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People see what they want to see and on occassion what they want to see is fear.
When fear is tackled and beaten back we can be made to feel powerful. Of course, this is not the case for a confident person with a devoutly nurtured positivity. But in truth how many of us are one of those? What of us who are threatened by insects and fluttering wings or young men who wear their malcontent for all to see, wear it more like a cloak of disaffection to hide a softer side than as a means of invisibility? What of a woman who will see a man who's name she does not know as a stranger bent on harm? What of a citizen who will see a migrant as a criminal before a they see a neighbour? What of a man who sees that a woman will be a sinner before she is the focus of his desire?
For those of us who are dulled by life we see fear in things because we need to be catalysed out of our apathy. Seeing something as a threat makes us act and if we are conditioned to find something frightening we will act against it. And after perceiving something as fearful the action we will have to find a way to manage the threat implied. A woman will want to either know the man or categorise him. A community will want to limit the immigrant's activities to those compatible with its values. A man will wish to demonise himself at a woman's expense. If these things are not possible other options are to diminish our sense of danger. Make mockery of the man, ghettoise the the immigrant, relate to the woman traditionally.
When fear is tackled and beaten back we can be made to feel powerful. Of course, this is not the case for a confident person with a devoutly nurtured positivity. But in truth how many of us are one of those? What of us who are threatened by insects and fluttering wings or young men who wear their malcontent for all to see, wear it more like a cloak of disaffection to hide a softer side than as a means of invisibility? What of a woman who will see a man who's name she does not know as a stranger bent on harm? What of a citizen who will see a migrant as a criminal before a they see a neighbour? What of a man who sees that a woman will be a sinner before she is the focus of his desire?
For those of us who are dulled by life we see fear in things because we need to be catalysed out of our apathy. Seeing something as a threat makes us act and if we are conditioned to find something frightening we will act against it. And after perceiving something as fearful the action we will have to find a way to manage the threat implied. A woman will want to either know the man or categorise him. A community will want to limit the immigrant's activities to those compatible with its values. A man will wish to demonise himself at a woman's expense. If these things are not possible other options are to diminish our sense of danger. Make mockery of the man, ghettoise the the immigrant, relate to the woman traditionally.
