That's an interesting point about overstating the fear.

I remember Ann Coulter, ages ago (more than a decade) saying that we learned the wrong thing from the Holocaust. The lesson should have been 'Don't kill.' The lesson we learned instead was 'Don't discriminate.'

It's not that well phrased, as discrimination can destroy a society too, but the overall point has merit. Discrimination in the positive sense (distinguishing between right and wrong, between the good and the best, between individual and group capabilities) is necessary for a functioning society.

The moral lesson about not harming people is necessary too, but separate.