Fear: a chemical reaction acting as a psychological motivator that persistently shapes both our conscious and unconscious decisions. It is no question that fear is a heavily integrated part of our everyday thought process. However, the question of solely basing a political campaign on scare tactics and fear mongering being as ineffective as it is reactionary is of both historic and modern relevance.
To quote George Santayana, “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” Therefore, in order to avoid chaos in any society, individuals must remain retrospective to avoid methods seen in the past proven to be ineffective. When it comes to politics, unfortunately, many prominent figures have neglected this moral lesson. Fear mongering is a threatening tactic that has often led to a calamitous outcome; yet in a time of such tense political climate, a certain primary candidate relies on such tactics to gain support.
As the 2016 U.S. election quickly approaches its inevitable end, there has been a multitude of preposterous moments plaguing news headlines to reflect upon; many of which showcasing the dangerous generalizations spurred on by such detrimental fear mongering tactics.
Donald Trump’s campaign strategies are the epitome of ruthless and senseless fear mongering. Throughout the duration of the election, he has said that all Muslims should be banned from immigrating to the United States (since according to him, the majority of Muslim immigrants are in cohorts with ISIS rather than being the primary victims of the terror group) and that the majority of Mexican immigrants in the United States are rapists and serial killers.
By meticulously generalizing these groups of people, and playing on the typical American citizen’s fear of terrorism and job loss, Trump utilizes such scare tactics to deter from dealing with the actual root of such problems. Yet, one might ask, what comes from it? These are “just words” … right?
At this point, it is no longer news that Trump attributes his political gains to the belittling of others. Something not commonly addressed, however, is the horrendous impact it leaves on the daily lives of the targeted minorities. Fear mongering might seem bombastic in nature, but its execution leaves dire consequences for those it targets.
A report from Georgetown University on increased hate crimes toward Muslim Americans due to the Islamophobia in Trump’s campaign has found that in 2015, American Muslims were six to nine times more likely to suffer attacks than from the pre-9/11 era, with 174 reported incidents of anti-Muslim hate crimes in that year alone. In September 2015, when the Syrian refugee crisis was a newly discussed topic amongst presidential candidates, Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric helped directly fuel 10 reported incidents targeted at Muslims as quickly as within the same month.
Some supporters have also claimed to be inspired by Trump’s blatantly racist Mexican immigration plans while executing violent acts. Scott and Steve Leader from Boston, Massachusetts, were arrested for brutally beating a Hispanic man while saying, “Donald Trump was right. All these illegals need to be deported.” That, along with other attacks on Hispanics and African Americans inspired by Trump’s outwardly racist comments demonstrate how such scare tactics lead to menacing stereotypes of innocent people, thus causing a spike in hate crimes.
Trump has even been recorded at rallies saying “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them… I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.” Unsurprisingly, condoning violence often results in sickening amounts of brutality. On January 24, 2016, at a Trump rally in Iowa, a Sikh protester was shoved out of the rally as Trump mocked his turban. Black Lives Matter protesters have also been attacked, Nazi slogans have been recited, and immigration activists have all been tackled at Trump rallies.
The most saddening aspect of seeing such horrific tactics being used for political gain in today’s world is that history has provided countless examples of fear mongering leading to abuse of power and societal turmoil.
Throughout history, we have seen fear mongering tactics lead to the wrongful accusation of innocent citizens of being communists during the late 1940s and early 1950s. We have seen the violation of the civil liberties of Japanese-Americans in the late 1940s when innocent individuals were forced into internment camps. We have seen innocent Jewish people being blamed for the economic downfall in Germany, leading to events as barbaric and inhumane as the Holocaust, and even the refusal of Jewish refugees into the United States.
We are now seeing ignorant statements that “abortion is murder” and “women should be punished for receiving abortions.” We are now seeing arguments that implementing further gun control is somehow a plan to menacingly steal everyone’s guns rather than to minimize gun violence (since the United States has the most gun related deaths per capita than any other industrialized nation). We are now seeing, yet again, fear blind common sense and logic. And we are not doing anything about it.
A foundation of any sort, especially in politics, should not derive from hatred. Contrary to Mr. Trump’s beliefs, these are not “just words.” When given a platform to enact social change and strive for a cause, the goal should be to remain progressive rather than lump people into groups in which to put the blame on— just because it’s easier than actually solving a problem.
It should not come as a surprise that words have consequences. Fear mongering remains an all too familiar, all too disastrous foe. However easy it is to remain susceptible to such cheap tricks, action must be taken in order to avoid buying into such regressive motives.
