Fighting Hate: A Guide
Hate and bigotry are a human conditions, and American history is rife with this type of prejudice against groups and individuals because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. As a nation, we’ve made a lot of progress, but stereotyping and unequal treatment persist.
The good news is, all over the country people are fighting hate, standing up to promote tolerance and inclusion. More often than not, when hate flares up, good people rise up against it — often in greater numbers and with stronger voices.
This article is a guide for readers how to properly fight hate.
You Must Act.
Do something. In the face of hatred, apathy will be interpreted as acceptance by the perpetrators, the public and — worse — the victims. Community members must take action; if we don’t, hate persists. Pick up the phone. Call friends and colleagues. Host a neighborhood or community meeting. Speak up in church. Suggest some action. Sign a petition. Attend a vigil. Lead a prayer. Repair acts of hate-fueled vandalism, as a neighborhood or a community. Use whatever skills and means you have. Offer your print shop to make fliers. Share your musical talents at a rally. Give your employees the afternoon off to attend. Be creative. Take action. Do your part to fight bigotry.
Join Forces with Community Organizations.
Reach out to allies from churches, schools, clubs, and other civic groups. Create a diverse coalition. Include children, police, and the media. Gather ideas from everyone, and get everyone involved. Others share your desire to stand against hate. There is power in numbers. Asking for help and organizing a group reduces personal fear and vulnerability, spreads the workload, and increases creativity and impact. Coalitions can stand up to — and isolate — organized hate groups.
You and your allies can help educate others as you work to eradicate bigotry. A hate crime often creates an opportunity for a community’s first dialogue on race, gender identity, or religious intolerance. It can help bridge the gap between neighborhoods and law enforcement. More people than we imagine want to do something; they just need a little push. Call on groups that are likely to respond to a hate event, including faith alliances, labor unions, teachers, women’s groups, university faculties, fair housing councils, the YMCA, and youth groups. Make a special effort to involve businesses, schools, houses of worship, politicians, children, and members of targeted groups. Also call on local law enforcement officials. Work to create a healthy relationship with local police; working together, human rights groups and law enforcement officials can track early warning signs of hate brewing in a community, allowing for a rapid and unified response.
Speak Up!
Hate must be exposed and denounced. Help news organizations achieve balance and depth. Do not debate group members in conflict-driven forums. Instead, speak up in ways that draw attention away from hate, toward unity. Goodness has a First Amendment right, too. We urge you to denounce groups that perpetuate hate crimes and to spread the truth about their threat to a pluralistic society. An informed and unified community is the best defense against hate. You can spread tolerance through social media and websites, church bulletins, door-to-door fliers, letters to the editor, and print advertisements. Hate shrivels under strong light. Beneath their neo-Nazi exteriors, hatemongers are cowards and are surprisingly subject to public pressure and ostracism.
Pressure Our Leaders to Act.
The fight against hate needs community leaders willing to take an active role. The support of mayors, police chiefs, college presidents, school principals, local clergy, business leaders, and others can help your community address the root causes of hate and help turn bias incidents into experiences from which your community can learn and heal. When leaders step forward and act swiftly in the wake of a hate incident, victims feel supported, community members feel safe, and space for action and dialogue can grow. Too often, the fear of negative publicity, a lack of partnerships with affected communities, and a failure to fully understand hate and bias can prevent leaders from stepping up. Their silence creates a vacuum in which rumors spread, victims feel ignored, and perpetrators find tacit acceptance.
Form relationships with community leaders before an incident occurs. If your community group already has a relationship with the mayor, for example, you will be better positioned to ask for a public statement in the event of a hate crime. Educate community leaders about the causes and effects of hate. Sometimes, well-intentioned leaders don’t understand that bias-motivated actions can have far-reaching effects across a community. Educate leaders about the impact of hate and the root causes of intolerance so their response can match the incident. Demand a quick, serious police response. The vigorous investigation and prosecution of hate crimes attract media attention to issues of tolerance and encourage the public to stand up against hate.
Demand a strong public statement by political leaders. When elected officials issue proclamations against bigotry, it helps promote tolerance and can unify communities. Silence, on the other hand, can be interpreted as the acceptance of hate. Encourage leaders to name the problem. Local leaders sometimes try to minimize incidents fueled by bias by not calling them hate crimes. Push leaders when they show bias or fail to act. Ask your community leaders to walk the talk. Ask for their public support and involvement in rallies, community meetings, and long-term solutions that address the root causes of intolerance.
Stay Engaged
Promote acceptance and address bias before another other crimes occur. Expand your comfort zone by reaching out to people outside your own groups. Hate usually doesn’t strike communities from some distant place. It often begins at home, brewing silently under the surface. It can grow out of divided communities — communities where residents feel powerless or voiceless, communities where differences cause fear instead of celebration. The best cure for hate is a united community. On the other hand, the seeds of hate take root and thrive in communities that are receptive to it.
Experts say the first step in changing hearts is to change behavior. Personal changes are important — the positive statements you make about others, challenging assumptions about people who are different — but community-wide changes are crucial for lasting change. Often, either after a bias incident or as a tool for preventing one, communities want to sponsor multicultural food festivals and other events to celebrate differences. These are important steps in helping community members feel acknowledged and appreciated. We encourage you to sponsor these events — and we encourage you to go deeper.
Follow this Guide to Stop Hate When You See It
If we follow this guide— if we act, if we speak up, if we join forces with community organizations, if we pressure our leaders to act, and if we stay engaged— we will show racists, antisemites, and bigots that hate has no place in our society. And we will once and for all eliminate hate and bigotry.
And the Jewish Voters League of America (JVLA) is committed to this goal. We are dedicated toward ensuring that our children live in America filled with love and without bigotry.
Through other JVLA events in tandem with our biweekly newsletters, we are committed to keeping the conversation surrounding racism and antisemitism brewing. We are dedicated toward ensuring that our members are educated about these topics so they can easily vote when election time comes. After all, all change begins at the ballot box.
