Turn on your neighbour

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I'm following events regarding the Yazidi and Christian Exodus in Iraq/Kurdish region.

I wish to ask is there any situation where you would conceivably turn on your neighbours, not because of what they have done but what they are not?

Reports are coming out that rather than just IS, it was locals that turned on their Yazidi neighbours and joined in with the slaughter or initiated it.

IS is a well funded organization, media savvy, well equipped, tactically sound. Having said all that, I really don't think they would have the power they do without local support, in the region they operate.

Often the saying "there is no compulsion in religion" is used as a deference of Islam. However there is content that contradicts that.

I don't think really it is too hard to convince someone that IS actions are mandated in the Quran, even if others disagree.

I have heard how Muslim should treat people of the book well. However less know is how to treat people not of the book, and non-believers (called unbelievers). That is not so savory.

There are various stipulations, and caveats, placed against the violence in the Quran, but isn't such examples a powerful and compelling thing? That is what I call compulsion in religion.

You just have to look at what happened in Nazi Germany where people turned in their neighbours if they were Jews despite having lived happily next to them for decades. People believe propaganda and when that propaganda pushes out the message that your neighbours are the cause of all your country's woes and that they are despicable and degenerate then some folks are going to believe that and stir up the rabble.

I live as a foreigner in France and get on quite well with my neighbours BUT if the UK pulls out of the EU and the French fascist party gets into power (Marie LePen) then they will undoubtedly cast a spotlight on the non-French residents of this country and we could find ourselves in quite a pickle. Not saying they'd roll out the cattle trucks to take us to death camps, but they could make life financially very unpleasant for foreigners even if not going as far as deporting us and taking our homes from us.

That is true.

IS or IS in Iraq as it was called, never had much of a presence in the north until now. Ironic that the Yazidi culture an people are more ancient than the Arab, cultures in the region.

I'd be protecting my neighbors if the religious police showed up.

It might mean I end up dying if I were in that situation, but eh, it's a decent way to leave life.

Welcome to human nature.

There's been a lot of stuff in the UK recently about celebrities and historical child abuse. Jimmy Saville was the first case; now Rolf Harris has been taken down as well... and police are now investigating Cliff Richard. Now here's where it gets quite interesting.

I can't see much appeal myself, but Cliff Richard has a pretty big fanbase. A lot of people grew up with his music, a lot of women had crushes on him when they were younger (maybe some still do!). If he is charged with anything relating to child abuse or sexual assault, that fanbase will desert him overnight. His career will be ruined. On the plus side, we'd probably never have to listen to "Mistletoe and Wine" ever again. And it doesn't matter whether he actually did anything of the sort, or whether the courts find him innocent. The mere whisper of suspicion is enough. The press will milk it for all they can, and they won't give nearly as much attention to "Cliff is Innocent" headlines, because those aren't as juicy.

If you want to get people to believe a lie, you need to repeat it over and over, from as many different sources as you can. Convince half the people, and the others will eventually follow suit. This is how nonsense such as homeopathy survives. This is how every religion in history has become established. This is how political parties win votes.

Thom_Fuleri is this the Op you meant to reply to? Just checking.

I was more talking in terms of neighbors turning on a whole group like a minority, becuase they are not the same.

I wasn't really talking about individuals and alleged crimes.

Yes, I was addressing the original topic.

But the principle is much the same. Convince the general populace that an individual or a group is evil in some way, and they will turn on them - though the extent varies. I'm sure Nazi Germany had a large number of people who simply avoided the Jews or kept things strictly business with them, rather than openly attacking them or turning them over to the authorities.

I recall hearing news stories back in the days of the break up of Yugoslavia, when the Serbs exerted fanatical nationalism based on ethnic and religious prejudice. Serbs, Croats, and Muslims who had been friends were suddenly blood enemies. I specifically recall how one Serb man said if he met his Croat friend again, it would only be a matter of who shot first.