Something tells me this comes down to the empathizing vs. objectifying problem.

As humans, we have a protective mechanism that makes us distantiate ourselves from other people. If we’re not being conscious about this, we start to treat people as objects.

Empathy requires more effort, and it implies more risks. For this reason, objectifying is more characteristic of reactive mindsets (which, in their turn, are more common among people).

Actually, someone needs to write a post about it. Anyway, thanks for your article, Jon. It certainly provides food for thought.