Why are people utterly terrified of anyone or anything a bit different?

[OrangerySmorangery]

There’s a trainspotter who posts videos on social media. He’s in his 20s, is eccentric, and his enthusiasm is infectious. The way he films himself is sometimes a little strange (he uses a head mounted camera to show his reaction as the train goes by) but it’s really difficult not to like him and his videos. I should add that I have no interest in trains or the railways beyond using them.

He’s clearly living his best life and making money doing it; more power to him! It’s actually quite life affirming.

A good proportion of the comments under his videos are really positive. However, there is a sizeable minority who make fun or are abusive in a really nasty way. Mostly male I should add.

Ive just no idea why anyone would feel the need to respond in that way. He’s a harmless guy doing what he enjoys.

It’s not fear.

Of course it's not.

If it was, well over half of Mumsnet would be terrified of Katie Price! 👀🤣

I think I know who you mean. I think he's adorable. I have the same enthusiasm for cats. That makes me a proper saddo apparently 😎

Instinctive discomfort around people who are 'not like us' is quite natural. It is built into us from the times when we all lived in tribes and had reason to fear other tribes who might attack us. It's what's behind racism and and discomfort around people speaking other languages, or simply not looking like us.

Most people now generally have control over that primal feeling. It's lessened with time and with experience. But it's there.

Some people turn it into anger and want to feel 'safer' by having these different people sent back to where they're perceived to have come from. Others mock them to make them seem harmless rather than threateningly 'other'.

It's complicated. Social media has just made it more evident, and somehow permissible 'because lots of other people are saying the same' (which the troll wouldn't come across often in real life).

They're not terrified, they're just arseholes.

Some people love to tear others down to make themselves feel better. It's bullying really. They're sad, angry losers who don't know how to interact with others who are a bit different.

And they're probably jealous because he has a lovely girlfriend 😄

He doesn’t care. I went on a night out with him once and he’s absolutely rolling in money, gets free members clubs memberships, brand deals. The hate only fuels the brand.

Can't understand why people take the mick... if they don't like what they see they can scroll past!

This. It’s not fear. It’s people enjoying feeling superior.

Different example but as a teen I was bullied mercilessly for liking Take That. They were a mainstream famous band so it’s hardly that i was being “different”. It just wasn’t cool. It was cool to like Oasis or Nirvana etc. Those people weren’t bullied. Take that fans (at my school) were.

Trainspotting isn’t “cool”. They aren’t afraid of him. They want to put him down and make sure he knows he’s not cool. Plenty of people never grow out of the teen bullying phase.

Francis is wonderful. He has a channel 4 show where he interviews celebrities….

Honestly I think unhappy people can’t stand other people being happy. If they put down their phone and spend some time doing something they enjoy they’d probably cheer up a bit.

Good point - it probably stems more from unhappiness with themselves than fear of differences.

You won’t find a video online that doesn’t have those comments, no matter who or what.

People who rank low in trait open-mindedness

Jealousy

I love his videos!

I love him-it was fun to watch him slowly become a thing and go to fashionshows etc whilst retaining his innocent charm.
Def breath of fresh air!

Some of the reasons why are discussed here www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00238q1?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

When I first saw a video of him I thought he was weird and strange, an adult acting child like. I didn’t really know anyone like him. Of course I didn’t comment. But the more videos I saw of him I found him very watchable and entertaining. It’s not fear.

Says alot about these men dosent it.
Clearly jealous and threatened because the latest play so well.

Many men manage to support the ladies football and be positive, so as said it says alot about the ones who make negative, unkind comments.

There’s a trainspotter who posts videos on social media. He’s in his 20s, is eccentric, and his enthusiasm is infectious

You do realise that it is an act? It is a character he has developed purely for his YouTube channel. He isn’t really like that at all

His real name is Luke Magnus Nicolson.

Have you ever seen a thread on here where an adult says they like Disney films/world etc? ESPECIALLY if you don’t have children and want to go to Disney. What people say about “Disney adults” or whatever is awful.

He's just an easy target, these people don't have a life of their own and just take a poke at anyone who does. Why do they watch his stuff if they don't like it? And the answer is so that they can mock him. I hope he just ignores them.

I don't think it implies people are terrified of anything different though, it's just plain bullying, find an angle, any angle to attack people. And anonymity on the internet gives them a huge range of targets with no real way to hold them accountable.

Some people are terrified of war coming im not.

He's also quite unpopular amongst the 'real' trainspotting community for being rude to and unpleasant about members who have more profound neurodiversity and learning disabilities (I have a family member in the latter category). It's very much a fabricated persona that's been lucratively marketed.

@deusexmacintosh

you get irony ?