Hate is a powerful tool that is wholly destructive to the community in which it is yielded. Many of our politicians, leaders and local administrators don't really understand the roots of hate in much of the same way as they may not fully grasp the concept of political extremism (i.e. capital riots caught us off guard although many communities have complained of such behaviors for decades. As we may notice, the blind eye leads to much larger problems.). They often, not always, miss the signs when poor personal opinions move from distorted viewpoints into coordinated activities that risk the purpose and function of institutions and when values have infected the foundations of democracy.
The risks to the community, the "targets" and the country are large and those within the "bubble" of thought have few to no anchor points outside of their personal and social perspectives. They are limited by their ethnocentric viewpoints and have not walked in another's shoes (someone different than themselves) in a way that would create any real insight into inappropriateness of action and the need for universal application of law (based on merits of case.)
The Set Up (Out of potentially 4 different Set Ups):
Imagine a small group of people so willing to target someone they will lie, steal/take, attack, spread rumors/defamation of character, put in false/intentionally mislead police complaints to close associates in law enforcement, put targets life at risk, reckless endangerment of children and even put those officers at risk even though they might not understand why or how (Remember that while extremist often proclaim law and order they have no issues putting officers at risk or attacking them when it suits their purpose. This was a manipulation of our law enforcement system.).
(Until the capital riots we would have said its 100% impossible and no such red blooded American would seek to harm their country, people in their community, and the very viability of society. i.e. towns and nation. We were wrong weren't we? We were all wrong but some have known these type of people existed for a long time. If we can't see the problem we can't fix it. Precisely why I'm forgoing my own safety to help ensure we protect our democracy and the rights of our citizens even when we don't have full understanding of events. Its bigger than our politics and its bigger than our limited perceptions.)
Let us reverse the role and you are the "worthy" target of hate. You don't really have a problem with any one of these people until they create a problem. Much of it looks like racial and religious bigotry and self-enrichment. They were being overly aggressive, encouraging a larger network of people to assist them and involving kids to the point that you can see there is damage going on. You put your foot down and say something along the lines of, "No matter what you think there is a red line when it comes to kids and you MUST back off and not cross that line!" (Your thinking kids are important and special and they would want to protect those still developing. You know they have an issue with their skin color, their religion, and what they stand for. You know because it was "all the buzz"!)
What did this group do when told to respect your kids safety? They doubled down on the manipulation to show the targets they have "power" over them and can harm them in any way they can at any time they want to! You know they got their officer friends involved and you are seeing systems default around you in a dangerous way. There was a large mob of people upset and angry but none of them have had a problem with you nor do they know you well enough to make any real judgements about you or your family.
As directed by their leader they also engaged in ostracism so no one is going to tell you why they hate you either. 🤷 It is helpful to keep in mind that cutting feedback lines of communication is part of the process of isolating targets through social exclusion so as to create a false context of extremism/radicalization (I came up with a deradicalization model on the fly during this set up. My thought was I know these officers don't understand so what If I insert specific information they must confirm/disprove before having any justification to continue to move down/solidify an inappropriate strategy. Failure to confirm/disconfirm that information before acting would be an obvious and flagrant misapplication of justice showing the full intent of those involved.
Like I said, these were good officers and good people trying to do the right thing. hint hint for those who wonder if democracy will survive? It will survive if there are thoughtful and purposeful people with universal values that want an inclusive society where we all have opportunities to fulfill our potential and goals. Otherwise....roll the dice! Without purpose democracy becomes a big gamble!)
Money isn't that important to you and you have willingly gave it up to help a greater societal cause at different times and places (I very much believe if I was trying to financially gain off the perpetrators multiple lawsuits against a department (s), college, and group of participating individuals, and perhaps a few others would have been fruitful. Likely a plethora of legal violations across a large group of people with significant data to support such assertions. I would gain and the community would lose resources. Except in my "dirty Muslim mind" there are more important things than money and social flattery when one's personal truth/essence is often defined by our choices. Ok, sorry not in the political realm but in the "normal" world it does.
I choose to be better than my aggressors and seek a higher path by forgoing personal gain in order to focus on helping the perpetrators, the community, and other stakeholders understand a growing problem of radicalization in our society. i.e. the biggest risk to our democracy. I never was motivated about money as I was about understanding. Don't get me wrong, money is important, its just not the most important.)
It might have only taken one civil rights organization that has a particular distaste for hate and racism to put their legal muscle into tearing down the puppeteer's curtain. There are perhaps just three strings to pull and it would be fairly obvious the situation is worthy of further investigation. I could have been a wealthy man and I'm sure I would have won most of them. i.e. the local college telling me I was more than qualified to teach labor law and then ghosted me based on false and bigoted rumors and an incessant need to please their social clan/group. Not the purpose of taxpayer money! 😠. Oh and what looks like an involved attorney that perhaps has been teaching their labor law classes for a while. Good job! 🤷.
If one wanted too I supposed a researcher/investigator could map out and trace the chain of action, rumor passing and thought development throughout the entire network. 🤔 I have a little experience in that from my old days tracing rumors and have seen studies that have done that on a macro scale so all I would need to do is have the ability to interview people and/or access certain data to ensure the connections are statistically significant. I suppose any of the lawsuits would have started that discovery process but would have also ruined the lives of the perpetrators. Once that starts there is no way of going back, the chips will have to fall where they may and I hope to avoid turning a "learning opportunity" into a permanent outcome for some of those involved. {Side note: If I did bad stuff I might wonder how much information is actually out there and who/whom has it. How detrimental is it? If I did something bad I might wonder if under the wrong circumstances how that would change my life? As a strategy I would would consider never being involved in those types of issues again and making sure that I act in alignment with my deeper 'moral conscious'. I wouldn't think of this as a negative but an opportunity to make a willful effort to learn. See, I got kids and possibly someday grand kids who will visit, maybe, live, and who have family roots superseding most of those who engaged in psuedo-'cleansing', so I am optimistic I won't hear of anyone else being targeted at any point in the future. If I relied solely on the honor in other's words, promises, good judgement, and ability to think like a single community I believe there is a high chance I would be disappointed. 😢 We don't need facts we just need a change of heart. Facts tell you about the behaviors of the past but not 100% the future. That is our personal choice. ☝} If I'm correct in my informal systems analysis I could point to some good places that would likely have provided very little wiggle room for all the other arguments used to justify such behaviors.
Perhaps one could test that network by creating a spark "juicy info" and seeing how it comes out in other places and how much the story has changed and through whose hands. We should all remember the rumor game that ends up with a very different story in the end. I used to do it when I taught orientation a long long time ago! Its a "lighting up of a network" by analyzing how the story changed, where the story changed, who changed it and why they might have changed it. I suppose one could do that by independently asking each of the members what they know and analyze those themes to determine some of the root assumptions.).
When faced with unfair and dangerous situations you do what any parent would do once someone intentionally targets your family and kids. This is targeting that came from multiple community sources sharing similar ethnocentric, self entitled, mediocre sports playing background that became worse bigots and bullies when compared to when they were in highschool. We can't keep relishing in our past. News Flash! If you weren't recruited for a college scholarship, didn't make it to the pros, or anything else happened that was interesting then either you were not motivated or were not very good at it! i.e mediocre 💁
(Most people in the community know how this group acts and it looks like there have been some community complaints about some members of the group that were not taken seriously. Those have nothing to do with me and are from different times and places. I can tell you from my recollection of their history most of these people are good people but are easily manipulated because of low boundaries and a high need to "fit in". They also jump in a lot to product their clan/group even when the targets have done nothing wrong. Mostly its just about acting like a jerk and showing they are supporting their friends. In this instance I believe the racial and religious divide allowed them to cross some pretty big grey areas.).
The money is not important to you but you do need to help your kid so you contact someone you trust within their network to shed light on what going on (At this point you are very unsure of what is going on. There were earlier hints they were gearing up to have issues but when the wave of hate came I was still unsure of its causes or catalyst beyond saying "no". I suspected based on a few other set ups and something from the past it had to do with money and general hate.).
I met with that person in a public place (...of their choosing. They were trying to create a set up) and during the discussion they continued to run back to the bathroom to get information from their leader as to what to say (I don't blame them for that.). The interesting answer they gave me for why they are targeting your family and children are "Because you are Muslim". What you are keenly aware of is that there were a number of undercover cops waiting in the background for you to react (I could see them out of the corner of my eye and let me tell you they had no real awareness of the 'moral conscious' violation that was occurring in front of their face. You can sort of just look at someone and know they are not part of this "game".)
Now imagine for a moment we are in the thick of things, People are putting you in dangerous situations, intentionally harming your kid, increased threatening/intimidating behavior by group members, telling you that they are trying to ethnic cleanse you and and standing a few feet away are a couple of officers standing next to an associate trying to coax into arresting you (Don't believe me? There is significant video and other evidence to support this and it wouldn't be difficult to get more.). It looks like from a first perspective that this group is not only violating everything our nation stands for but also that there are now officers engaged is quickly turning out to be an ethnic cleansing campaign (Wait before you judge! These are good officers so read below....).
There is something the perpetrators didn't expect. They have discounted and dehumanized the targets (...a marker of hate historically. i.e. Nazi calling Jews snakes or all Muslims terrorists. Its an attempt to create less than human justification atrocities.). I can read faces and body language very well through years of dealing with people of different cultures and background and have faced corruption before....and was right about it! (A couple of times perhaps). You know they don't know why they are there, they are confused, and they don't have a problem with you or your family. They were duped and used as a narcissists tool to enforce the local "pecking order" and maintain a sense of control over a larger social group (If you actually listened to what this central group said about their friends and community and how they have become accustomed to putting people down and spreading rumors you know something is amiss.).
What was the best thing to do and what was the best way to approach the issue? It was to NOT react so as no one has any more false narratives/justifications for committing any more crimes. You are protecting yourself, the officers, and even the very ignorant flying monkeys (Flying monkeys are people who become sometimes unwittingly or wittingly part of a triangulation scheme often used by those with dark triad personality traits. Its just that these officers and people problem don't understand how mental health works in crime. That is why I proposed Michigan Track and Solve mental health and the need to hold hate/extremism accountable. I know! I know! Dumb idea!)
This is what I think now:
Its not all bad. I do believe because of this homogenous lack of exposure and somewhat distorted sports culture (i.e. why I recommend local coaches and officials to ensure students are not bullying others no matter if they are minorities, handicapped, smaller, "better than", etc.... Kids model their parents and coaches and if we are engaged in those behaviors we should expect the kids to act in the same way. We have seen this in this situation as well where kids were pushed by their parents to act illegally.). There is this underlining Muslim and Black issue that seems to be an easy dividing line. Some of these people don't recognize that I'm more of a Muslim, Catholic, Jew then just a Muslim. Sounds weird but if you realize that I was in part raised by Franciscan Monks and my conception of God is a little more universal it might make sense. There are others who had this conception of religion and science (The insanity of those who dare to ask questions and come to the conclusion that we all have inherent worth no matter their race, religion or ethnicity!)
Some might ask that since some of the people (most I don't know) you knew decades ago acted on hate towards you and your family do you feel that you are still from them? I would say that I am half from them and my very early roots of understanding come from the same background as theirs. Each of us can overcome the limitations of our past and create new understandings about life and self. We can break the rhetoric and false logic that some (meaning a few) in the presence use to harm others so as to make themselves feel better. You can never truly walk in the shoes of another unless you have experience, wisdom, evidence, and critical thinking. Of course people are not Yahoos, I'm not Gulliver and this isn't Gulliver's Travels. 😏 We need to create a shared Truth to move society forward (As a light R, I believe it is something leaders on both sides of our political spectrum should think about as we try and create a pathway to a shared American identity! For now let's just call it an "idealists' dream that could be more important than any subjective reality those who hate can muster! )
“To say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true.” Aristotle.
(We still got three more incidents to discuss.....stay tuned......)My Recommendations for a Win-Win Outcome:
The people who launched these behaviors did so to exploit existing bias within their local networks and institutions for self gain and enrichment. The easiest place for them to gain advantage was from minorities (people they see as less worthy) and some of the local institutions defaulted on that bigotry. So giving them a free pass is part of the problem and uncovers a bigger issue of how the justice stick is used in some places within our country. One could extend that discussion to say that certain actions and outcomes socialize others to our values. If there ever was a risk to our great nation and its ideals its not as much the competition from global competitors (i.e. China, Russia, or anyone else) as it is from hometown hate and the rot that erodes the foundations of our democratic institutions.
My plan? To be polite, engaging, visible to others, try and generate opportunities for my community, forgiving not forgetful, and stand up against threats (as I promised in my oaths) whether they be foreign or domestic (Fulfillment of this oath can be done by teaching others what happened so that it lowers the likelihood it will be repeated at other times and place against fellow "Americans". In fulfilment of other promises.) . At this time in our history our greatest risks are from ourselves and not from what we profess through lip service but by what we hold in our hearts. What I won't do is sugar coat what happened just to protect the inflated egos and sense of entitlement of others. Where we go from here isn't so much an issue of law its more of an issue of moral conscious (Law is a poor carbon copy of societal principles and values because it is a negotiated and agreed upon codification of our collective viewpoints. However, it is also the enforcement of such values and principles using evidence based decision making and logical analysis. Law follows morality but when/if morality follows law then we should be concerned about institutional integrity. ).
(P.S. if what I wrote is confusing feel free to read again before passing judgement. All good kharma!)
What I suggest....
1.) Mandatory mental health for those who caused the problem. Their manipulative habits are a risk to themselves and the community.
2.) Review of financial incentives of hate and self-enrichment through the use of intimidating and suppression of others.
3.) Investigation of community complaints in order to fulfill the oaths and duties of office while maintaining the integrity of local systems.
4.) Correcting local department deficiencies while strengthening internal controls. That might include policies that limit working on the behalf of a clan network than upholding duty bound loyalies.
5.) Using this model to help other areas struggling with their essential American values.
6.) (This is a new one I added.) To learn the idea of "community" and how that isn't dependent on sports (Which most were not very good), race, religion, wealth, or good old boy networks.
