noticing a worrisome trend...

[RZM]

5. Some things transcend ideology

And this is one of them. I think it's a human tendency to identify with one's group and vilify outsiders. It seems to happen all over the place. We're all humans, after all. Many dynamics are equally present in both the left and the right.

Thanks for pointing this out and speaking against it. Articulating one's own argument and criticizing the arguments on the other side is fine. But it has to be done right. Too often people venture into the absurd on this.

I think 'othering' is wrong on principle. But aside from that, it's also a losing approach. If you ascribe unrealistic motives and false characteristics to the other side, you're failing to understand where they come from and what they're all about. And if you don't understand your enemy, you will never defeat them.