Protecting extremism and enrichment off of extremism is not the way to go in this nation. Imagine if hate crimes typically went unreported, witnesses are ignored, evidence buried, community concerns sidelined and the perpetrators are given a free passes based on close religious and ethnic social connections. Such situations would likely socially prompt concerned citizens that deep seated dislike of "others" (that can be by any "other") is normalized and encouraged legally and socially on an implied and sometimes semi-official level. Its always important to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and that comes from trust.
Extremism can warp the application of laws and sometimes it breaks them in full view of others in a way that signals such behaviors are acceptable methods of dealing with minorities (Science of signaling and expectation setting.). Free passes do have consequences and this is why we must ensure integrity throughout the system to make sure that it is oriented true north based on our nation's shared goals and central commitments. That is despite which way the political winds blow. Politics should strengthen our democracy and not be counterproductive.
Let us further this illustrative hypothetical example (illustrative only)....
One of the leaders of a local hate group said through a proxy that they were targeting the family because they were Muslim. (There was also a financial and social incentives to these behaviors.) They went after the kids, reputation, job, biased hiring, friends aggression, called the targets names, invalidated their concerns, harassed where they found them, ostracized, launched false investigations, violated privacy, rejected them from jobs and much much more. Based upon a large group of public mockers and aggressive posturing and comments it was not seen as an idle immature threat. More than once serious intimidation was observed by officials, in some cases participating, and they swept it all under the carpet in full view of numerous other officials that were supposed to be protecting the community. (This is why I would encourage those who feel silenced to report these behaviors to federal agencies so they can track and understand these incidences.)
(When people do bad stuff as a group and when there are interconnections between social and official positions, generally the law or values are seen as less important than social networks. We see this on a national scale in politics today where both sides cannot see the value of the opinions or rights of the other. A mental distortion that makes its way into local courts and sometimes legal tactics where extremism has become embedded. We owe it to good officers and the institution to preserve the integrity of the justice system and remove corrupted actors while promoting good actors that protect the public. We should love our police and ensure they can do their job without the influence of hate groups or corruption. Protestors and police have a shared stake in our future but politics creates divisions where normal allies would have been found.)
Others have come forward with similar complaints and these were also in pattern ignored by the local judges and some officials (Some are good and some are haters. Most try and do the right thing but there are cases where there are no ways to correct poor behaviors because those who make a decision over them have bias themselves.). No matter how bad it got, they continually sought to target, arrest, harass and potential serious injure or worse to the targets (There are complaints that a similar local group raped a young girl in back of the car and then stalked her until she killed herself. Maybe true or maybe not but it fit into the context of similar behaviors. That is a concern.). The perpetrators knew they had immunity before, during and after their 5 year wave of cleansing behaviors (Keep in mind others came forward with similar complaints so its possible its a long term pattern that isn't corrected.).
(When it comes to minorities or anyone else, even though they be a majority of society, there are few rights that will be withheld when politics and political distortion make their way into our daily lives in a dangerous and unfair way. Extremists don't see their behaviors as dangerous. They brag about sadism through false logic. If you trace it back you will understand their assumptions of value about themselves and others. Actually worse about themselves that is projected on others. Many times when we hate, we dehumanize, and that leads to not seeing the rights of victims as more important than the rights of perpetrators.)
Lets continue on with the silliness (This example gets more bizarre as we keep going 🤯).....
These hate groups and affiliate officials used intimidation and threatened violence in retaliation of legitimate complaints to force victims into silence; a seemingly shared experience. Freedom of speech and religion was boldly violated in ways that would be more accustomed to third world nations. The local judge was likely aware that these groups were conducting these paramilitary acts of white extremism against local citizens but failed to correct the perpetrators. The message? "there are no rights for minorities and they have no value in our society." We Americans are more important than heuristic understanding's and of course we were a big part of building this nation...still are! The future belongs to all us from the work we all did in the past and present.
(This is an example for illustrative purposes only but there are people who do experience similar types of behaviors so its a good example to think about. You can switch the Muslim example out for any other religion or race. Black, Jewish, Arab, Hispanic, Asian, etc. where there are extreme bias against them by people who do not have a moral right to judge them, themselves, or anyone else.)
My opinion is different then far left or right, because I take a sociological view to these issues from a wide and narrow perspective. Morality is part of that discussion but is more a broader spiritual value and legal perspective of strategy. The types behaviors are based in clannism and has racial and religious overtones. i.e. trying to arrest Muslims on holidays (switch the religions its ok. Its just an example.). One could make an argument local courts didn't have knowledge of what extremism is but they do have access to general moral and legal codes that would have prompted them to act to ensure integrity. Hate or not, these were already illegal and immoral behaviors so it leads to a bigger issue under the surface (Needs an instigation maybe. Maybe not? 🤷).
Extremism and group hate opens a Pandora's box of other looming problems that will likely raise their head in the future. Not everyone who supported the hate narrative understood the deep dysfunction of the perpetrators or their intent. However, they should have known the behavior was dangerous and wrong. It appeared through other complaints that it was a long stemming problem of intentional ignorance. The good and bad all swept into the box. That is unfortunate because most are good people but they have had their honor stained by "bad apples" (Notice the broad implications on how national politics influences local perception to create justifications for illegal and immoral behaviors. It can also work the opposite way to strengthen our values and that is where our efforts should be sought.)
Stronger focus on freedom would have ensured the cultures of those departments were aligned to our values as a people (i.e. the collective people and the Constitution.). Proactive measures might have uncovered a few bad actors and corrected the situation quickly but a type moral negligence and disrespect towards the Bill of Rights led to increasing distortions that were easily manipulated by someone who had multiple ulterior motives for launching such venom. They were easily manipulated because of their homogeneous perception of others and outsiders. Fraternization.
We can't support hate on a semi-official level or talk out of both sides of our mouth. Freedom and oaths ensure that we continue to push for a safer and fairer society that protects the rights of everyone White, Black, Muslim, Jew, Republican, Democrat, Hispanic, all of them! We have a collective stake in ensuring integrity and trust in our shared futures. Those who knew they were committing crimes and free passed it are culpable in promoting hate and corruption. Excellence is by habit not by complacency.
I looked at the stats below but I don't believe they are accurate. In the example above, the area doesn't report hate crimes for one reason or another. Some people engage in them and they are free to do that but lack of reporting, follow up, or correction indicates a cultural perception that doesn't solve the problem. The victims eat the moral and legal failures of those who were supposed to be protecting them...the process of blaming the victims. So most of these stats are underreported because they would be subconsciously understood and coded as other types of crimes. Sometimes intentional and sometimes not (For example they say they aggressively targeted because they don't like that person but it may not be reflective. Official vehicles might have been use. This example is getting nuts! The bias distorts their interpretations and understandings. Being consistently polite, friendly and helpful didn't seem to factor into their perception because they anchored that family to distorted perceptions of Muslims in the media in a way that dehumanize people.) Murder and Extremism 2023 and Most Major Cities Saw a Surge in Hate Crimes
Some questions to ponder. Move beyond politics to essential purposes.
1.) What does free passes for hate and enrichment off of that hate mean? It can mean to some that there are different rules for different people. Hate is a lucrative game designed to control, harm and enrich off of others. This is not what we need in a modern democracy. There are few to no backstops when these things occur. We are getting better but they still persist in some places.
2.) What does it do to victims? It makes it expressly clear that these behaviors are normalized and will be repeated at some point in the future (or the risk of that.). It dehumanizes the victims and their contributions and ensures they are left with the understanding they are not full citizens with full rights simply based on their religion and/or race. Of course not everyone believes that, and it might not be true, but in incidents like confirm those perceptions. We should correct that and ensure we are all under same banner for the long term health of the nation through shared value formation.
3.) What does it say about system integrity? While it might work reasonably well in most places, in this example it appeared intentionally the opposite. They were trying to violate peoples rights by mixing extremist values with false sense of legitimacy into official positions. Where these free pass clan systems exist, the rights and complaints of citizens seemed intentionally thwarted/retaliated against making future decisions open to questioning. More checks and balances may be needed to maintain integrity.
4.) What does it mean for our values? Studying different religions and religious figures (not trying to be religious but let use Jesus because most know of his good message) that morally such things as hate, throwing stones, disrespecting Gods created life, etc. are not part of the deeper religious values but a distortion of false religious justifications for poor behavior. Almost non of the primary spiritual leaders in history advocated for dishonesty and aggression. They were mostly peace makers that are different then some of the religious leaders today. It also indicates that the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and liberty itself is not agreed upon or supported by everyone. The essence of values learned from historically significant religious texts are easily manipulated for self purpose (Something these religious text warn against the false premises that lead to poor judgement. You can discuss any religion you want I'm just using the Judeo-Christian-Islamic perspective for this example because these are the most common and influential in the U.S.. In my perspective and somewhat purist values, I believe we should protect all religious practices and not violate Freedom of Religion for unGodly, immoral, unethical, or spiritually defunct justifications.)
(There are many examples of philosophers of God and their good messages. However, just because people say they follow them doesn't mean they actually do on a deeper moral level. This moral confusion is one thing that most of these philosophers warned against as dogmatic self interest placed above the essential intent of the message. You now can see why the intent of laws can be thwarted for obscure technicalities when the most sacred values are misapplied for ideological purposes. i.e. extremists! In other words, extremists perceptions are so broke at their subconscious root they struggle to correct themselves.)
4. How might extreme bigotries and overt hate relate to the needs of the next generation? The next generation is very diverse and they are unlikely to protect corruption and intentional thwarting of national values. They want opportunities and fair treatment and these free pass clan based hate systems are, and always have been, antithetical to a healthy future. They will likely change them and hold to account those who protect poor behaviors. Let us be proactive and make the changes needed....versus foot dragging...free pass....and more derailment of trust and purpose.
5. On a wider scale why is this important?: Anytime we minimize the rights and values of a percentage of society we are not able to draw their human capital and contributions for the benefit of everyone. Actively minimizing rights is not wise and sign of bigger issues. We do have millions who complain and for the most part we make a few changes and they go home until the next event. However, these events on sociological level are become more common and that is a sign of value changes rubbing against those with rigid hate ideologies. We just need to look at trust levels and demographic info to understand that (In one ear and out the other.).
6. Let us pretend your one of the victims and the outcomes seem corrupted. The perpetrators enriched off of violence, the group who chased and mocked you feel no remorse, the judge who gave them a free pass will still be making decisions over other minorities, community complaints were not investigated, and there has been no correction to ensure others rights are or will be protected. You might think about why perpetrators were given free passes.
(Keep in mind that two wrongs don't make a right. You don't correct by becoming like the perpetrators. That is the last thing you want to do because you respect what our nation stands for and the sacrifices people made. You correct by learning and encouraging others to reach for the greatest heights of human freedom and positive community engagement in constructive ways. You become better than the persecutors. Something deeply embedded into our religious, ethical, and national moral codes. Correction will come because the cancer of hate is a disease that will spread to a point its untenable to placate.)
(Interesting note: If you survive the first wave of ethnic-religious cleansing and you will discover a gift they gave you-insight into why our national values are so important. Can you look your kids and grand kids in the eye and say, "I have done everything in my legal/moral power to protect and preserve the freedoms we earned from the sacrifices of the past and the opportunities that will help you in the future.". You know that extremism, hate and corruption should not be normalized and you push against that. I wonder what extremists say to their kids and grand kids? We need one indivisible society. )
When these things happen why do you think they free pass such hate? What's your opinion? Far right will likely look down on minorities (now majority of society) and if you are far left you are likely to think there is intentional complacency and protection of violent hate. I'm in the middle because I cannot rule out decisively either because there are examples. I can only say it is possible and likely occurs in other places as well but the extent would need to be studied. I think the perpetrators who intentionally violated laws should be held to account and that local systems that went afoul need to be corrected to ensure integrity and trust of the general population. More importantly to protect the public. Local complaints against good old boy networks and prior crimes should be investigated.
In this example, based upon the immunities before, during and after cleansing behaviors indicates future violence is expected against minority groups. Assuming behaviors are based on values, behaviors are patterned and behaviors are likely to be repeated because the essential values or perceptions have not changed. The perpetrators are free to do whatever they want when want to. A display of a justice default.
I hope in the future as young people come forward and pick up the torch that we nearly snuffed out in our generation (i.e. Jan. 6th tail gate party vs violent coup), that they understand the struggles our fathers/mothers and grandfathers/grandmothers sacrificed to ensure freedom and liberty. There are those who don't respect those sacrifices and are trying to push for the return of segregation and two distinct societies. Where these free pass hate systems reward crimes and intentional corruption, they are antithetical to that more noble struggle that is the central reason for our nation's existence. Lets move beyond post segregation society to a universal democracy where we are all free and at our highest competitive state. The best way to do that is through protecting our values, wisdom, kindness, science, learning, sharing, strategy, helping, and all the good things that push out the destructive power of hate and fulfills our purpose as a people (Feel free to discard...theoretical dribble dribble.)
Just in case you don't understand, freedom and civil rights is what we stand for nearly everyday in our oaths. Some of us believe and some of us just blindly repeat the words. You have the power of the vote! Use it to make positive proAmerican change! Vote out anyone who supported and protected these extremist leaning values to protect the integrity of the entire system. You, as young Americans, have that power on your finger tips this year and that will continue on for about 30 until another generation updates values again. Voting out hate group affiliates and their judicial protectors is the way our democracy thrives and ensures it corrects the sins of the past. Always focus just over the horizon on an inclusive high performing society.
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all." Pledge of Allegiance (In honor of those who fulfill them everyday.)
*This is a hypothetic example for illustrative purposes. I'm a lover of police and I'm a lover of civil rights. It is possible to love both. All Americans can be valued members of our society and working toward the same lofty goals that lead to national development. Hate, corruption, and extremism take aware from that ability.
