By snoadmin
Dr. Brian Levin, director of the Center for Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, spoke about combating hate speech and anti-Semitism Tuesday night at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach.
Levin discussed the history of hate speech and the damaging effects that it has had in America.
“The words ‘hate crime’ first emerged in the mid 1980s,” he said. “Los Angeles County was the first county to keep a record of anti-Semitism and hate crimes.”
Levin also discussed the idea of tolerance in a society that has an increasing fear of the Muslim community. He said that “Islamophobia,” an extreme fear of Muslims, has its roots in an unnecessary bigotry that is largely due to memories of 9/11 and its ensuing aftermath.
“This is an important topic to address because of the increase in hate speech in America,” said Cal State Long Beach Jewish Studies Professor Jeff Blutinger, who helped plan the event.
Levin’s biggest desire is to make known the importance of a continual enforcement of the First Amendment, he said.
“Criticism is important with these to show that their contentions are undermined by faulty facts,” Levin said.
He said that there is a responsibility on behalf of the speaker to provide factual evidence as a way to account for their First Amendment rights. It is for this reason he expressed an unfavorable stand toward the ideas of CSULB Professor Kevin MacDonald’s statements of “bigotry.” Levin accuses MacDonald of making ignorant claims about the Holocaust and hateful anti-Semitic remarks. Levin said that President F. King Alexander should have condemned those actions sooner than he did.
Levin wanted to make clear that he was not personally attacking Professor MacDonald, but rather disputing his arguments.
“There is a difference between criticizing policies and [criticizing] people,” he said.
It is Levin’s personal belief that the most important thing is to be educated and discerning when listening to the reports of those who are exercising their First Amendment rights. Throughout the evening, he made it abundantly clear that “free speech is a right but bigotry is unacceptable.”
Not only was Levin well versed in his field, but he also had a distinct passion for sharing the importance of acceptance among all racial groups. He said, if this problem is not repaired, “it will create societies that will rot from within.”
He continues fighting to combat the problem of hate speech and anti-Semitism in America by working with the Center for Hate Extremism.
Levin said, “If this [hate] problem is not repaired it will create societies that will rot from within.”
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