Propaganda Discussion

When we were having the discussion in class about how we fall into the trap of dehumanizing people, because they belong to groups that are different than us. I remembered when I was involved in that holy roller church, and how we used to regard everybody outside of our group as people outside the will of god. We used to refer to our selves as 'in the world, but not of the world.' We had endless labels for those on the outside; sinners, backsliders, lukewarm christians.
When we got people from other churches to join us, they were coming into the will of god. When they tried to do the same to us, they were apostates. In the cycling world, it's the roadies vs. mountain bikers. Specializing even more, among singlespeed cyclists, it's the fixed gear freaks vs. coasties. In trail access issues, it is the Sierra Club, supporting hikers and equestrians in closing trails to mountain bikers. Anybody with common sense can figure out that a group of 1000 pound shit machines(horses) cause a lot more trail damage than the same number of mountain bikers( just walk the trails in Papago Park), but tradition overrides common sense. Any slight difference in preference can create an us vs. them mentality. Without even realizing it, we miss opportunities to get to know some really nice people, because we have alienated them with our sterotypes. All we need is an open mind and willingness to communicate.