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It is natural to have adversaries and have various levels of disregard towards "another" group. But I think many Armenians will agree that the intensity of hostility we have been receiving recently is mind-boggling to say the least.
I started reading some psychologists on this topic and found Bernard Golden, who wrote about the group dynamics of hate, saying that group participation in hate fosters a sense of connection and camaraderie that fills a void in one's identity.
He also describes the hatred of individuals and groups as a way of distracting oneself from the more challenging and anxiety-provoking task of creating one's own identity.
The more an individual acts on intense feelings of hatred (showing violence, calling for murder, murdering, etc.) the stronger is the inner crisis.
Here is the Legitimacy of Violence sequence by Beck & Pretzer, 2005. It also illustrated the connection between interpretation and then victimhood to the legitimacy of violence.
Now imagine if the interpretation is state-delivered to children from a very young age...
