A combination of social isolation, identity politics and political correctness run amok spurred the tragedies, not Donald Trump or white nationalism.
Passing new gun control laws and labeling President Trump a white nationalist who inspires acts of terrorism are a waste of time.
They will not address the root causes of the anger and disaffection that fueled recent acts of violence against racial, political and religious minorities.
This issue is far more complicated than our leaders have grasped.
This is evidenced by the reckless accusations and misguided approaches many of them have made while sowing seeds of division. It is our leaders and their inability to lead that places our nation at its greatest risk, and we’re not just talking Donald Trump here.
Both political parties ignored the most important issues
In 2002, my book “The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration” was published by Cambridge Press. In it, I warned of unprecedented levels of racial and ethnic violence that awaited us because of the convergence of certain issues that would create a perfect storm for racial unrest.
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These issues, largely ignored by clueless mainstream politicians of both parties, included liberal immigration policies that were rapidly changing the nation’s demographic makeup; reduced job opportunities for low-skilled, low-wage workers because of structural changes in the economy; anger over racial and ethnic preferences; and (indisputably) high black-on-white violent crime rates.
The number of black people killed by whites – a demographic in the FBI report that includes those of Hispanic descent – surged by nearly a quarter in 2015 from the year before, as the number of whites killed by blacks jumped 12 percent. Together, such interracial killings increased about 13 percent from 2014.
The picture, however, is hugely complicated – though that hasn’t mattered at a time when the topic of race and crime has played an outsized role in national politics.
Violent crime overall remained near 30-year lows last year, even as Americans’ concern about crime hit a 15-year high in March, and 7 in 10 Americans last year said crime was rising. Unrest ignited by fatal police shootings in Charlotte, North Carolina; Cleveland; and Ferguson, Missouri, have fueled fears that the Bronx could soon be burning. Yet rebutting Black Lives Matter is the common refrain: “What about black-on-black crime?”
Homicides have been on the rise since the start of 2015, but that increase has largely been driven by street violence in Chicago, Baltimore and the nation’s capital. Still, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has effectively played on Americans’ perception of crime – itself buttressed by daily crime coverage in the news – declaring that blacks were responsible for 81 percent of the killings of white Americans, that “African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they’ve ever been in before,” and that “inner-city crime is reaching record levels.“
All three claims earned “Pants on Fire” ratings from PolitiFact.
Contributing factors included the rapid growth of the internet (a big factor allowing like-minded people to find each other) and radical-movement literature written to inspire acts of violence.
Most surprising was how the language and rhetoric of multiculturalism and identity politics furnished the intellectual underpinnings for young whites to think in terms of white identity and white consciousness.
Salient to these young whites was the perceived unfairness of racial double standards that permeated campus life, where constant reminders of their privilege were hammered into them. In such an environment, white anger and grievance have grown.
Political correctness run amok, and for what ultimate worthy purpose? America’s failure and reluctance to reform immigration – accompanied by the intolerance and marginalization of anyone who demands enforcement of the laws – creates a situation where some Americans are poised to strike out against perceived enemies.
White Americans face a new reality that generates fear and anxiety. Echoes of this can be seen in the El Paso shooter’s manifesto.
Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have documented rising mortality rates among whites and early deaths of whites from preventable causes such as drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. Deaths of despair is the language Case and Deaton adopted. Despair comes from a sense of hopelessness.
The mainstream media and leftist politicians are focused on white supremacists and white nationalism. It is an obsession, yet a ploy. Meanwhile, they ignore acts of violence committed by racial minorities, so nothing is done to solve or even acknowledge the problem.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Cruz the agency is “absolutely concerned about violence committed on behalf of any ideology.” But “the key there,” said Wray, is that “the FBI doesn’t investigate ideology, we investigate violent criminal activity.”
Wray continued, essentially telling Cruz that you can’t just criminally investigate anyone associated with an ideological movement because a few proponents of that ideology have done bad things. The FBI definitely “considers Antifa more of an ideology than an organization,” Wray said.
Democrats in Washington exploit tragedies and engage in name-calling, without addressing the core problems that have nurtured racial hatred and mistrust not confined to one group of Americans.
If our leaders want to improve conditions in America, then they must begin to listen to the voices of the people and not use the suffering of any one group – and that includes working-class whites – as a means to score political points.
If we want to end violence and create a great society, we must give each other permission to speak.
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