Last month I wrote a post in this blog in which I
explored some of the disturbing similarities between conditions for African-Americans in the southern US before the civil rights movement and modern day Europe, specifically when it comes to
tolerance for a climate of racism and hate which contributed to the
normalization if violence against a perceived "other." In that piece I
noted that while there are important differences between the two, that
in each, the perception that violence against a particular racial, ethnic
or religious group is tolerated if not overtly condoned.
There are still plenty of reasons to be concerned about hate crimes in
Europe, fueled both by Muslim extremists and ultra right-wing
nationalist movements. I would point out the irony here, that there is
ideologically no love lost between these two groups, but then again this
is hardly the first time that neo nazis and Arab terrorists have put
aside mutual contempt as they persecuted Jews - after all, the story of
cooperation between the Nazis and Arab rulers in pre-state Israel is
well known.
In that post my focus was on the idea that a bid for political
legitimacy by far right groups in Europe (and their subsequent limited
success) has contributed to an atmosphere of hate, intolerance and
violence. But what about here in America ? Should we also be asking
ourselves to what extent hate speech is emboldening those who may be on
the edge of acting out violently ?
As I was thinking about this recent horrific shooting in Las Vegas I
came across an opinion piece by Paul Waldman on the Washington Post
website, in which he raises this very question. I would highly recommend
reading it - whether or not you agree with Mr. Waldman, in light of
recent events it's hard to argue with his premise that this an issue
worth paying attention to, and a conversation worth having.
Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2014.
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