As hate group expert, what’s happening now frightens me
As a cop who for decades worked undercover in whitesupremacist groups and in FBI task forces fighting terrorism, I’ve had a front-row seat to witness hate in its various shapes and sizes, its costs and its causes, and the way it grows when left unchecked.
Hate morphs, and it can pop up anywhere. Just a few examples: A 20-year-old man was beaten to death by young skinheads outside an Arizona pool hall; a man on a train in Oregon screamed anti-Muslim chants at a young woman in a hijab before stabbing two people to death; vigilantes armed with AR-15s roam the U.S. border with Mexico targeting their fellow human beings.
What I used to hear in the 1990s from skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members in Arizona, what I later heard from guys in khakis and golf shirts in Virginia, I now hear from college kids and even a member of Congress.
Today, hate’s victims are Jewish students walking to class at Harvard who are verbally and physically assaulted. This time, the assault comes from well-educated “thugs” with a pack mentality, hoping to strike fear in the faces of Jewish students, who are today’s personification of “the other.”
Black, Muslim, Hispanic, gay, Jewish. Anyone can be hate’s chosen target. Anyone can be the other.
In fact, people we’ve never even met can become targets for hatred, based almost always on the intentional misinformation of others. When that misinformation mixes with a person’s need to belong, it’s more explosive than dynamite.
But how much do student protesters who spout antiJewish venom actually know about the conflict between Israel and Hamas? What percentage of those carrying banners that cry for the extinction of Jews in the Middle East know the details of the Oslo Accords?
Mostly, they’re screaming for the destruction of Israel because their friends are, because it’s the “cool” thing to spout. What’s astonishing though, is that these days, the difference between a skinhead and a Cornell or San Diego State student isn’t far, it seems, once the pack gathers.
All it takes is the need to belong plus an echo chamber of those who’ve already bought into the hateful rhetoric. Often the haters don’t even know just who they’re railing against − a whole group or an individual based on some half-formed notion of history or political science or faith. It doesn’t matter. It’s an outlet. And they’re desperate.
What is happening in our country is deeply alarming because, although hate is never gone for long, it has rarely gained this much traction this fast. In a matter of weeks, we’ve seen a 388% rise in antisemitism, which is unheard of for modern times.
As an expert in this field, I can unfortunately say that this is only the beginning. As a nation, we have overlooked hate for the national security threat that it is. Normalized hate across our campuses and social media has led to a heightened risk of violence.
Pray, hope, engage, but be sure of one thing − death is coming if we cannot find a way to undermine this wave. How it will come is impossible to say, but the normalization of hate in these past few weeks will encourage some to take the next terrible step.
White supremacists have been waiting for this moment, and they are reinserting themselves into the reemerged hatred of the Jewish people as it gains momentum. It’s only a matter of time before these doctrines, already shouted by thousands across our country, coalesce to form a palpable threat.
Though I applaud all Americans who get involved and use their voices, after speaking with hundreds of college students, I am not convinced they are prepared to address the issues at hand. It takes not just education but also emotional intelligence to confront and conquer hate. Without that experience and sensitivity, another loud voice just adds to a problem.
In this atmosphere, nobody is safe. Which group, I wonder, will it be popular to scream death threats against next summer? Where will the wave of hate go next?
Whatever happens in Israel and Gaza, we need to reorient ourselves, to turn away from our rigid biases and see that the bigger war isn’t actually against Israelis or Palestinians – but against all injustice, terrorism and hatred.
We must be able to have diverse, nonviolent debates and conversations, which could even lead to solutions. If even our finest colleges can’t teach that skill, the power of overcoming the hate within, then we cannot begin to fight the real war.
If a new cease-fire is to be declared, let it first be among Americans calling for an end to the appalling language and actions of hate that are manifesting in our beautiful nation.
Matson Browning is the co-author, along with Tawni Browning, of “The Hate Next Door: Undercover within the New Face of White Supremacy.” He is a retired law enforcement officer and a court-certified gang expert.