Title: Author of “The Culture of Fear” and professor of sociology at USC
Born: Roanoke, Va., 1952
Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University; doctorate in sociology from Washington University in St. Louis
Career Turning Point: Deciding to return to writing
Hobbies: Photography and attending shows at the Magic Castle in Hollywood
Most Admired Person: Wife Betsy Amster
Personal: Married
By NOLA L. SARKISIAN
Staff Reporter
As a child, Barry Glassner was drawn to the world of magic. Cards, doves, coins his sleight of hand made lots of things disappear.
But not for a moment did he believe the tricks were real. His greatest interest was finding out how they were done.
These days, as an author and sociology professor at USC, the 47-year-old Glassner is still trying to cut through illusions. His latest book is “The Culture of Fear Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things: Crime, Drugs, Minorities, Teen Moms, Killer Kids, Mutant Microbes, Plane Crashes, Road Rage & So Much More.”
The product of five years of research, the book examines some of America’s most troubling issues and stacks up the perceptions against various evidence to see if the fears are valid. In the end, he cautions that many high-profile issues aren’t always what they appear to be.
For Glassner, growing up in Roanoke, Va., was anything but fearful. His mom was a kindergarten teacher and his dad ran a jewelry store. After graduation from Northwestern University, he went on to work for three years as a reporter for ABC Radio in Chicago and eventually earned his doctorate in sociology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Glassner taught at Syracuse University and the University of Connecticut before joining the USC faculty in 1991. He is the author of seven books.
Question: Where did you get the idea for “Culture of Fear.”
Answer: It goes back to 1992 during the presidential election. There was a big flap over teen-aged moms who were being blamed for everything from the high crime rate in America to our position on trade. Once elected, President Clinton called it the most serious social problem in America. But it didn’t make sense to me that these impoverished people could create such problems. So I began compiling lots of exaggerated fears, reviewing political campaigns, news coverage and mailings by advocacy groups to determine which ones were being blown out of proportion and which weren’t.
Q: How can people distill what should be legitimate fears from the scare tactics of government and media?
A: There are red flags to watch for. Use common sense. If whole categories of people are being depicted as inherently dangerous, that’s a red flag. Whole groups are not inherently dangerous. When isolated incidents are depicted as a trend, watch out. One or two events do not make a bona fide scare.
Q: How did you benefit from writing this book?
A: I got over my fear of flying. Turbulence has always terrified me. I’m not sure why. I always used to fly with my parents during vacations. The fear could have cropped up as I got older and started reading about these horrible (crash) scenarios. I’d read these stories and take them at face value. I remember reading about luggage in trees. That always stayed with me. But by doing this research, it became clear to me that flying was extremely safe. In 1998 there were no fatalities on commercial airlines and some 600 million people traveled. That’s the best example of how a fear can be erroneously portrayed.
Q: How did you get to be a skeptic?
A: I’ve been a member of the Skeptics Society for years, and I get their magazine. Plus, I’ve been a magician for years, ever since I attended a birthday party when I was 6 years old. I thought it was the coolest thing. You get to know how things are really done and realize everything isn’t as it always appears.
Q: Following your research, did you come away fearful of anything?
A: I always had concerns about guns. But after my research, I was much more worried about their availability. There are a quarter-billion guns in the United States, an astounding figure considering that’s roughly the population of the country. So when you say teen suicides are going up, you have to ask why. Because more teens are getting their hands on guns and more die. In the same vein, there are scares about school shootings. School is about the safest place to keep a child there has been a drop in the number of school shootings. What happened at Columbine was nothing short of tragic. But there’s a kernel of truth in the fact that disturbed kids can get their hands on guns and wreak havoc.
Q: How does last week’s shooting in Granada Hills figure into your perceptions?
A: I don’t want to minimize how awful these incidents are. The question is, what moral do we draw from the story? In the case of this shooting, it points to the need to get guns out of the hands of angry and disturbed individuals, and it also may suggest that there needs to be more monitoring done on hate groups.
Q: Are people more fearful now than they were in the past?
A: There are scares and fears at any time, but we’re living at a time when people can access news quickly with the preponderance of information vehicles. You have 24-hour news networks, fears can be spread on the Internet, and even political campaigns can resort to scare tactics and raise the decibel level. Part of the paradox is that we live in good times, but we’re afraid. We can afford to focus on dangers since we’re so well-off. If you’re in an economic depression, you care about your next meal.
Q: If so many of these fears end up being unfounded, why does the public continue to have them?
A: These myths tend to have broad-ranging support that gives them perceived validity. They’ve got the news media, prominent politicians and advocacy groups discussing the issues, and each one has a stake in the matter. The media is worried about ratings, politicians are seeking votes, and advocacy groups are trying to reel in the dollars.
Q: Are such fears endemic only to America?
A: It’s hard to gauge other countries. Here in America, we have a new scare every day one goes and one comes, sort of indicative of our fast-paced culture. But people in Britain and Europe are still afraid of genetically engineered food. It’s been going on for a long period of time, and it’s an intense concern there.
Q: As the millennium approaches, are there things we should worry about?
A: I don’t subscribe to the philosophy espoused by Franklin Roosevelt that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear is useful when there is real danger. If fears are overblown, we waste our money and time, both personal and public resources, on these matters. But, there really are problems. One in three schools is in need of repair, some 43 million Americans are without health insurance these are real issues that should concern us.
Q: You haven’t mentioned Y2K.
A: I purposefully didn’t include Y2K in my book. I didn’t want to wake up on Jan. 1 and be wrong. I think there will be problems, but they won’t be catastrophic. I think the panic itself will create more problems. As people take money out of the bank and horde groceries, it will lead to fluctuations in the stock market and create uncertainty.
Q: Your comments go against the grain. How does it feel to be a contrarian?
A: For the most part, the responses and comments I’ve been getting from people is relief at the book. They’re glad that someone finally came along to respond to these fears. I do get calls from people when there are shootings or if people have a personal stake in a matter. I hear about the crime rates and school issues. Often I get very emotional calls. I call back or write back and listen and try to be understanding. If someone is a victim, for them it’s everything. It doesn’t matter how rare an event is.
Q: As a professor, do you see a changing pattern of fear in your students?
A: I find that student fears are more realistic. They’re centered on immediate circumstances, from finals to dates to future jobs. Granted, college is an insular world. These students aren’t on mailing lists for advocacy groups. In a mixed blessing, they don’t watch a whole lot of television or read the newspapers. They’re not exposed to what’s going on.
