“This kind of hatred has no place in our state and those responsible do not share Georgian values. We will always condemn acts of anti-Semitism.” – Governor Kemp
The Sandy Springs and Dunwoody neighborhoods have large Jewish populations. On a weekend in January, residents discovered that disgusting anti-Semitic leaflets had been thrown in their driveways. Governor Kemp’s response was appropriate. Hatred has no place in our state and our nation.
But that wasn’t the only place these hate-filled pamphlets have appeared. Similar leaflets were dropped in residents’ driveways in numerous subdistricts of Newnan, Coweta County. They were reportedly taken there by a hate group called the Goyim Defense League (https://times-herald.com/news/2023/02/why-we-must-act-to-stop-anti-semitism). .
Bigotry is having a big day, not just in our state but nationwide. Hate groups are springing up everywhere (https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map). There are 24 such organizations here in Georgia as listed on the website. Most are white nationalists, although several black groups are listed.
Former President Trump was brought into office by misguided people driven by “white grievance”. They mistakenly believe that whites are somehow discriminated against. You are not. Trump has led to an increase in bigotry, but other underlying factors are also noteworthy.
Hatred and extremism are nothing new in the United States. Given the history of slavery, they’ve been here since the beginning of our republic. The Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted immigration to whites. Even after the Civil War, Jim Crow laws in the South prevented black Americans from voting. It wasn’t until LBJ pushed reforms through Congress that African Americans achieved true integration…and the racial situation in America today is far from perfect.
The US has a long history of racism, but we were moving in the right direction in the second half of the 20th century. Since the Trump era, however, hatred has grown and normalized.
Demonstrators protesting the violent, wrongful death of George Floyd were gassed and removed from the St. John’s Church area so President Trump could have a photo opportunity with an upside-down Bible in hand. But violent right-wing insurgents trying to overturn the 2020 election have been treated with kid gloves by law enforcement.
In an unprecedented miscarriage of justice, vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of murder charges for killing two Black Lives Matter protesters and injuring another in 2020. Rittenhouse is a white teenager who came to Kenosha, WI from Antioch, Il to patrol areas where protesters had gathered to investigate the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was arrested by police in his car in the was shot in the back and left paralyzed.
As noted by the SPLC, 90% of people murdered by extremist groups in 2019 were victims of right-wing, not left-wing groups. However, Trump’s response to the right-wing violence in May 2020 was to declare the left-wing “ANTIFA a terrorist organization”. Antifa is short for anti-fascist, which is what all Americans should ideally be gifted with WWII.
In more recent news, the House Committee on the 1-6-21 Insurrection was gathering information on how the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, right-wing nationalist groups allied with fanatics, planned the insurrection in our capital. They did so with “the President’s encouragement,” according to committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson.
Antisemitism is also on the rise (https://www.vox.com/culture/23519717/antisemitism-hatred-jews-violence). In 2021, anti-Semitic incidents (assaults, harassment, vandalism) hit an all-time high of 2,717, a 34% increase from 2020. So did attacks on Asian Americans (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a -year-after-atlanta-and-indianapolis-shootings-targeting-asian-americans-activists-say-we-cant-in-momentum).
Bigotry spreads like a runaway weed. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable web of reciprocity, tied to a single robe of destiny. What affects one directly affects everyone indirectly.” He was right.
The only way to root out bigotry is to step on the plate. We all have to face the bigots. Let them know they are factually and morally wrong. Don’t just sit back and let them spit hate.
Jack Bernard was Georgia’s first director of health care planning and went on to hold executive positions at several health care companies. Jack is a local activist who previously served on the Jasper County Board of Commissioners and Board of Health. He is now the chair of the Fayette County Board of Health.
