The Brain of an American Anti-Semite

If aliens dropped in from outer space and absorb American and World history they would no doubt be astounded by the contributions to humanity by one relatively small group of people. No matter the discipline; e.g., social, arts, science, medicine, literature, education, entertainment, or philosophy, people of Jewish decent have had a greater positive impact on the human condition, pound for pound, than any other sub-set of modern Homo sapiens that have roamed this planet.

It therefore begs the question of why many non-Jews are often manipulated to believe Jews should be contained, restricted, and (in historically extreme cases) eradicated.

Jews and those of Jewish decent are no different than any other sub-set of people in that they face the same trials all individuals face. There is no objective or mystical power that isolates them, negatively or positively, from the rest of humanity. Their individual numbers spread across the same spectrum of success and failure, happiness and misery as everyone else.

Why they have had such a genuinely constructive impact on our culture could be due to a number of things; history, education, family structure, values, social support among others, but that is not the point of this discussion.  I want to look at why in today’s American culture they are still used as a threat for those who want to attain or retain power, and what kind of brain is so susceptible to that threat.

By the end of the 1940s the World was emerging from its cultural car wreck and beginning to ask the question, “what the hell just happened?” The term Holocaust really has meaning that goes beyond the horror and tragedy inflicted on Jews. Although prejudice has always been part of the human condition, extreme anti-Semitism, as well has other prejudices, had spread world-wide like an infectious disease.  History is clear that Nationalism, relatively new in a worldwide context, was the vehicle used by influential individuals to drive the world into catastrophic conflict. Targeting vulnerable minorities was their fuel.

America today is not 1932 Europe generally or 1932 Germany specifically.  It is not even 1932 America when it comes to anti-Semitism.  Yet many of the same elements now exist and are getting stronger in this period of Trump and the reactionary effect he elicits.

Overt anti-Semitism, Racism, and bigotry in America today is primarily a product of irrational conspiracy mania created by those who skillfully use fear in order to secure support. The fear generated by those who profit from it does far more than motivate (what I call) the lunatic fringe, e.g., white supremacists, Dylann Roof, or Robert Bowers. It impacts a significant portion of adults in America, some you might call friends. Some, perhaps, attracted to Trump Rallies without a lot of understanding of why.

It appears (and it is logical) that Robert Bowers was just as hostile toward (in Trump’s words) the invasion of immigrants as he was toward Jews. The same would be true of the torch bearing Nazi-types in Charlottesville, although their malice was more focused on Jews and African Americans than Latinos.  As tragic as their actions are toward innocent victims and the emotions they generate among survivors, they are not a threat to the United States or any race or religion contained therein. They are part of the disease that can be seen and treated.  

It is the passive racist or anti-Semite who bears no grudge against any individual, but who harbors fears of an amorphous and dangerous adversary; the Deep State, the “Government”, the “Liberals”, the “fake” press (aka: enemy of the people), welfare, Socialism, taxation, or immigrants are all examples. Each poised to rob you of your property and well being. You could throw space aliens into that mix without missing a beat.

It is not a huge step to surreptitiously link such paranoia to Blacks, Jews, and Latinos. The goal is to retain power. The fruits of that power are another discussion entirely.

Since the removal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 (an FCC doctrine created in 1948 out of the rubble of WWII to neutralize propaganda) the brains of these Americans have acted like sponges, sopping up the sewage that has been pumped out of talk radio, Fox News, and Sinclair Broadcasting for nearly 30 years. Out of this you not only get a Donald Trump, but you also get an entire Political Party that is willing to compromise almost any degree of decency, anti-corruption, international responsibility, or fiscal conservatism in order to keep their individual jobs.

Please keep in mind that almost all those manipulated brains are in the heads of decent people, but this fear-driven misinformation is all they watch or listen to. That reality gives Trump’s “enemy of the people” effort enhanced meaning. Trump and the Republican leadership don’t want them to listen to anything else. It is the life's blood of authoritarianism.

The election and re-election of Barack Obama did much to unleash the fear among many Conservatives.  “How could a Black man become President of the United State” was a small echo in the back of the anti-Semitic brain (no different than the racist brain).  When it came to public consumption they simply pasted “extreme Liberal” over the words “Black man”.

The answer to that question was tendered through talk radio and Fox News with conspiratorial rhetoric. By the time Trump came on the scene Republicans were scrambling to distance themselves from the “conspiracy” known as the Federal Government, or in Trump speak: the Swamp. It should be no surprise that Republicans made the Faustian bargain of aligning with Trump to avoid primary challenges.

Is Trump an anti-Semite or a racist? Not likely, and certainly not in any ideological sense. His Narcissistic Personality Disorder doesn’t allow for objective labels. Does he trade in anti-Semitism and racism? Absolutely. Is he also responsible for the resurgence in America today of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry in general? Of course he is.

That he refers repeatedly to the asylum seekers from Honduras as an “invasion” (calling out for a military response) or warns of Liberal “mobs” or labels the main stream news media as “the enemy of the people” is simply him ringing the dinner bell.

The brain of today’s American anti-Semite or racist wants serenity, like everybody else’s brain. However, it is so stoked with fears that are fed by conspiratorial language that it will often act against its own best interest (such as supporting last year's inequitable tax bill). Pushed far enough it becomes unstable, especially on the fringes. Yet I hope that fear for personal safety does not become the driving focus in the attempt to counterbalance. That would be futile, indeed. Confidence is the element that needs to be embraced, confident that leaders who represent the truth will emerge because the alternative is not sustainable. The first step is to understand that your vote will make a difference.