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From Susan's Place Transgender Wiki

[edit] Persecution

Persecution is persistent mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution and ethnic persecution. The terms have some overlap, as religion is an aspect of culture that can be a barrier.

The most common scenario is a majority group persecuting a minority group, since the reverse is usually impractical, although apartheid in South Africa is considered an exception. Majority groups, however, can inspire resentment where they are locally a minority and find themselves persecuted; persons of an ethnic majority who venture within a large minority neighborhood may experience or simple perceive a hostility towards them. See reverse discrimination.

[edit] Causes

There are various possible origins of persecutory behavior. For instance, a movement which is publicly or implicitly identified with a minority group — such as a religion, a genetic heritage, a region, or other traditional distinction — might be successful enough to disrupt the status quo or become associated with violent acts. A reflective persecutory movement might then arise within the majority, not necessarily distinguishing between those who are and are not part of the movement. This persecution might in turn radicalize the minority group, resulting in a feedback cycle.

So-called opportunistic persecution occurs when someone exploits and takes advantage of an existing presence of resentment to enhance his or her own political power. This opportunism can be applied "in reverse", as where a minority orator provokes persecution in order to unify a minority movement.

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*Some information provided in whole or in part by http://en.wikipedia.org/

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