February 14
GUEST: Arjun Singh Sethi, Sikh American civil and political rights writer, human rights lawyer, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, talks about his newly published book, American Hate: Survivors Speak Out.Arjun Singh Sethi discusses his book
Arjun Sethi has selected some fascinating stores of racial, ethnic, and gender hatred in America. Why is it that some people feel impelled to make others suffer? It is such mindless cruelty, whether the victims are Jewish, Sikh, African American, Southeast Asian, or gay.
We talked about Trump being only the most recent politician who has come to power by spreading hate. We know how fascists have always achieved control, by victimizing the less powerful and different. Trump gives other haters in society the permission they need, and the result is an upsurgance in violent acts committed.
Perhaps the "melting pot" approached has not worked very well for us. In a society that is so diverse, there will always be immoral people willing to profit from hate. Arjun Sethi shows us one way to resist, and all the stories he offers have this redeeming feature. The victims all fight back in some way, and are able to achieve some satisfaction from doing so.
What if all the oppressed groups in the U.S. joined forces and really fought back? It must be a troubling thought to our white, male troglodyte in the White House. No wonder he obsesses about building a wall.
