Topic for April 8, 2019 Criminality or Sickness?
Psychopaths are 8 times more likely to commit and recommit crimes. In a recent
For discussion: “Are the hundreds of thousands of criminal psychopaths culpable or sick?” which may segue toward a Tom Cruise “Minority Report” future, and ultimately, what can our health care system do about all of this……
Continuing from this week’s discussion on anti-semitism, next week’s topic is white nationalism. Is it on the increase? Are they emboldened by the President? Are they responsible for hate crimes? If so, what are the consequences?
(“A hate crime is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership (or perceived membership) in a certain social group or race. Examples of such groups can include and are almost exclusively limited to: sex, ethnicity, disability, language, nationality, physical appearance, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation.”)
Links:
Hate crimes reportedly jumped by 226 percent in counties that hosted Trump campaign rallies: https://www.vox.com/2019/3/24/18279807/trump-hate-crimes-study-white-nationalism
Hate groups nationwide: https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map
Hate groups in Maine: https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map?state=ME
Hate group count hits 20-year high amid rise in white supremacy, report says: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/20/hate-groups-white-power-supremacists-southern-poverty-law-center/2918416002/
“Killings committed by individuals and groups associated with far-right extremist groups have risen significantly. Seventy-one percent of the 387 “extremist related fatalities in the United States” from 2008 to 2017 were committed by members of far-right and white-supremacist groups, according the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. Islamic extremists were responsible for 26 percent.” : https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/opinion/christopher-hasson-extremism.html
White Nationalism’s Deep American Roots: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/04/adam-serwer-madison-grant-white-nationalism/583258/
What Trump Supporters Really Believe – The president’s racist base, by the numbers: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/trumps-bigoted-base-by-the-numbers.html
White nationalist leader is plotting to ‘take over the GOP’: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/white-nationalist-leader-plotting-take-over-gop-n920826
How white supremacist candidates fared in 2018 – Self-described Nazis did poorly, but candidates linked to white supremacist groups did quite well: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/7/18064670/white-supremacist-candidates-2018-midterm-elections
Study: 11 million white Americans think like the alt-right – The Unite the Right marchers aren’t alone, according to brand new research: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/10/17670992/study-white-americans-alt-right-racism-white-nationalists
White Nationalist Groups Increase Recruiting And Propaganda Across The West: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/19/704586335/white-nationalist-groups-increase-recruiting-and-propaganda-across-the-west
White Nationalist. White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites. Groups listed in a variety of other categories – Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, and Christian Identity – could also be fairly described as white nationalist: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/white-nationalist
White supremacy: Are US right-wing groups on the rise?: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40915356
Fact-checking Trump’s notion that white nationalism is not a rising threat: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/16/politics/fact-checking-trump-on-threat-of-white-nationalism/index.html
In recent weeks, there have been claims that elements on both major US political parties have fostered / encouraged / expressed anti-Semitic behavior and views. See Donald Trump on the Republican side and Ilhan Omar for the Democrats.
In my opinion, neither individual, nor their respective parties, are bathing themselves in glory in their handling of this subject. So what’s happening?
We’ll discuss on Monday.