Beware the time when good people do bad things to others

THE incident of the dog in the pound and how it might meet an untimely end provoked many reactions. Some of them were strident to the point of threatening.

These responses made it difficult to reconcile a passion for animal welfare with an apparent willingness to attack various officials. The irony that many dogs that end up at the pound are vicious seems to have escaped those who threatened harm to the people responsible for the euthanasia process.

Defining those who disagree, have a different outlook or opinion, as being "other" is dangerous. This allows them to be denigrated because they are not like us therefore we do not have to treat them as one of us.

This scenario has been played out at so many social levels. It may be a local issue, such as that cited above or one on a bigger scale. History is full of the destructive power of labelling groups of people as "other" but it's not the sole domain of despots and totalitarian regimes.

Discrimination against homosexuals, cultural minorities, those with different religions, incomes, colour or ethnicity is readily powered by the force of making them "other". Once that's been done, the slide towards treating people badly because they are "other" is inevitable.

The demonising of others on the internet, or trolling, is one example where this occurs with toxic levels of vitriol. The anonymity provided allows trolls to attack knowing their position makes the recipient relatively defenceless.

Politics is rife with examples of tagging particular groups as "other" so their concerns and needs can be dismissed. Immigration is one where rhetoric paints people as "other", giving licence to treat them badly. Winston Peters is a serial offender in this regard and now it is an election year he is once again going for the "other".

"Far too many people today, if you ask them what they are, they'll say something other than a New Zealander," he said, adding that this was "not how nationhood is built". Many people living in New Zealand did not identify as being from here, so steps should be taken to ensure future migrants were committed, he said.

His argument is that if immigrants do not become like us then they are "other" and we should not tolerate this and, by implication, not tolerate them.

Creating a reaction against the "other" is such an old trick in the political book there's no point listing the references.

It's worth citing Dr Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, author of the book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.

His study of this trait began with the now famous Stanford prison experiment in which college students were randomly assigned roles as guards or prisoners in a pseudo-prison setting.

Within days the guards were treating the prisoners so badly that the experiment was stopped.

One of the warning signs he identified was the creation of an environment in which one group can be treated as "other" and therefore outside the usual moral and ethical concerns.

To quote Dr Zimbardo: "The process begins with stereotyped conceptions of the other, dehumanised perceptions of the other, the other as worthless, the other as all-powerful, the other as demonic, the other as an abstract monster, the other as a fundamental threat to our cherished values and beliefs."

He sees it as crucial that societies and communities maintain a watch over its citizens and governments for any signs of creating an "other" and not condone but challenge this before it enables good people to do bad things to other people.

Terry Sarten is a writer, musician and social worker. Feedback: tgs@inspire.net.nz