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CSUSB professor writes on ‘Nothing Blinds Like Success’
Psychology Today
April 26, 2022
The incident involving actor Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards on March 27 was an example of when success has people in leadership roles “go from regular folks to first to worst,” wrote Anthony Silard, CSUSB associate professor of public administration, for his blog, “The Art of Living Free.”
Smith, who slapped Rock after taking offense at a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s saved head, is one of the motion picture industry’s leading producers and actors.
Silard wrote, “How do leaders go from regular folks to first to worst? It begins with their ascent. As they rise to power, their followers focus on everything they say and do. Why? Their livelihoods depend on it.
“With all this attention on them, leaders begin to believe they are larger than life. They start to believe their own press, to breathe their own exhaust. They start having thoughts such as, ‘I am extraordinary. That’s why I’ve risen to this role. That’s why so many are focused on my every move.’”
Read the complete article at “Nothing Blinds Like Success.”
CSUSB professor interviewed about ADL report showing an increase in anti-Semitic incidents
Rome (Ga.) News Tribune
April 26, 2022
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, was quoted in an article about the Anti-Defamation League’s latest report showing a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents – 2,717 such incidents were recorded in 2021. The article originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The CSUSB center also saw a similar trend. Observers cite a number of factors contributing to the surge: the emboldening of alt-right extremist groups; the coarsening of political discourse; the use of technology to amplify hate speech; the emergence of fallacious conspiracy theories blaming the Jewish community for COVID-19; the revolts against vaccine mandates that turn Jewish people into scapegoats.
Such stereotypes have historical antecedents, according Levin. He said that Jewish people often get singled out in an "anti-authority" climate.
"One of the primary stereotypes with respect to Jews is that they control the levers of governance," Levin told The Chronicle. "When governance is unpopular, Jews get hit."
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”