The Culture of Hate

Culture is defined as “a set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, communicated from one generation to the next via language or some other means of communications” (Tanaka-Matsumi, 2001, p. 267). Hate is a four-letter word, a four-letter word that means the same thing across the globe. In every culture, you will find hate against one thing or another. There are in-groups and out-groups, the in-groups are accepted, while the out-groups are targeted for attack (Glaeser & Sunstein, 2008). Hate groups in the United States have risen at epidemic rates throughout the short 21^st century. In the year 2000, there were 602 hate groups operating in the United States (Potok M., 2011); in 2012, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported in the spring of 2012 that there were 1,018 hate groups and 1274 anti-government groups that they claim were formed because of hatred against President Obama because he is Black (Potok M., 2012).

In a nation where culture is supposed to converge and become a melting pot or a salad bar or whatever multi-cultural buzzword is currently being used to describe the American experiment of multiculturalism, Hate is growing increasingly every year. Hate is an attitude and belief that is passed down from generation to generation (Williams, 2007). Understanding the culture of hate can lead to social policy and intervention programs that can combat hate and the epidemic of hate groups. Knowledge of hate and the reasons why people join hate groups is cross-cultural can lead to generic intervention programs that stretch across cultures and peoples across the planet, making a better place for everyone.

Whether the hatred is between Palestinians and Jews, Blacks and Whites, Japanese and Chinese, Chinese and Taiwanese, hate is a cancer that eats the soul of a culture. Culture is defined as a group of people with a common background, religious beliefs, ideology, and behavior (Adamopoulos & Lonner, 2001). Cross-Cultural Psychology is attempted to explain the similarities and differences of thought and behavior using culture as the foundation stone for those behaviors and feelings (Adamopoulos & Lonner, 2001). The first part of this paper will compare and contrast the similarities between White Supremacy and Black Supremacy and the establishment of hate groups in the United States. The second part of this paper will discuss the culture I most identify myself with and how that culture addresses these hate groups. The Jewish people are and have been a target of hate and hate groups for what seems throughout the history of the Jewish people. I need to qualify at this time that not all Whites and all Blacks are hate-filled hate group members that intend to attack the Jewish people, but just a small population of the whole, a subculture within the culture at large. However, a similarity between white and black hate groups is their anti-Semitism.

Hate groups have a reputation for politically being extreme right wing, suggesting that they are an individualistic culture that expects people to pick themselves up (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011). In fact, the exact opposite is the case. The hate groups that I have reviewed believe in taking care of everyone within the in-group (The Knights Party, 2011). The Aryan Circle requires its members to give to other members in need without question and without belittling the individual (Unknown, 1985). The entire White Supremacy movement is a socialist collective culture that puts their race above all others (The Knights Party, 2011).

The United States has had a long history of hatred and discrimination against groups that were not White and Christian. Some of the first laws in Virginia consisted of definitions of who could and could not buy, sell, and trade slaves. Non-Whites were restricted from owning any Christian whose complexion was lighter than their own (Brodkin, 1998). Discrimination has been at the forefront of relations between races since the earliest beginnings of this nation. From the 3/5 clause of the Constitution to the present-day incarceration rate and pay differential, White America has had an advantage in this country (Gaff, 2011).  This white racism, in turn, creates a socio-environmental climate that increases the level of social problems within minority communities because of discrimination in hiring practices and the payment for working (Danzer, 2012).

When minority successes and quotas for employment threaten this status of entitlement found within the white community, this causes fear of losing their status, and these people are likely to unite against this perceived threat (Bonger, 1916). Bonger (1916) theorized that when a culture perceives that it is threatened, that culture will create hostility towards those threats. When a culture or community feels threatened, people in that community will seek to join together with others who believe the same way; this is stage one of the hate group model (Schafer & Navarro, 2003). Once individuals start to gather, they create in-groups with the intent to keep outsiders out of the group (Bonger, 1916). As a group becomes more singular in their attitudes and beliefs, they become more extreme and radicalized in their thoughts and reactions (Glaeser & Sunstein, 2008).

Once the culture of hate has grouped, it becomes time to establish and create the group's symbols, methodologies, rituals, and music, which are designed to enhance the culture while degrading the target of their hate (Schafer & Navarro, 2003). Within the White Supremacy culture, that music is Punk Rock music (Childress, 2004; Smith, 2011; Wade, 2077). Each year 100s of 1,000s of hate-rock albums are produced and spread throughout the country (Wade, 2077). Because kids like music and are seeking to be different from their parents, this type of music is utilized to catch their attention. The medium of music is used to recruit new members and to pass along the message of hate, a message to be proud of one’s culture, race, and heritage at the cost of other groups or populations within society (Wade, 2077).  Smith (2011), states that the easiest way for hate groups to pass on their message of hate is through music. The beat of the music seduces America's youth, and the lyrics form their opinions and beliefs (Smith, 2011). Along with the live music, concerts youth hear from speakers who reinforce the message that has been given by the music (Smith, 2011). As more and more rhetoric is given to the youth about racial pride without any dissent, they become more radicalized and hateful towards those who are different and not in the in-group (Glaeser & Sunstein, 2008; Smith, 2011).

The White Supremacy culture, once radicalized, will move to stage three, where using revisionist history to be able to disparage their target regardless of who that target is (Schafer & Navarro, 2003). Once the culture gets to this state, they do not really care who they target. Smith (2011) reported that hate group members, specifically members of the Straight-Edge Society, that there was no difference between outsiders, whether they were Hippies, Blacks, or Jews. The only concern was that they were different and not in the group.

Hate and Supremacy groups are not restricted to the white race. You can find hate groups of all races and ethnic backgrounds (Anderson, Dyson, & Brooks Jr., 2002). Examples from all races include the Ku Klux Klan, the Hammerskin Skinheads, Neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, the New Black Panther Party, Black Hebrew Israelites, La Raza Unita, and Kahane Chai (Potok M., 2011). All of these groups expect a coming race war where the three primary races in the United States will fight for control of the country (The Knights Party, 2011; Mulloy, 2010; Danzer, 2012).

Researchers have attempted to understand why the Black population in America has produced hate groups as violent and outspoken as their white counterparts, if not even more so (Danzer, 2012; Cowan, Resendez, Marshall, & Quist, 2002). The consensus seems to be that after 400 years of slavery, discrimination, and racist attacks, the Black population of the greater population has had enough because of a condition called Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) (DeGruy, 2009). DeGruy (2009) suggests that because of generations of mistreatment of the Black population by the White population has created a mindset that has low self-esteem and is uncap able of achieving the American Dream and thus attempts to strike back against those they perceive to be “keeping them down.” It could be argued that if the White Supremacy movement could be dismantled, then all racial hate groups would follow suit (DeGruy, 2009).

I most identify with the Jewish culture, not that I was born Jewish or that I was even raised Jewish. I converted to Judaism in 1989 while living in Incirlik, Turkey. There were rumors that my family was forced into converting to the Dutch Orthodox faith. That interest brought me to the local Rabbi; the more I studied Torah, the more I believed that Judaism was the proper way to live life. As I became more welcomed by the Jewish community both on the U.S. Military installation and by the local Jewish Community in Adana, Turkey, I was more convinced that the rumors were right and that I needed to become “Jewish,” regardless of what anybody in my family said or insisted. Being Jewish is more than just a religion; Judaism transcends ethnicity, although there is a stereotypical ethnic description of what a Jew looks like (The Knights Party, 2011). Jews can be of every race, every complexion, every hair color, and texture. I stand 6’3” with light hair and light brown eyes. Looking at me, not many people would think I am Jewish because I do not “fit that mold,” that description we have all been told how Jews appear. Being Jewish is a way of life. It is a lifestyle intended to be an example to the rest of the world (Telushkin, 2004).

The Jewish people have had a long history of being persecuted, enslaved, discriminated against, and being victims of Genocide. The Jewish people continue to hold certain attitudes, values, and beliefs, like education, giving, and helping people in need even when those helped might not appreciate the assistance (Telushkin, 2004). Above all, every Jew has to answer to their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their obedience to His commandments as written in the Torah (Telushkin, 2004).

That is the vision of the Jewish people in an ideal world, knowing that the Jewish people are not all holy, all giving, and some are far from an example to the world. The thought that all Jews believe in God is also a naïve contention. Once, I met a Jewish man who claimed to be an atheist (this story is now a joke I hear all over the place), yet he left work to celebrate Passover. I had asked him, “If you do not believe in God why do you bother with the Passover observing the great miracle God did for the Jewish people?” He responded, “Because I am Jewish” (Paul Reti, personal communication, 2005). Being Jewish, celebrating feasts and holidays, and even the tradition of giving to charity (Telushkin, 2004) does not necessarily require a belief in a creator. However, applying PTSS to the Jewish people, you can see why many Jews do not stand up and fight for themselves, and they let discrimination and prejudice go by the wayside (DeGruy, 2009). In the year 2003, I lived in a small rural West Texas town working for the Federal Prison System. I used to fly an Israeli flag alongside the U.S. flag. The local representative of the KKK told me that I needed to remove the Israeli flag or they would burn my house down. Taking this threat seriously, I went to the Chief of Police, who quickly told me that if I did not like how he ran the town, I could get my “Jew ass out of town.” When I went to talk to my lawyer, he advised me that it was unsafe for a Jew to live south of I-20 and west of I-35 (Evan Pierce-Jones, Personal communication, 2003). This attitude encourages the Jewish people to voluntarily segregate themselves from the rest of society in communities like Boro Park. On the reverse of this attitude, you see Jewish community members fight back against this hate and discrimination by forming their hate groups called the Jewish Defense League and Kahane Chai (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2012).

Robert Merton (1996) developed a theory throughout his lifetime called Social Structure Theory that explores the roles and stresses that are found within each person. Individuals are given and are expected to act a certain way within a culture or family. Role –sets and role relationships govern an individual’s relationship and status within that culture and outside the culture. This role set is guided by six social mechanisms (Merton, 1996).

The first is the relative importance of various statuses (Merton, 1996). Every culture establishes a social structure. This structure sets the place in society a specific role holds. For example, a parent, child, sibling, teacher, and community leader. Each can find themselves in several different positions within the community. A single individual can occupy any abovementioned role and many more as they are part of the greater society (Merton, 1996). For example, this author holds the roles of son, sibling, parent, husband, uncle, nephew, grandparent, professor, mentor, Chairman of the Faculty Senate, and member of professional and social organizations. The second mechanism of social structure is the difference of power between the several roles in the set (Merton, 1996). This mechanism stabilizes the role set by establishing the power and authority of the roles within the set (Merton, 1996). Merton (1996) explains this power and authority as the ability of people in these roles to impose their will and desires over the rest of the people in the culture. The third mechanism of role sets is the insulation of role activities from observability by members of the role set (Merton, 1996). Because people do not spend continuous time with each other within the role-set, higher-status members are insulated from the lower-set members, which allows for conflicts in role expectations (Merton, 1996). A professor is expected to act a certain way when s/he is with the members of their class but can relax and not hold themselves to that standard while at home outside of the view of their role-set. The fourth mechanism is observing conflicting demands by role-set members (Merton, 1996). Within the role-set, there can be conflicts between members, and the culture needs to resolve these conflicts amongst itself. The leader, the status occupant, is often left as a bystander while the group members all work on “getting on the same page” (Merton, 1996). Fifth is the mutual support among status occupants (Merton, 1996). These several sets' status occupants or leaders are not alone in their leadership. Others have been there before, and other leaders lead different sets (Merton, 1996). Lastly, it is abridging the role-set (Merton, 1996). Sometimes there are times when group demands cannot be reconciled, and the group has to be dissolved, creating two different groups (Merton, 1996).

Social and cultural role sets several elements that define the culture, but two are most important. The first is the establishment of culturally linked goals, purposes, and interests that define the objectives of the culture. We have seen this in both the hate groups and within Judaism. Although these goals and objectives are not the same in action, they are the same in structure (Telushkin, 2004; The Knights Party, 2011). The goals and objectives of Judaism are cultural survival through education, hard work, and promoting social justice throughout the world (Telushkin, 2004; Wilkinson, 1994). The goals and objectives of the several racial hate groups also include cultural survival; however, their plan is through violence and an ethnic civil war (The Knights Party, 2011; X, 1964; DeMarche, 2012; McCaul, 2006). Even though white and black ethnic hate groups target each other, both groups within the culture of hate target Jews for their hatred and violence (Wilkinson, 1994). Both of these cultures, Judaism and the culture of hate, believe that their goals, objectives, and desires are worth striving for (Merton, 1996).

The second essential element of social structure defines the rules, regulations, and obligations of the members of the culture to obtain those goals (Merton, 1996). In addition to the mores established by the culture, sanctions are created for those who go against the culture's ideals (Merton, 1996). Glaeser & Sunstein (2008) researched extremism and social learning and found that in-groups are more likely to punish those within the group more severely than those outside of the group for violating the rules of society. In 2006 on December 31, John Michael Hays ordered and participated in the beating and murder of Roland Dickinson, a fellow member of the Aryan Circle White Supremacist Prison Gang (Stafford, 2007). According to John Michael Hays’ courtroom testimony, he explained that Dickinson had to die because he had violated the group's rules and disrespected his leadership and his wife (Personal Communication, in court, 04,29,2007). Violating the cultural mores is treated as an act of treason and betrayal that must be punished by the most severe means (Unknown, 1985). Within Judaism, mores are established through obedience to the Torah, Talmud, and Mishnah (Neusner, 2002). Although punishment was death in ancient times, violations of cultural norms today are met with shame and ridicule (Telushkin, 2004). Jews who fail to follow the basic tenets of Judaism and refuse to promote social justice through the helping professions are somehow deemed less Jewish.

Bias is always a risk when you are conducting research (Creswell, 2009). If the researcher is not careful in analyzing the data they have compiled, they could allow their biases to influence their outcomes and results (Creswell, 2009). In this project, I had two significant risks to keep in check. The first is providing an unsupported positive analysis of the culture I most identify with. Favoring or supporting a cause can affect research, allowing that supportive attitude to reflect in your writing (Creswell, 2009). Because I do identify with the Jewish people, it is difficult not to put on blinders and ignore the negative parts of the culture.

On the contrary, because researchers are aware of their possible favorable bias, they can overcorrect and be unduly harsh on the native culture (Creswell, 2007). Another bias that faces this researcher on this topic is that I am a victim of anti-Semitism. This negative personal experience could cause the same issues as previously discussed, being unduly harsh or overly apologetic based on the inability of the researcher to stay neutral and unbiased in the research. To avoid bias, it is essential to ensure that you keep your own opinion out of the paper and keep to the information and data that has been collected (Creswell, 2009).  Another strategy to fight against bias is to use a team of peers to verify results and conclusions (Creswell, 2009). Personal opinion and supposition must be avoided at all costs in a project like this one because it will slant your results and discredit the research project (Creswell, 2007).

The culture of hate, regardless of the racial or ethnic heritage of the several groups, all focuses on the survival of their larger culture. Although the hate groups represent a small portion of the higher populations, they are a culture in themselves. They evolve through the same seven stages of hate regardless of their race (Schafer & Navarro, 2003). If left unchecked, these stages will develop to the point that they will destroy their target.

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