Hostility in America Part 2

Hostility in America Part 2

 Despite the number of hate crimes on the decrease since  the early 1990’s, hate crimes in the nation’s 10 largest cities increased by 12%, reaching the highest level in more than a decade, reported by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism . Brian Levin, the director stated “Crimes motivated by race or ethnicity bias are consistently the most common type of reported hate crime, and African-Americans are the most targeted group, representing 23% of all hate crimes reported in major cities to us in 2017. Jews are consistently the most targeted religious group, and represented 90% of all the crimes reported in major cities in 2017.” He added that “there’s a massive underreporting of crimes in certain communities like transgender, disabled, homeless, immigrant and Muslim groups, who tend to feel maligned by negative public stereotypes, but simultaneously fearful of repercussions from reporting crimes to the police.” Further, “There is also underreporting by law enforcement agencies that choose not to supply data for those FBI statistics, or report, no hate crimes in their jurisdictions.”  This is troubling and unconscionable.

The above indicators are symptoms of widespread irrational, discriminatory, destructive and hateful behavior directed toward self and others. The data demonstrates the severity of the dysfunction in our society.  Why aren’t the politicians or media addressing this epidemic?

Now, let’s take a brief look at two ideas pertaining to the nature or dynamics of Homo sapiens regarding behavior in terms of anger and the expression of aggression. First, is that Homo sapiens have a death instinct which drives destructive, hostile and aggressive impulses. This instinct, or drive is directed mainly towards others.  Aggression has been described as fighting; attacking injuring or killing another; and as revenge or punishing another. This drive coupled with a narcissism character trait can be a deadly combination. With extreme narcissism, it’s a state in which only the person himself, his body, his needs, his feelings, his  thoughts, his property and everybody pertaining to him are experienced as  fully real . On the other hand, everybody and everything that is not part of the person or is not an object of his needs, is not interesting, and not fully real. For the narcissist, only   what pertains to him has significance. Unfortunately, the rest of the world is perceived as warrantless or as weakness. This character style results with severe defects in rational judgment and the impairment of objectivity.  As a consequence, the narcissist has little difficulty exhibiting and directing aggression or sadism towards another. Remember, hate is  an intense or passionate dislike for someone else. Thus, hate along with violent acting out behavior is on the rise. Outrage is where?

To Be Continued