, a man attacked a Sikh temple in the U.S. and killed six people. After that, other temples, mosques, and places of worship had to spend money on security. Immigrants became scared to go out, which hurt local shops and businesses. That one attack ended up costing millions. In fact, in just one year, all hate crimes in the U.S. cost around $3.4 billion.

And that’s just in one country. Around the world, the cost of hate is even higher. It’s not just about money—there’s a huge social cost too. Immigrants often do important jobs, like running hospitals, delivering food, or building homes. In India, we need foreign experts to help our industries grow. Countries like the U.S. need Indian scientists and engineers to keep moving forward.

So whether it’s in India, America, or anywhere else, we all need to stop fearing “them” and start treating everyone like “us.”

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