Hate, Inc.
By Mowahid Hussain Shah

Hate is the takeaway impression from the first month of the new White House Administration. Hate against the “other”.
Demagoguery through the ages has found it expedient to drum up hate. It’s simple; it’s easy; it’s uncomplicated; it’s safe; and it’s profitable. It is essentially the bully targeting the vulnerable under the assumption and the comfort level that the target cannot or will not make a proportionate response. From the bully point of view, it is safe to hit those who cannot retaliate.
Preachers of hate know the value of stereotyping and scapegoating. They also know how manipulable the general public is, irrespective of where they are and how formally educated they may be. Sometimes, the educated have more tools in their toolbox to weaponize hate through disinformation.
The latest report of the Southern Poverty Law Center, “The Year in Hate and Extremism”, furnishes substantial evidence. US-based hate groups, their numbers already at “near-historic highs”, still “undoubtedly understate the real level of organized hatred in America” due to the proliferation of right-wing extremists operating on the Internet. The report highlights the “dramatic” and “enormous leap” in the number of anti-Muslim hate groups over the past two years. The Center also reported on the right-wing Patriot movement, which has adopted “violent animus toward Muslims” as a key component of its beliefs. According to the New York Times of February 16, the FBI reported a 67 percent increase for 2015 in anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The not-too-distant past has resurfaced. The precedence of FDR incarcerating full-fledged American citizenry lifts the veil on the dark underbelly of US history. On May 9, 1942, President Roosevelt issued an executive order to round up and imprison in camps about 120,000 people – men, women, and children – of Japanese descent, mainly US citizens. Marking the 75th anniversary of the order, the original document has just gone on display in Los Angeles.
According to ABC-TV of February 19, immigrants and families are now fleeing the US on foot to cross the northern border for Canada, with uncertainty fueling fear.
America today is not a fundamentally white Christian society, despite delusional flailing attempts to roll back the past. The pressing momentum of demography prevents that. On February 16, nationwide in the US, many restaurants – including many McDonalds – shut down as a gesture of solidarity against the targeting of immigrants, ironically, in a nation of immigrants. According to ABC News, there are an estimated 30 million immigrant workers in America, paying over $300 billion in taxes each year. Added to this are a huge number of undocumented workers, who hold about one-third of service jobs, like cab drivers, domestic helpers, and hotel workers, according to the Pew Research Center.
Past precedent verifies that flames lit by hatred turn self-consuming. Hate exists everywhere. But when it is institutionalized and legitimized by officialdom, it sets the stage for an accelerated decline. The entrenchment of Hate, Inc. makes shallow the claims of being special and exceptional.
Pontificating about values is easy. Having those tested through the crucible of fire is another matter. Looming ahead is the fight between meanness and fairness.