Free passes for hate does cost society and eventually they do catch up to us. We see this now with more radical members of society willing to call for and engage in violence to get their way. I would suspect if we looked back at the histories of many of these members there were probably crumb trails leading back to all types of aggressive displays at different times and locations.
We had the sacking of the capital, targeting of law enforcement, uptick in attacking minorities, feelings of mistreatment by minorities, mass shootings, and much more. There is a general increase of the acceptance of violence and scapegoating. If we think about the possibilities of growth in the acceptance of violence and our willingness to direct it like a tool we should all cringe a little (From a national development standpoint there is likely a point where if violence rises too high it begins to lower the productivity of the entire nation and increase disagreements as hypervigilance moves upwards. Thus, in general strategy, we may want to reduce violent rhetoric and focus more on problem solving and concepts of "togetherness").
I have been advocating for universalization of our institutions and ensuring we don't allow hate to fester in our communities. We have learned that hate and extremism is for the most part a social affair that is often catalyzed by individuals with mental health issues (In theory). Once someone starts spewing misinformation, mixed with emotional manipulation, to an unquestioning social group then situation can turn sour quickly.
Holding people to account doesn't always mean prison time. Catching individuals bent on harming others early can do a lot to help them and help future victims. In the case where my family and I were targeted by a group of mediocre ex sports players from 20+ years ago that eventually led to the downing of two local institutions (possibly three) in an effort to create pressure on us, as stated by one of the members, because we were Muslim . (I have a Muslim sounding name and my kids are mixed race but these people have no idea what I or they believe. Yet they put us in harm's way for their distorted misperceptions/bigotry and very little remorse or correction has come forward in the aftermath. It doesn't necessary apply to this local hate group but we can learn from them. Not taking local level hate because of social connections and lack of respect for life, diversity, and the Constitution allows such individuals to be ripe for recruitment for national hate agendas. Not race, religion, ideology or party specific Its a general mechanic of society and history tells us how that happens from the "normalization" of poor behaviors.).
( If an attempt to coordinate slander, aggression, or corruption to pressure certain caste like "untouchable" to leave is called a type of cleansing that we see as acceptable in the most war torn third world nations. Except, I don't think most of those members knew what they were doing on that level; ignorance, and malicious childishness wrapped into one. Likewise, most are good natured people but they have an issue they are not aware of. The wrong personality mixed with low boundaries, a false sports identity, feelings of entitlement, general in-out group put downs, existing racism/bigotries, inappropriate social pressure on local officials with an easy to define projection target of someone(s) we love to hate and lots of interesting things start happen: we see defaults across the board as one institution impacts the next through social expectation. Think of socializing and normalizing bad behaviors.)
When we know behaviors are highly destructive we should not placate. Knowing when to intervene in the most positive way when protecting individual rights is important. There are differences between opinions we might disagree and intentionally inflammatory language designed to direct hate toward specific targets (i.e. law enforcement, minorities, government officials, judges, etc...)
What if we found a way to have empathy and accountability?
If we catch people early enough we can deter them from greater sliding into hate and rage. That does require a level of empathy as many of these people may have mental health issues that predispose them to hate based rhetoric as a need to belong (i.e. "super cool" ex sports players with rigid social expectations) and as a method to punish others for how they feel about themselves (...again, while many members are very good people they are easily manipulated and willing to accept a direction of rage without critically thinking. It only takes one!)
Early intervention is key. When we see people trying to bully and intimidate others as a matter of course we should have some concerns arise. If they begin to use others i.e. "flying monkeys" as tools for punishing others a bigger red flag should pop up. Placation of these behaviors will likely increase their frequency as people are socialized to the acceptance of hate and scape goating as a problem resolution strategy (Do that on a national scale and what do you have? Think historically when this has happened in other countries.)
Can one say that something like track and resolve through early intervention is the best idea? Nope. It is just an idea based on giving opportunities for people to get the help they need and stop their issues from becoming a bigger issues for others (community/nation) down the road. It also provides a generic method of understanding the root causes that spark extremism and find solutions.
Our national issues start with our local issues and are interwoven as a societal expectation (i.e. concept of Federalism). If we don't understand, report, and help individuals on a local level they sometimes morph into much larger national problems (i.e. low reporting of hate crimes and following up on such crimes. They are not race or religion specific.).
I wish I knew what the solutions were. There are lots of hands in the problem solving pot and everyone seems to have an interest (Way too many with self interest). I can tell you from my side I believe that me and my children (and every one else's children.)should be able to walk on any street in this country and feel safe (That is my self interest. Like I said, empathy should come with accountability when behaviors were/are intentionally malicious.). Likewise, that on a national level our own real path forward as a single national identity is through shared perspective on what it means to be an American/"American" and the inherent rights within (i.e. as value of life and freedom).
This might be an important lesson for others some day. I have forgiven my aggressors because I know the weakness that comes from cravings for money, social emulation, and the avoidance of self reflection. These have been part of human kind since we were aware of of our own existence (i.e. crawling out of woods into consciousness/awareness). While one can forgive without accountability one cannot undo the wrong and thus accountability is necessary to deter further social learning around bad behaviors (Social Learning and observational model). Good intention/karma is at the forefront.
Where do we go from here? I hope we are a learning society. We will overcome if we do what's right and stick closely to our American values and principles as agreed and codified in our Constitution as a central social contract. We will fail if our moral conscious and good judgement fail.
Me, I plan on continuing to encourage togetherness, evidence based decision making, and shared national/local perspectives that will ensure the torch of democracy passes from out generation to the next (Allegory of Cave). We can do so with love but not sugar coating/placating bad behavior.
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