By Jonathan Dickman, MD, PhD

Here we go again. Some people in the community hunkering down in their homes waiting for it to be safe to go outside. Schools providing virtual options for those who do not feel safe to receive education in person. This feels eerily familiar to 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, only this time the virus is not spread through coughing or breathing, but rather through social media and talking heads on the television. In 2026, Minnesota is ground zero for what I call the “othering virus.”

What is this virus? This infection spreads by enhancing a person’s primal instinct to preserve themselves and others like them and single out those who are different. Life is often difficult and blaming “other” people for hardships can feel right. This may remind you of middle school where the bad gossip about someone spreads faster and farther than good gossip. We have an inherent desire to be better than “others” and it is easier to accomplish this by putting people down than working hard to rise up. Our community finds ourselves back in a middle school gossip session when communicating on platforms such as Instagram, X and Facebook where posts are unregulated and negative information, whether true or not, spreads like wildfire. Thus, we are primed to be in conflict with each other and our President simply sets things in motion.

We have seen the catastrophic effects of this virus before as it has been with us from the beginning of time. The Holocaust in Germany being perhaps the most memorable and terrible. We try to remember these parts of our history in order to not repeat previous mistakes and yet somehow we find ourselves on the verge of being at war with ourselves. How can we stop ourselves now that violence is starting in our community?

Our brains are hardwired to preserve ourselves and others like us. This will never go away, but recognizing that it is there and that you will be attracted to negative information about others is a good first step. As humans evolved, we developed the front part of our brain to help us understand others. This part of our brain develops last as we grow up and shuts off in times of fear and anxiety. Singling people out and putting them down can happen in these moments and fragments the neighborhood. Taking a moment to put this fear and anxiety aside and working together to support each other creates a vibrant community. Now is the time to access the front part of our brains and have compassion for “others.” This can be done by taking a breath and supporting those who are being targeted with whatever they need such as food or shelter.

I wish there was a vaccine or medication I could offer everyone to cure the “othering virus”, but unfortunately this virus will be with us forever and we simply need to learn how to acknowledge it and keep it from taking over our neighborhood. Our problem is not immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals or anyone else, but rather we need to look inside ourselves and lift our community up as a whole. Now is the time to speak up without being violent towards those causing this situation, even though it can be tempting. Violence tends to simply cause more violence. Similar to Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi, expressing views and concerns in a peaceful manner is critical to making progress. Together we can get through this situation and take back control from the “othering virus” and make the West End feel safe again.