Scripted Violence, Conspiracy Theories and Concerns

It has been several weeks since Robert Bowers entered the Tree of Life synagogue in his hateful, rage-filled attack against Jews. This week, I had the opportunity to interview Chip Berlet, an investigative journalist, research analyst and scholar of right-wing movements. I had been wanting to interview him so he could explain the concept of scripted violence. This seems to be exactly what took place with Bowers. He had been influenced to hate and fear Jewish people to the point that he acted out and committed a terrorist act. I also wanted to ask Chip about the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, a Russian propaganda tool used to stir up hatred of the Jews around the world, including the United States. He reminded me that carmaker Henry Ford was the main proponent of spreading this Russian propaganda as a bonafide conspiracy theory in the U.S. Chip also talked about other conspiracy theories such as the Obama birther, that autism is caused by vaccinations, that there was no lunar landing and others.