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CHAPTER ONE Three Cataclysms and Two Ways to Do Good Work: The Mash-up of Hate Crimes in the Twenty-First Century Edward W. Dunbar Since the start of this century, the United States has experienced three cata- clysmic events: the societal body blow of the 9/11 terror attacks, the hate unleashed with the 2016 presidential election, and the viral and racial pan- demics of 2020, which have heightened intergroup hostility and violence across the country. These cultural cataclysms have transformed the country and our social conventions. These events call out for individuals and organi- zations to understand the psychological vicissitudes of hate in struggling to reestablish a civil society. The psychological study of hate crimes requires our understanding of the motives of the individual offender as well as the cultural context in which the infraction occurs. The roles of policy makers, law enforcement, and the gen- eral populace—including the willing followers of hate extremists—need to be understood as well. We would do well to follow the advice of Carl Bell and ask the “hard questions” of behavioral science. This means examining not only who perpetrates crimes of hate, but also who and what motivates these