Pogroms, American Style(paulkrugman.substack.com) |
Pogroms, American Style(paulkrugman.substack.com) |
not that everyone (or even most people) believe what they're feeling is hatred. maybe you call it "deserved justice," or "an eye for an eye" or "harsh but necessary."
but if you feel Schadenfreude - catharsis or pleasure from someone's suffering - then you're feeling hatred.
as a trans woman, I (and my people) are often on the receiving end of this. to be clear, I'm not saying that any opposition to trans rights is borne of hatred, any more than any support of border enforcement is hatred. but if you feel that catharsis at the anguish of a group you oppose, be honest with yourself: why?
Doesn't anyone remember how Trump 2 happened? Refocusing on identity issues instead of class/wealth inequality issues is how we are going to get Trump 3.
As a cis man, I'll say that it likely is borne of hatred, but more so, as a tool to rile the masses to be angry enough to vote for whoever feeds that hate.
The only good thing I can say about transphobia is that it's a sign that homophobia has pretty much run its course as a political wedge issue.
The problem is the discussion is done purely on emotional terms (e.g., "bad people come in and hurt good people") vs what are the benefits and what are the costs and how do they add up?
Also, how do we have a system that ensure that the process is optimized to maximize the benefit and minimize the cost?
CBP/HSI is currently driven by a quota system, to my knowledge. quotas incentivize going after the most law-abiding people because they're safer and easier to nab.
a lot could be gained simply by rewarding ICE agents based on how dangerous the people they apprehend are, rather than measuring headcount.
And for those who had family arrive much earlier (such as myself), the criteria for entry was incredibly lax. My mother's side came in the early 1900's so was subject to the 1906 Naturalization Act which basically said "you have to speak english and tell us about family members". My father's side was here early enough to basically just be here long enough and then it's a done deal.
As the OP states, these pogroms are rooted in racism and otherism, and the cruelty is the point. We can do better than that.
And yet ... like a lot of things humans claim to believe in ... some Jews (and others who claim to believe in "never again") not only ignore "never again" ... they're at the forefront of pushing for these policies!
And if you ask some of them about the contradiction, it comes out that (to them) the phrase only means "never again ... to Jews". Doing to other people what the Nazis (and Russians, and all sorts of other groups throughout history) have done to the Jews is ok ... as long as "someone who isn't like me" is the victim.
Blaming Jews for everything is so 1930s.
1. That sweet, sweet AIPAC money (but that's a "both sides" issue)
2. Enabling the apocalypse that they crave
https://www.trackaipac.com/candidates
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk