Why We Hate

Rating:
Summary: I Learned A Few Things
Review: I picked up this book believing it would be a look inside the human mind - sort of an inside-out look at why people HATE other people. What I found was the exact opposite - a look at how messed up society (around the globe) and answers that lack the deep investigation necessary to offer real solutions.

That said, there are parts of this book that I did find useful. "Why We Hate" makes it clear that America is actually doing quite well compared to the rest of the globe. We definitely have our fair share of hate crimes and such, but compared to Northern Ireland, Rwanda, etc., we look pretty good. We hear too often about how America is the worst country at understanding ethnic diversity and multicultural issues. This book clearly points out that HATE is a huge problem worldwide. In that respect, this nonfiction book is worth the cost.

"Why We Hate" discusses pluralists vs. assimilationists (my spell check says that isn't even a word) points of view. Towards the end of the book solutuions are discussed, but in many instances the authors of this book seem to have a slight left-leaning bias. There constant criticism against patriotism and national pride can be annoying at times. I was especially disturbed by the last chapter: Flag-waving and Attitudes Toward Arab Americans. The authors try an portray Americans who wave the flag as Arab-hating-redneck-morons. But who is really the moron? The person who believes we should strip search an eighty-year-old Caucasian woman but thinks people of Arab descent should be given a pass because we shouldn't profile, or the person who knows profiling just makes COMMON SENSE?

I wasn't surprised to learn the authors are from Northeastern University. The liberal slant is not so bad that this book is unreadable. In fact, I really enjoyed a great deal of what I read in this work. I learned a lot of new information and was amazed at how many conflicts have taken place around the globe.


Even with the slight liberal slant in this book, I would suggest people read this book. I think the best way to avoid repeating mistakes of the past is to study them, understand the situations that got out of hand, and work to keep history from repeating itself.

Writing a book is NOT easy, and I understand the authors worked hard to finish this nonfiction book. But I wish that they could have eliminated some of the elitist-east-coast-attitude that makes them point out the Willy Horton ad while ignoring the ads that Ronald Reagan's opponent ran in his campaigning for governor in 1966. That ad campaign made the Willy Horton ad look like a commercial for baby-wipes! Pat Brown even told school children that it was an actor who killed LINCOLN!

I recommend you check the book out at the library. Save you hard earned "In God We Trust" money. :-)

See ya next review!

Rating:
Summary: This is a 5 star book
Review: Written in the painful aftermath of the September 11 Attack on America, Why We Hate reminds all of us that anyone can become an innocent victim of hate. Hate cuts across cultural, racial, gender, national boundaries.
In the first chapter, the book's authors give an excellent overview of the changing meaning of the term "hate" since the 1980s. In its common usage, the term has shifted from its original meaning "an intense dislike" and has instead come to be associated with hostile feelings toward the members of some group of people based on race, religious identity, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability status. Due to this transformation of meaning, hate has become a useful way to interpret criminal acts in which the underlying motive involves hostile or biased behavior such as racism, sexism or xenophobia.
Levin and Rabrenovic explore how prejudice and stereotype fueled by hatred can spur inter-group conflict. The two sociologists attempt to explain why hostile sentiments emerge between groups and the circumstances under which this hostility leads to violence. Simple but fundamental questions as to whether human beings born with a propensity for hate and violence are examined scientifically. The authors conclude that hating "the other" is learned behavior rooted in the environment, in psychological factors, and in the socio-economic characteristics of society. As it is highlighted clearly in the book hate also pays off in many ways for those who use it: Thus, "violence has benefits - psychological, social, and economic -for those who embrace hostile and vicious attitudes toward those who are considered different."
Why We Hate provides us with a myriad of examples of the expression of hate from around the world--from the streets of Jerusalem through the long-term religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland to the stereotype-based racial offenses in the United States. Such examples are of invaluable importance for understanding the mundane character of hate violence as it differs sharply from depictions in movies or television series. The authors demystify hate violence tremendously and then offer undeniable evidence that "ordinary people" frequently play a major role in the most horrendous acts of hate violence under specific conditions. The deportation of Jews, Roma, Slavs, homosexuals, and mentally deficient people during the Second World War or the massacre in Bosnia a decade ago suggest strongly that seemingly harmless or trivial acts like hate speech, political propaganda, and pervasive stereotypes may over time escalate into large scale ethnic violence. Besides exploring the large variety of factors that cause conflict, the book also sheds light on the growing levels of impersonality and indifference as one of the precipitants of hate in our modern society. The authors discuss the role of the mass media in forming the basis of a hostile mindset in future generations of citizens and argue that the producers of popular culture have a major responsibility for filtering out hateful imagery.
The book does not leave the reader without some important resolutions. Just as all of us may be harmed by hate, we ordinary people hold also the key to provide effective solutions. Real collaboration on the community level, peaceful civic efforts, women's organizations, cultural tolerance, and more democratic leadership are only a few examples recommended by Levin and Rabrenovic concerning how to combat hate violence in our social environment.
The book provides an excellent overview for college students and intelligent laypeople, but will also be useful for scholars interested in learning about recent developments in the scientific inquiry into the roots of hate and violence.