EPISODE 115: Us vs. Them

Nov 17, 2025

Explore the dark side of human identity as individuals morph into monsters within groups. Delve into how belonging can breed exclusion and moral conflict. The host highlights the dangers of rigid identities, using historical atrocities as powerful examples. Discover the manipulation of identity in politics and how groups can dehumanize others. Modern parallels illuminate ongoing rhetoric that fuels cruelty. Finally, the podcast advocates for treating individuals as unique, calling for empathy over divisiveness in a world plagued by us versus them mentalities.

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INSIGHT

Why Identity Fills An Existential Hole

Identity gives people belonging, meaning, and safety in an unpredictable world.
That same belonging creates rigid group loyalty that can override individual judgment and empathy.

INSIGHT

Exclusion Is The Engine Of Dehumanization

Us-vs-them requires excluding others to define who we are.
Exclusion enables the dehumanization needed to justify atrocities.

ANECDOTE

World Cup Exile Reveals Tribal Pressure

Daniele recounts being banished to a balcony at age eight for rooting for Brazil in the World Cup.
The story shows how national identity can demand conformity even in trivial matters.

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“I love people as I meet them one by one. People are just wonderful as individuals. You see the whole universe in their eyes if you look carefully. But as soon as they begin to group, as soon as they begin to clot, when there are five of them or ten or even groups of smallest two, they begin to change, they sacrifice the beauty of the individual for the sake of the group… Cause pretty soon they have little hats, ya know? And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they’re going to visit at 3 am.” George Carlin

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster." Friedrich Nietzsche

Why so much of history reads like an account of human beings doing horrible things to other human beings? How can some individuals who seem loving and perfectly decent in one context turn into monsters in a different context? How can a sense of identity be weaponized to justify the most atrocious actions one can imagine? How can ideologies turn into tools for scapegoating? This episode will try to answer these questions, and go to the roots of the reasons behind all the horrific things that human beings have done and continue to do to one another.

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