“It Can Happen Here- White Power and the Rising Threat of Genocide in the US”
by Alexander Laban Hinton
(From the Amazon review) “A renowned expert on genocide argues that there is a real risk of violent atrocities happening in the United States.
If many people were shocked by Donald Trump’s 2016 election, many more were stunned when, months later, white supremacists took to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Blood and Soil” and “Jews will not replace us!” Like Trump, the Charlottesville marchers were dismissed as aberrations―crazed extremists who did not represent the real US. It Can Happen Here demonstrates that, rather than being exceptional, such white power extremism and the violent atrocities linked to it are a part of American history. And, alarmingly, they remain a very real threat to the US today.
Alexander Hinton explains how murky politics, structural racism, the promotion of American exceptionalism, and a belief that the US has have achieved a color-blind society have diverted attention from the deep roots of white supremacist violence in the US’s brutal past. Drawing on his years of research and teaching on mass violence, Hinton details the warning signs of impending genocide and atrocity crimes, the tools used by ideologues to fan the flames of hate, and the shocking ways in which “us” versus “them” violence is supported by inherently racist institutions and policies.
It Can Happen Here is an essential new assessment of the dangers of contemporary white power extremism in the United States. While revealing the threat of genocide and atrocity crimes that loom over the country, Hinton offers actions we can take to prevent it from happening, illuminating a hopeful path forward for a nation in crisis.”
Resume of Alex Hinton
Rutgers University
Review “It Can Happen Here”
Dr Sabah Carrim, London School of Economics Review of Books, , Aug 2021
“In It Can Happen Here: White Power and the Rising Threat of Genocide in the US, Alexander Laban Hinton challenges the myth of exceptionalism that has led many to believe that genocide cannot happen in America, exploring contemporary white power extremism in the US. This nuanced and noble account encourages readers to carefully and critically attend to the longer histories and structures within which racism, hate and white supremacy are embedded, writes Sabah Carrim.” Review continues…
We can’t promise we’ve read EVERY book that falls in our Book Spotlight, but we’ve at least checked them out and tried to make sure they seemed worthwhile. Two good ones this year were “The Open Society and Its Enemies” by Karl Popper and “Underwater” by Ryan Dezember. And take a look at our Lobby Library next time you’re in… many of the Spotlight books are on our shelves. Check one out!
