It is difficult to even imagine what the Yazidis underwent. Men killed; women taken as slaves. Since they are not one of & #39;us& #39;, most of the world didn& #39;t even speak up.

A genetic study of human history revealed something troubling.

One in a while, a certain section of male DNA was wiped out but not the female mitochondrial DNA. This indicates genocide; the men getting killed & the women taken as slaves. History attests to repeated occurrences of this behavior.

The Yazidi plight reveals that this is still an ongoing event. The human society still hasn& #39;t figured out how to rid itself of this darkness. Even worse, there is religious sanction for such acts.

Here is an early religious sanction. Numbers 31:17-18 "Now kill all the boys.

And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+31:17-18">https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...

Religious thoughts can be lofty or plumb the depths. This is a base religious thought that has somehow stood the test of time.

Once people are divided into & #39;us& #39; & & #39;others& #39;, the & #39;others& #39; can be dehumanized without rights. This & #39;othering& #39; of the Yazidis is the root-cause of their plight.

To reduce these recurrences, it is time to shine a spotlight on all the religious verses that dehumanize the & #39;other& #39; & call for violence & enslavement. At least, we can start removing the religious sanction for this behavior.