Why is there such a violent backlash towards Jewish people in hate groups? The main reason is because of the stereotypes which are applied to Jewish people. Jewish people are resented by some people but are also resentfully envied by those same people. There are four dimensions on which a group of people are stereotyped. The first is warmth. Positive warmth is defined as being "good-natured, sincere and trustworthy". Negative warmth is the opposite. The other dimension is competence. This can be described as ambitious, intelligent and skillful. The opposite is incompetence. Of course not everyone in a group would not fit their group's stereotype but to hate groups it matters not. These four dimensions don't seem to be determined by a groups values but rather their position in society. People assume that groups who are economically secure and successful are competent and groups who aren't are incompetent. Just as well, groups who are viewed as competitors for resources and status are viewed as cold and allies are thought of as warm. Groups like Christians are stereotyped as warm and competent and are treated as such. Groups like the homeless and drug addicts are cold and incompetent. They are treated with disgust and are shunned from society but meet no violence because they aren't thought of as a threat due to their incompetence. Groups like the elderly, who are thought to be warm but incompetent receive compassion but are neglected as well. They are treated as inferior humans because of their perceived incompetence. Socioeconomic successful minorities however such as Jewish people and Asian-Americans are considered to be competent but cold. This leads some to be envious and resent them for their success and "cold" nature. However in times of peace and good economy many feelings of resentment for these successful minorities are hidden. But as soon as something goes awry as we've seen on multiple occasions, the high-status minorities are often the scapegoat. During World War II we saw that the Jewish race were blamed entirely for the economic downfall of Germany. They were said to have done this for their own financial benefit. The people of Germany were so convinced that the blame was solely on the Jewish, that they believed if they removed all of them the problems would be solved. They were portrayed as manipulative, competitors who cold pose a serious threat to the common folk. To this day there is still a belief that the world’s most powerful people are Jewish and anonymously hold meetings to decide the world’s fate. This is why many hate groups claim that their attacks against Jewish people and various other high-status minorities is self defense. They believe that the Jewish people are the architects of the hardships they are facing and by taking them out it will solve their problems. In times of peace high-status minorities are colleges but as soon as there is insecurity they become enemies. This is due to the unfortunate and untrue stereotype that Jewish people are "cold and competent".
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