Over the last months I tried to wrap my head around understanding the origins of racial hatred. Where does it come from? What is it in human nature that makes it so pervasive?

I feel there are 3 inherent characteristics of human nature that - when allowed to run rampant - has shown to end up over and over again in stark discrimination along (perceived) ethnic lines of separation between people.

1. People don’t really want share what they have and they go to lengths to protect it.
2. People are inherently opposed to change. In particular if change constitutes a perceived a risk to their own status, power and wealthy.
3. People draw lines of separation between those who have and have-nots.

As I said, it is very simplistic. But I do think it boils down much to a matter of greed, power and fear.

But why do some fall more easily into the trap of stereotyping, racial profiling and hatred? In my mind, and based on my observation of day to day human behavior, I make a distinction between people in two broad strokes.

1. People who are inherently suspicious of the ‘other’, more anxious about change and fearful of what they don’t know or understand.
2. People who embrace difference, approach the unknown with curiosity and feel attraction to the ‘other’.

Don’t get me wrong, historically we needed both. The ones who didn’t eat the tempting forest mushrooms and the shiny red berries, and the one who stuffed it into their mouth without much hesitation.

If we had only the reckless and curious among us we all had long died in agonizing stomach cramps. But had had the fearful one always the last word we still paint the walls in Lascaux. And possibly our more suspicious ancestors were more likely to survive by keeping healthy distance towards their neighboring tribe who maybe were just waiting for a chance to take them out.

But over the last millennia, the bigotry grown out of the fear of the ‘other’ over and over again brought us to reveal the darkest, most heinous of human natures and to almost to the brink of extinction.

I wonder: In today’s world, how can we ensure that through strong institutional regulation, federal legislation, local law enforcement, good governance and oversight through civil society the evils of fear, hate and greed can’t dominate our power structures and the civil sphere we all maneuver in?