The (((echo))) proves antisemitism is alive and well on social media (but so is solidarity)

If you've been on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites recently, you might have noticed a strange trend. More and more Jewish writers, activists, and political speakers have been spelling their names with a bracketed series of parenthesis, that look like this ((( ))) over the past few weeks. No, it isn't some fun, goofy joke, it's a reaction to antisemitic targeting from tech savvy alt-right neo-Nazis.

The (((echo))) was "popularized” (for lack of a better term) by a Google Chrome plug-in innocuously titled the Coincidence Detector. This plug-in, uploaded by a user named "altrightmedia” (an allusion to the growing alt-right online political movement that openly celebrates white supremacy), linked to a database of Jewish names, businesses, and institutions. With it enabled, it would automatically change the text surrounding a Jewish name or business on the list to be displayed with the parenthetical echo. 

While the description of the plug-in was tongue-in-cheek vague about it's actual purpose, saying it was only to "help you detect total coincidences about who has been involved in certain political movements and media empires." Beyond the glib dog-whistling though, the ultimate goal of the app was to identify and single out Jewish people, so its users could tell at a glance who they were supposed to hate and harass. 

Google took the plug-in down after news stories, explaining the sudden uptick in Jewish harassment on social media, exposed it for what it was. Even so, this new breed of tech-assisted hate-speech is discomforting. The public branding of Jews vs non-Jews has obvious historical parallels to Nazi Germany's mandatory "yellow patches” and similar marking and targeting techniques used to discriminate against vulnerable groups.

But, this is why it's also heartening to see people's response to it, how quickly decent people have worked to take the (((echos))) power away. Prominent Jewish figures and non-Jewish supporters have taken to voluntarily adopting the (((echo))) brand, adding it to their usernames and signatures in symbolic defiance. With Jews taking it as a symbol of pride, and non-Jews adopting it in solidarity, the (((echos)))  purpose of covertly targeting Jews is crippled. It's out in the open now, not some secret code. With multitudes of non-Jews adopting the mark as well, its purpose as a targeting tool is greatly undermined as well. 

It's depressing and discouraging to see hate find new traction thanks to technology, but at the same time it's also satisfying to see those effort fail so spectacularly. Antisemitism can't stand up to scrutiny, and as soon it's exposed, it withers in the spotlight. The power of solidarity, of men and women of principal standing with the vulnerable when they're being targeted, of decrying wrongs and not remaining silent when they see them, has been proven again.

The (((echo))) was supposed to single out Jews for harassment, but all it reminds me of is a racist, alone, yelling into an empty room because no one else will give him the time of day.