The Two Sides of Hate
from
Dissent magazine:
The Two Sides of Hate
Michael Kazin ▪ June 21, 2016
The late philosopher Richard Rorty once credited the protest movements of the 1960s and 70s with one singular achievement: reducing the amount of sadism in American life. Thanks to the welcome ruckus stirred up by civil rights, feminist, and gay liberation activists, women, LGBT people, and members of racial and ethnic minorities came to be treated more fairly and respectfully than ever before in U.S. history.
In much of the United States, that is still truealthough most Americans probably dont recognize the activists who helped catalyze the change. But more recently, sadism has come roaring back. During Obamas first term in the White House, hate crimes surged in number, and the public sphere remains fouled by all manner of attacks on vulnerable minorities.
Omar Mateens horrific mass murder last week in Orlando and Donald Trumps vicious campaign for president demonstrate the peril we face. The orange-maned billionaire and the Orlando killerwho both grew up in Queenswould have despised one another. But they shared a common animus: both assaultedliterally or rhetoricallygroups of people to which they did not belong (although Mateen may have been seeking to purge his own gay desire) and whom they believed were mortal threats to an order that no longer exists.
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As with all forms of authoritarian fundamentalismsecular or religioussuch beliefs lead to awful consequences. Of course, there are differences between the bigoted bluster of Trump and Mateens act of mass slaughter. But the Republican nominee-to-be has already made his animosities seem legitimate to tens of millions of Americans and would be in a position to act on them if elected. Mateens hateful act was inspired, although not led, by a jihadist brigade fueled by genocidal nihilism and curdled anti-imperialism masquerading as authentic Islam. Trump, for his part, has become a hero to and unintentional recruiter for white supremacist groups. ...............(more)
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/two-sides-hate-orlando-pulse-omar-mateen-trump