It's very strange and sad- to me- how few people can see the difference between the statements "Those [of that 'race'] are bad people" and "People who [commit this act] are bad people".
Why is that?
In the first case, it's a collectivist blanket statement of people who have nothing relevant in common. They are being grouped by superficial criteria. You can't look at anyone in this category and know anything important about who they are as an individual. Part of that is because, although there are cultural differences that can correlate with "races", people aren't doomed to a particular culture just because others who look like them are part of that culture.
In the second case, people are choosing to act a certain way; to self-categorize themselves by how they behave. This is 100% a choice, and has nothing to do with traits that are inborn and unchangeable. You can know important things about them by noticing which group they chose to belong to; what they are willing to do to others in exchange for a paycheck. This is a culture that self-selects for membership, and if you don't fall in line with the behavior of this culture, you won't truly belong and will be kicked out and punished.
Yet, the people in the second category will tell you that seeing all of those who choose to belong to a group based on behavior is "like racism". That if you condemn them for choosing to be on this path, you're like a racist
That is useful to those who choose to do bad things.
I think you can see the reasons this false narrative is pushed. Why an inability to see the difference in the statements is encouraged by the supporters of the bad guys.
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