What Do Anthony Van Jones And Seth MacFarlane Have In Common?

What do CNN’s Anthony Van Jones and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane have in common? They have theories about the source behind antisemitism. On the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, CNN’s Anthony Van Jones featured a commentary about the dangers of hate. Van Jones was also no doubt referring to the rise of antisemitism occurring throughout the United States. Van Jones did well to call attention to the fact that it wasn’t just racism responsible for the Holocaust, it was hate in general. But Van Jones failed to really address the source behind the current hate. He also didn’t recognize that hate can come in many forms, and have different motives behind it.

Holocaust Remembrance Day no doubt drew attention to the rise of antisemitism throughout the world. The Hill featured an article entitled “Why is Gen Z so pro-Palestine and anti-Israel?” Indeed, a valid question. Jewish temples and organizations have witnessed an increase in threats. The Daily Beast reports a number of White House interns have criticized President Biden for supporting Israel. What makes this new wave of antisemitism unique is it seems to be unusually strong among young people.

Jewish candidate-Senator Bernie Sanders seemed to be immune from young people’s antisemitism when he ran for office, and he seems to still be to a certain extent. Some of the younger voters who supported Sanders seem to be contributing to the current antisemitism. So what is responsible for this drastic shift in values among young people? Is it really true antisemitism? Or do these young antisemites really have alternative motives?

There are many psychological, historical and political approaches to why antisemitism is on the rise these days. But it took Seth MacFarlane to provide the best explanation. Despite the countless political analyses, it took the creator of a childish, tasteless, vulgar cartoon to provide the most accurate diagnosis behind the latest wave of antisemitism. While on an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, MacFarlane pointed out that it was “cool to support the bad guys.”

It is cool to be perceived as supporting the “bad guys,” who in this case are the antisemitic people. This is what fuels the current rise of antisemitism. Only a “good guy” supports the authoritative side, which is coincidentally Israel. If the current “bad guys” were still the Soviet Union, there could be a wave in young people supporting communists.

MacFarlane’s theory extends well past antisemitism. No one supported COVID. There was, however, controversy between those who feared COVID and those who did not. On initial look, the controversy appeared to be between former

Governor NY Governor Cuomo and Florida Governor DeSantis. Biden and Cuomo were pro-social distancing, Republicans like DeSantis were against it. But many people, especially young people seemed indifferent to COVID. One notable example was spring 2021 when there was a record number of young people who enjoyed spring break without a second thought towards social distancing. It is highly unlikely all of these young people were DeSantis supporters. This controversy had little to do with politics or even COVID for that matter. It was simply cool to be indifferent to danger, the same way some are apathetic to the dangers of crime. Macfarlane was scheduled to be on one of the hijacked planes on September 11, but missed the flight. Macfarlane considers this a coincidence. He commented how the previous day he could have been walking on the street and narrowly avoided being struck by a car and simply not known. This comparison shows that Macfarlane categorizes attacks like Sept 11 as mere “freak accidents” as opposed to attacks as a result of a radical movement.

Speaking of being indifferent to crime… long before anyone heard the words “Defund the Police” there has been a social movement against police officers. There is a culture that celebrates violence and foul language, and this culture contributes to the anti-police mentality. The purpose of the police is to fight all “bad guys” which makes the ultimate “good guy” the police officer. Many of the young people indifferent to COVID display the same attitude towards crime.

It is unclear if MacFarlane himself considers it cool to support the bad guys, or be indifferent to danger, or whether he knows to capitalize on it. But it must be admitted, he does capitalize on it. On Family Guy, good rarely prevails. The vulgar mentality of “never having a happy ending” on Family Guy is in fact the same mentality that drives the current wave of antisemitism, indifference to dangers like COVID or terrorism, and anti-police mentality. Family Guy is hardly a source of antisemitism but it is a source of hate. Not the same kind of hate CNN’s Van Jones was referring to, but it has the same result: supporting the bad guys.

It is unlikely supporting the bad guys was the reason behind the original Holocaust. But fast forward to today, motives behind the bad guys are different. One motive is, as MacFarlane pointed out, it is simply cool to support the bad guys.