In the 10-29 New Yorker, Janet Malcolm reflects upon her personal history. Malcolm is of Czech origin immigrating to the United States on the eve of World War 2.
She writes, “After the Nazis marched into Prague, in 1939, it no longer mattered what kind of Jew you were, whether you spoke Czech or German, lit Hanukkah candles, or, as we did, ate carp soup on Christmas Eve. ALL JEWS WERE VERMIN TO BE EXTERMINATED..Anti-Semitism was a fixture of the Czech state, as it was of every other European state.”
On Oct 21, a misanthrope killed eleven Jewish worshipers in the Tree of Life Synagogue. He found comfort and support within the on-line social network GAB. Richard Spencer, a part time Whitefish white supremacist and provocateur is a member of GAB. What should you do if you hear of a GAB entry that is disturbing, to the level of yelling fire in a crowded movie theater? I suggest you act by informing law enforcement. I suggest that you do not assume someone else will do so.
Do you know about Red Flag laws? A Red Flag law allows law enforcement to react to a very dangerous posting; along with other pieces of evidence. As radical as the following reads, the following might be a Red Flag law; law enforcement upon an order from a court may remove weapons from an individual displaying EXTREME anti-social behavior. It might include suicidal tendencies or violence that likely will be acted upon. The removal of weapons is temporary. A court appearance follows and a judge determines the threat and appropriate actions. It seems to work in Indiana of all places. Before we became so, so polarized, the NRA gave a pass to the near unanimous passage of the law by the Republican legislature of Indiana. Maybe not appropriate for Montana? Don’t know. I do know that minus the hyperbole and partisanship, lawmakers must react to extreme acts of injustice. A killing in a house of worship is an assault on civilization and our constitutional rights.
Anti-Semitism is back with vengeance with recorded incidents off the charts. Based on lies, conspiratorial theories and social media as an outlet for such extreme anti social behavior, we are revisiting the polluted mind-set of Europe in 1939.
Political leaders must exhibit behavior that does not foster or give permission for such anti-social behavior. Political leaders must offer answers through state and federal laws. In doing so, they offer lasting comfort to the threatened and bereaved.