In his book, “The Lies That Bind,” Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah says, “having an identity can give you a sense of how you fit into the social world” and, crucially, helps answer the question, “What should I do?”

Identities “give you reasons for doing things.”

Sadly, in the United States, identity seems to be driving an uptick in political violence, threats, and harassment.

This topic is fraught yet salient following Hamas’ recent attack on Israel, the latest development in a conflict that can be held up as the quintessential example of identity based political violence.

To be clear, I am not comparing our current situation in the United States to the enmity between Israel and Palestine, which is rooted in differences that existed long before our country was even founded.

However, I do think we tend to think that our democracy has somehow transcended violent political conflict. And that arrogance may just bite us in the ass.

So, polarizing as this topic may be – let’s discuss.

As Rachel Kleinfield explains in the Journal of Democracy, violence often follows political and social developments that “trigger a sense of threat to a common shared identity.” For example, mask mandates, which some Americans argued infringed on their individual rights, led to increased violence and community tensions. Similarly, debates over LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice are drawing vitriolic, and sometimes violent, white and Christian individuals who fear their own rights are being eroded. 

A majority of Democrats (73%) and Republicans (60%) are concerned about acts of violence targeting people for their political beliefs. While the majority of Americans (68%) do not support violence to achieve a political agenda, specific communities are much more willing to tolerate violence than others.

In a 2021 survey, the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, found that white Christian evangelical Republicans are, by far, the biggest group that supported political violence. Fifty-six percent of Republicans agreed with the statement: “The traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” Another survey showed that over one-quarter of white evangelical Protestants agree that “true American patriots might have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” 

For white evangelical Protestants who support political violence belief in Christian nationalism is a strong factor. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants are either Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers. Notably, Christian nationalism is linked to an increase in support for political violence often driven by white identity, perceived victimhood, and support for QAnon conspiracies.

Is It A Problem In Hawaii?

Across the country, actual instances of violence are rising but still rare.  Similarly, Hawaii’s rate of political violence remains very low. But we’re not insulated from the threat.  

The Southern Poverty Law Center identified eight hate and antigovernment groups located in Hawaii in 2022, double the 2021 count. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project recorded four 2021 trainings by a multistate, right-wing militia that were held in Hawaii. According to the Anti-Defamation League, a data leak of the Oath Keepers database in September 2022 showed 99 sign-ups  from Hawaii. Based on population, Hawaii was overrepresented with less than half a percent of the total U.S. population and approximately 3% of the total Oath Keeper database.

Of 1,162 people facing federal charges for their alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, only one case involves a Hawaii resident. Nicholas Ochs, a 2020 Republican state House candidate, was sentenced to 48 months incarceration in December for obstruction of an official proceeding.

In short, the factors that elevate the risk of political violence do exist in Hawaii but in very small numbers. The statistics, at least, don’t give cause for alarm. But, as Kleinfeld points out, political violence tends to fuel itself so “preventing a downward spiral is therefore imperative.” 

International conflict studies show four factors that elevate the risk of election-related violence globally, and some of them will be familiar to U.S. voters. These factors are competitive elections that may shift the balance of power, identity-based partisan division, electoral rules that exploit identity differences, and weak constraints on violence, including police bias that favors groups likely to perpetrate violence. Hawaii’s diverse demographics and lack of partisan balance may put us less at risk, but these four factors do exist here. However, they are much more prominent nationally.

So, What Should We Do About It?

I recently worked with Search for Common Ground, the world’s largest peace-building organization. Based on input from more than 180 organizations in 45 counties, SFCG’s Peace Impact Framework identifies five elements of a peaceful society, and four are particularly relevant at a state-level. Regularly evaluating our political environment against these metrics can help us maintain a safe political environment and build resilience. 

Unsurprisingly, levels of violence and perceived violence are a key factor, and the framework recommends we consider conflict-related deaths and the percentage of the population that feels safe walking alone in their community. Again, Hawaii’s violence statistics are comparatively low. In 2021, Hawaii had two fatalities from police shootings that the ACLED characterized as political violence based on the circumstances. 

Like most of the U.S., violent crime has increased since the pandemic ebbed in Hawaii, which has also led to an increase in resident concerns. According to a 2022 survey of residents worried about safety, Hawaii ranked as the sixth most-worried state.

A second element is agency, which is measured by the percentage of the population that believes they can make a positive difference and the percentage of people who take action to influence things they care about. While there isn’t much data on this, I suspect that we’d rank relatively low on agency, judging from our maddening lack of voter participation.

Polarization is the third element. The percent of people who believe they are perceived as less than human because of their group membership as well as the percent of the population that is willing to use violence to advance their group interests are key metrics for polarization. Again, there aren’t any Hawaii-specific statistics, but the local and national numbers discussed above likely suggest that polarization has increased.

The fourth element is legitimacy, which is measured by the percentage of the population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive and the percentage of the population that are satisfied with the services they seek from authorities. From my own personal experience talking to voters, I would venture to guess that these rates are also low. One piece of evidence from a 2022 survey shows that overall confidence in Honolulu government and services is lower than the national community average.

We clearly have some work to do.

“Needs Improvement” is probably the best characterization of our status quo. And, while many of us tend to think that Hawaii is immune to national trends, we’ve learned repeatedly that it’s not. So, we need to put some time, effort and resources into building our resilience and lowering the temperature in our political environment.

Remember, the best defense is a good offense.