People feel very strongly for one or the other. Yet [you] can't deny that they are very similar It's their very similarity that gives rise to the strong feelin

People feel very strongly for one or the other. Yet [you] can't deny that they are very similar It's their very similarity that gives rise to the strong feeling. René Girard's theory of mimetic rivalry sheds light on this. Edit: Alternatively, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences