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.

I love trainspotters. And radio hams. And bird watchers. We need more!!

Didn’t know who this guy is, watched 1 minute of one of his videos and that’s plenty for me. 😂

And where are you from deusexmacintosh?

I was sitting in a train once in Euston station , bound for Dublin. Suddenly the carriage filled up with a group of trainspotters, chatting excitedly about signal failures , delays and whatnot. There was a young Chinese guy across the aisle from me , reading the Guardian. One of the trainspotters sat opposite him and enquired his destination. He was going to Kerry.

' Oh then you need to change at Limerick Junction, which is actually in Tipperary despite the name! ' he said delightedly. On and on HR chuntered about his career with BR and his global travels , courtesy of his employee rail pass. My Chinese neighbour was losing the will to live but he could hardly claim incomprehension ...caught reading an English paper.

Then suddenly - ' I was in Tiananmen Square during the protests.'
' You were? What were people saying ?'
They had a very serious conversation after that. We underestimate these geeks at our peril.

I know who you mean and I love his videos!

It's thought to come from a more primitive part of the brain that makes us wary of things that aren't familiar, sort of a protective instinct from a more primitive time.

If you lived in a tribe and came across a strange animal or a person who was clearly not from your tribe, or even someone you vaguely know but they are acting strangely, it would probably be sensible to be wary of them. They could be a predator, they could be suffering from some kind of disease like rabies or leprosy, they could be escaping some other danger. That's the instinct that's getting activated when you encounter someone with behaviour or looks outside the social norm.

If you're familiar with trainspotting culture yourself it will be much less automatically threatening. And of course we can learn intellectually that someone looking or acting different doesn't mean they are a threat. But the tendency to mock or jeer is also a tribal behaviour -it signals to others "we're the same and that person is different and wrong". It makes people feel safe, especially when they both feel wary of the "strange" person. Nasty bullying behaviour but that's where it comes from.

Is this the guy who's going to present the newest iteration of the grand tour? He already has a ch4 show, he's living his best life best thing to do is not read the comments

The OP is right. Terror might be overstating it but it definitely stems from deep insecurity.

Exactly.

How we respond to that primal discomfort will depend on many things, particularly our upbringing. But it's in us all to some extent, along with all the more beneficial instinctive responses.