A "high level of right-wing extremist attitudes among AfD voters" - this result from a recently published, representative study by the University of Leipzig on the political attitudes of 18 to 91-year-olds is not really surprising. It becomes more interesting when you look at the results derived from the survey. Most AfD voters clearly position themselves in favour of anti-Semitism and a dictatorial system, and therefore against democratic principles. In addition, a third of this group of voters "believe in conspiracy theories and secret organisations that are behind political and social events in the world".
But how does an attitude come about in the first place, under the guise of which anti-Semitic statements supposedly become 'acceptable'? Social psychology offers some explanations. First and foremost is one word: prejudice. In other words, negative feelings that express themselves, for example, as racism, sexism or simply as vague antipathy towards a certain group. Each of us carries the prerequisite for this within us. We unconsciously or consciously assign ourselves a place in a certain group. This starts with a very basic sense of identity: "I am a woman", "I am over 30" or even "I am German". We automatically assign a more positive image to our own categories than to others. In other words: We establish social identity, and therefore often our self-esteem, by feeling that we belong to one group while setting ourselves apart from another.
How do these reflections help us to break down prejudices and react more impartially to others? I myself have taken the horrendously inhumane event in Hanau as an opportunity to scrutinise myself. I scrutinise every single prejudice that crosses my mind and work on it. Which group do I feel I belong to and what use is this demarcation to me? What prejudices do I have against whom? Am I really free from judging people from other groups?
I came across a few prejudices along the way, and I'm not proud of them. What am I doing now with this realisation? I've decided to start with myself, to be more aware of myself, regardless of groups and affiliations, and to simply walk through the world with a more open mind. At least that's a start.