At different times and places in human history, leaders have sometimes arisen by encouraging fear and hatred towards various groups. While these tactics have been used against African Americans, immigrants, Jews, LGBT people, and others, it is usually the case that when a demagogue gets away with hatefully targeting one marginalized group, they promote hatred as a public attitude and it tends to spread toward others.
People of conscience, of any background and orientation, should oppose and denounce scapegoating however it manifests. We should also encourage awareness of the use of this tactic, to make it less effective. In the 2004 election cycle in the United States, ballot measures opposing equal marriage rights for LGBT people were put on in 13 states. Right wing political operatives supporting George W. Bush pushed for these anti-gay measures to be on the ballot, in the hope of encouraging more right wing voters to come to the polls who would be motivated by their desire to prevent same-sex marriage, and this voter turnout was intended to help Bush’s chances. All of the anti-gay measures passed, by an average of 70%.
This year, we have seen growing and appalling use of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric and proposals—stirring up hatred and violence—being used as an electioneering tactic. Some who have used these kinds of hate-inducing tactics for years now acted surprised to see them used in public.
In 1988, when George H.W. Bush was running for president against Michael Dukakis, team Bush used the now-infamous “Willie Horton” ad to incite fear of black men and crime, and to associate those fears with Dukakis. Many believe the ad worked, and Bush won the election. Stoking racial fears of crime has been a tactic employed by many people over time, stereotyping black people, usually young men, as violent and not worth caring about. This includes reports and advocacy that used words like “super-predator” to refer to young people, and powerful wealthy interests fighting for the U.S. to have the largest prison system in the world, with the highest level of mass incarceration, by encouraging fear of black people.
We now spend more on prisons and less on schools, and have allowed a mass incarceration system to grow and expand that is destroying not only the lives of those incarcerated and severely harming their families, but is also taking resources away from vital public needs that remain unmet.
Can we believe in love and hope as strongly as some fight for fear and division? Can we reject the crowds and the pressure to allow hatred and discrimination, whether it is against Muslims or Mexicans or black people or LGBT people or anyone else?
Oakland City Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012. She is working for safe neighborhoods, for local jobs and for a fresh start for Oakland. Councilmember Kaplan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, obtained a master’s degree from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.
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