empathy

Mark and I have been discussing all the different prejudices - racism, sexism, etc, and agreed that the one factor that ties into people perpetrating horrendous acts, or even just saying stupid, heartless stuff without thinking about the consequences or the implications is the result of an inability to put oneself in another person's place. It's puzzling to us, that even people we know and love, and think are good people overall, are capable of such ugliness and selfishness.

My dad still refuses to go into Japanese restaurants and businesses. (He was separated from his biological family because of the Japanese. My dad was a kid during the war.) Many of my adult relatives bear the same grudge, and can be surprisingly vehement about their animosity towards the Japanese. What's funny is how many of their kids have gotten into anime, and are learning Japanese, watching, reading and totally absorbing Japanese pop culture.

Hmmm...

I have no idea where I'm going with this.