Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

[sandandfoam]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

 

[Sees]

My brain isn't connecting the title/question with the rest of the OP.

The refugees may have individuals with poor/criminal behavior and some people are scared of that possibility. How does their fear present an obstacle to the good behavior of....the refugees?

 

[NightDreamer]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

No, it is the idea that you can never be wrong.

 

[Yerda]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

It's definitely a major cause of arseholery in the world.

Nice to see you again.

 

[Glaurung]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

I don't think holding reservations about letting millions from the Middle East suddenly flood into Western Europe without question means you're a malicious jerk who hates foreigners. It really is a hard situation. I do want to help those who are just trying to improve their lives, but I don't want to see Europe shoot itself in the foot either.

 

[sandandfoam]

I don't think holding reservations about letting millions from the Middle East suddenly flood into Western Europe without question means you're a malicious jerk who hates foreigners.

I think that holding reservations about offering shelter to people fleeing desperate situations is objectionable. To put it very mildly.

 

[sandandfoam]

It's definitely a major cause of arseholery in the world.

Nice to see you again.

Ha! Yes indeed. Nice to see you too.

 

[Glaurung]

I think that holding reservations about offering shelter to people fleeing desperate situations is objectionable. To put it very mildly.

It's naive to think every single one of these people were desperate, many are undoubtedly economic refugees; such as those "fleeing" from Turkey. Secondly, it's not helping people that's being objected to, it's offering help that Europe may not even have the resources to sustain. I'm not saying truck them back to Syria, but I frankly don't believe that you can't see the potential issues that such an influx will almost certainly cause in the future years.

Having a more nuanced position to immigration than hands-off no questions asked open borders, doesn't mean said person is a hopeless xenophobe who relishes in the misery of brown people.

 

[JoStories]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

Actually, I would say that fear is the impetus of indecent behavior.

 

[sandandfoam]

Having a more nuanced position to immigration than hands-off no questions asked open borders, doesn't mean said person is a hopeless xenophobe who relishes in the misery of brown people.

Indeed, but it is the attitude of those who turned away the SS St Louis all those years ago. Not an attitude that I would be proud to profess.

 

[Father Heathen]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

People couldn't possibly have valid concerns based upon past experiences and observations?

 

[Laika]

if anything, the reverse is true. Our society teaches us to live in fear and that the condition of being in fear is a necessary pre-requisite for 'good' behaviour. To a greater or lesser extent the definition of good behaviour is obedience. The fear of refugees is really a projection of our own fears of what we think we would become if we had nothing to loose; we fear our own selfishness and egotism and project it as a fear of criminality. desperation would lead us to overcome fear and no longer remain obedient.

we fear the poor, the dispossessed and homeless because they may realise "control" is an illusion and civility is part of the "mask of sanity" whilst the criminality of the fascist lurks beneath. people hate refugees because they hate people having hope when they are denied it themselves; they'd much rather crush it and slam the door in their face of refugees as has been done to them many times over. the oppressed become the willing instrument of oppression when they feel their status is threatened. its revenge dressed up as principle. the abused become the abuser and for a moment they get to play the "righteous idignation" card to people worse of than themselves. those most conscious of losing their position are the most eager to defend it by pushing others down the ladder first. "it's too crowded already" they say.

In between bread and circuses, feed a few christians and criminals to the lions; that will keep the populace entertained and make them believe in the justice of an oppressive system. laughing at others misery helps pass the time. They'll be doing reality a TV show of "I'm a refugee, get me out of here" soon. Do we need to put them under observation in the Big brother house to find the villans and the victims and put it to a public vote oand find out if they have that "X factor" to become a Citizen?

[I'd wish I could say we were better than that, but you know its true. ]

However, if we measure "good" behaviour by its sincerity as well as its benifitial consequences, fear is an obsticle to good behaviour because such behaviour often contradicts the social norms by which we resign ourselves to watching other members of the species suffer and condemned by forces (that we so tell ourselves) are beyond our control.

 

[Nakosis]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

Not any more or less than any other emotion. People are driven by their emotions in most cases. They may justify their behavior as good or bad, but mostly they are just reacting to what they are feeling emotionally. Fear can cause "good" behavior and love can cause "bad" behavior.

Actually folks are pretty easily manipulated by their emotions. Doesn't matter if it is love or hate.

 

[mystic64]

Mass migrations into Europe has been happening for thousands of years. And most of these migrations changed the face of Europe each time they happened. So Europe has a lot of experience with mass migrations and the effects they can have on the folks that already live there . It is not just about terrorism, it is about a radical disruption of life as they know it. There are millions of folks from third world countries that want to immigrate to Europe, way more than Europe could possibly assimilate. The shame is that the world allowed the political environments to exist that caused this present mass migration to be forced into existance. Yes fear is envolved, but some fears are valid. Both on the side of the mass migration folks and on the part of the European folks. And it is not about finding a place for the mass migration folks to live, it is about finding a way where they can live in the countries that they came from .

If the world can't get together as individual countries and work together to solve these repressive governments so that folks can live in their own countries, then we are all going to end up with "World Government". Which will end up being another mess that we will all have to deal with because we give things to "Big Brother" instead of working together to solve it ourselves.

 

[Unification]

I heard on the radio yesterday that many people in my corner of the world are afraid that the refugees seeking asylum in Europe included some who would do 'us' harm. ISIS sleepers and so on.

It seems to me that being in a state of fear hands power to those who would manipulate.
Is fear the biggest obstacle to decent behaviour?

Always have to be cautious and diligent about who/what to let in. Who, in ones life, ones area, flooding the country, and what in ones mind, flooding the mind. There isn't much trust any more, and it's easy to be aware of the reasons why. Europe is aware that if they let 1 million in, 10K +/- could have intent to cause harm. With some or many of those with intent to cause harm changing their mind.

One can be without fear but be wise and cautious at the same time, by being aware of what fear is and how others use it as a control, setting the conditions/tone as a mental weapon, and how fear has manipulated and hoodwinked oneself.

There are Gulf countries who can easily shelter millions of refugees, but they don't because of the same Isis sleeper security reasons, but help Europe financially instead. I don't see these countries as "not being decent" for not allowing any in. Perhaps they are being wise, and still doing something significant to support and aid.

Would fear of consequences be wise?
Would fear of consequences lead to decent behavior?

Europe has invited the potential for terror inside. It is what it is, for those in Europe living in fear over this, it would be wise to overcome that fear. Can't let fear hinder, they are doing the decent thing. Just proceed with being wise and cautious.