In an essay published on LinkedIn on November 14, 2015,
Harvard Professor Cass Sunstein wrote an essay titled, “Why They Hate Us.”
Sunstein posits that terrorists are made, not born…and on that one point we
agree. However, Sunstein goes on to say that terrorist organizations are born
of the proclivity of like-minded people to come together in such groups. He
believes that the group-think that occurs in these types of organizations
pushes members toward a more radical and violent posture.
At first blush, his thoughts appear to be logical. But if we
choose to dig a little deeper, we find that Sunstein has it backward. The fact
is that acts of intolerance, prejudice, hatred, bigotry, cruelty, criminality,
social and economic injustice, and other societal offenses endured by members
of the group crystalize to a point that it appears the only solution is
revolution. By sharing their individual struggles with societal ills, these
individuals develop a collective resolve to make a change, even if that change
requires violence or self-sacrifice.
This sense is heightened when those in power trivialize
their complaints, protect and make excuses for perpetrators of acts perceived
as offensive or unlawful by the group, refuse to provide due process to members
of the group, and when the group itself is denigrated, ostracized, pursued and
criminalized.
It is primarily the Willie Lynch theory, whereby open
communication among oppressed people is prohibited to reduce the possibility of
rebellion. In the not-to-distant past, it was illegal for groups of blacks to
gather. The slave master knew that it was easier to manage slaves individually
than collectively.
Right now on our own shores, “Black Lives Matter” is being
treated thusly. Many in the media are demonizing the group and blaming them for
social unrest in cities across the country. It would appear, from media
coverage, that problems in our inner cities between Blacks and police are a
result of folks in BLM stirring people up.
The fact of the matter is BLM is stirring the pot, but the
ingredients are provided by a society that does not value Black Americans and
other people of color. It is
automatically assumed that if a police officer pulled his or her gun, it was
justified…that if an officer takes a shot, it is because he or she has no
choice, if an officer tases a suspect, it was because he or she was in
danger…and this, in the face of eyewitness accounts and video that testify
otherwise. It is assumed that, if a
suspect has a criminal past, he or she is guilty of whatever the accusation, or
that they somehow deserved whatever they got, even if the trespass for which
they are gunned down turns out to be without merit.
It is this discrediting of worth, this indifference to
humanity that strikes at the heart and soul of each Black person in America. How
can a society support the shooting of a young boy playing in the park with a
toy gun, the assassination of a man in handcuffs, or the choking of a man selling
loose cigarettes on a street corner? How
can no one be accountable for such miscarriages of justice? How can the victim
become the one that is demonized?
As we look to the East to truly understand why they hate us,
we must accept responsibility for our actions. True…terrorists are not born
that way. It is our acts of indifference, prejudice, hatred and imperialism that
provide fertile ground for the growth of unrest, dissatisfaction, and the
desire to find someone…anyone who will listen to the horrors that have been
witnessed; from the injustice that has been inflicted and the crimes that have
been committed against marginalized people at home and abroad.
It is these acts that nurture hate and resentment, not the
conversations of those who have been pushed to those extremes.
________Note: This essay in no way implies that terrorism is an acceptable method of creating social change. It is simply an observation that we as a society carry some responsibility in the creation of social unrest and the growth of terrorist organizations by both our action and our inaction.
