Political Physics: Are Hate Crimes a Form of Domestic Terrorism?
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a blogumn by Monique King-Viehland
So over the weekend my BFF sent me a link to an op-ed piece in the NY Times entitled “Hate in a Cocoon of Silence” by Charles Blow. In the piece, Blow references the hotly debated report released by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis entitled, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” that said, “Lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”
According to Blow, the report was a warning and we should have heeded it.
Last week’s shooting death of a security guard at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington was proof positive for Blow. James von Brunn, self-declared racist, white supremacist, conspiracy theorist and hardcore anti-Semite, walked into the museum and opened fire.
Blow notes, “Just as disturbing as the incidents themselves are the lineups of family, friends and neighbors who emerged to talk about the vitriol they heard and the warning signs they saw. I always want the interviewer to stop and ask them this simple question: And when he said or did that, how did you respond?” Blow talks about the necessity for people to speak up and take action when their family, friends and/or acquaintances are spouting hatred and warn someone if you think they are about to blow.
The notion that the US, not just people of color or gay people, have something to fear from violent rightwing extremist ideology is not new. But the sharp rise in hate crimes around the US is.
At a human rights conference in Geneva just five days before the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, Wade Henderson, President & CEO of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said that “the number of hate crimes reported has consistently ranged around 7,500 or more annually—that’s nearly one every hour of every day.” According to Henderson, “The number of hate crimes committed against Hispanics and those perceived to be immigrants has increased each of the past four years for which FBI data is available and violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation has increased to its highest level in five years.”
When you are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, worrying about North Korea and constantly checking on what color threat level we are at today, this whole topic might seem to pale in comparison. But think again.
According to the NAACP the number of “hate groups,” which is defined as a organization that promotes hate or violence towards members of an entire class of people, based on characteristics such as race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, in the United States increased to 926 in 2008, up 54% since 2000.
And last week, I found out that my little 7.5 square mile City is home to a chapter of the New Black Panther Party (for the record not in any way affiliated with the actual Black Panthers – feel the need to say that as a former African American Studies Major). The NBPP is a US-based black supremacist organization and their former National Chairman, Khallid Abdul Muhammad, once issued a statement that said, “there are no good crackers [referring to Whites], and if you find one, kill him before he changes.” One of their members, Divine Allah, is running for City Council. I am appalled to find out that they have a chapter in my city….appalled as a Native Trentonian, appalled as a black woman, appalled as one half of an interracial marriage and appalled as the mother of a biracial child.
You may believe that the Homeland Security Report is blowing the issue out of proportion, but hate crimes are a serious problem in the US and they are a form of domestic terrorism. And Charles Blow is right; we cannot afford to ignore them.
So what can we do?
First and foremost, Charles Blow is right, speak up. When you hear people making racist comments, speak up, even if it is family or friends. And if you know someone who you think might be on the brink of exercising violence, speak up. You can’t afford to sit silent.
Second, preach, teach and live tolerance in your own life. Hate is learned.
Lastly, support the creation, expansion and enforcement of hate crimes laws. You can lobby your local, state and federal representatives and ask them to support the creation, expansion and enforcement of hate crimes laws.
On April 29th, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913, introduced by Congressman John Conyers, MI) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 249 to 145. The bill would expand existing hate crime prevention laws and allow the federal government to assist the local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of crimes motivated by hate, regardless of where or what the victim was doing at the time the crime occurred. It would also expand the definition of a hate crime to include those motivated by the victim’s disability, gender or sexual orientation and it would provide money to states to develop hate crime prevention programs.
Senator Kennedy (MA) has introduced companion legislation, S. 909, which has yet to be considered by the Senate. Take a minute to send an email to your senator (if you do not know your senator, you can look them up at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm) and ask that they support S. 909.
Next May is the election for Trenton Mayor and City Council, so over the next few months’ campaigns will be gearing up. I pledge to speak up and take action to ensure that a member of a black separatist group is not elected to the Trenton City Council.
I can’t afford not to. But Charles Blow is right and so was Edmund Burke when he said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
For your information, you can use the online template provided by the YWCA to tell your Senator's to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act (S.909). The link is below:
http://capwiz.com/ywca/issues/alert/?alertid=1353…
For your information, you can use the online template provided by the YWCA to tell your Senator's to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act (S.909). The link is below:
http://capwiz.com/ywca/issues/alert/?alertid=1353…
For your information, you can use the online template provided by the YWCA to tell your Senator's to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act (S.909). The link is below:
http://capwiz.com/ywca/issues/alert/?alertid=1353…
For your information, you can use the online template provided by the YWCA to tell your Senator's to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act (S.909). The link is below:
http://capwiz.com/ywca/issues/alert/?alertid=1353…
Great article. So few op-ed pieces point out that this kind of rise in crime affects ALL of us, not just the people of a certain race, creed, or sexual orientation. Brava for noting that.
As far as prevention goes, I hate to say this, but I don't agree w/ Blow that there's much ordinary citizens can do. I was struck by the statement of Von Brunn's estranged son who said something like, "Yes, he was a horrible racist, but he was 88yo. I never dreamed he would do something like this."
It's interesting, b/c though I have one relative who is pretty embittered towards white people, I, like Von Brunn's son, don't think she would ever commit physical violence. Even if I did, I'm not sure who I would report it to. The thing about free speech is that anyone can say anything they want, but if they don't say, "Hey, I'm going to go kill so-in-so in the name of my hate," then there's little we can do to stop them beforehand.
Also, the problem with terrorists like Von Brunn is the same problem that we never solved with kamikazee pilots are suicide bombers. How do fight against people who plot where you can't see them and who fully expect to die while carrying out their crime.
I guess I feel powerless on this subject right now, b/c I don't necessarily believe that tougher laws will prevent men from getting drunk and kicking some poor black or gay kid to death.
I would also be interested to compare this time to other eras in history. Was there a rise in domestic violence right before women got the vote? Was their a rise in racial violence right before the Civil Rights Act was passed? Is this yet another example of the darkest hour is just before dawn? Enlightenment growing pains, if you will before we become a greater, better nation in general?
Without doing in-depth research, I am pretty comfortable conceding that you are probably correct that there was increased violence during the historic periods your reference. However, chalking it up to "enlightenment growing pains" is akin to doing nothing. And for me that is part of the problem. I suspect the it amounts to much more than "enlightenment growing pains" for the family of the guard that was killed in the shooting at the Holocaust Museum or the parents of the six children lost in the Oklahoma City bombing. I have relatives, who grew up in the South and experienced a form of racism I will never know, but I am not going to tolerate them using hate speech or racist terms about white people. But that is just me.
No, I am not positive that new laws will be an effective deterrent. But I am positive that doing nothing is an even greater injustice.
I think anyone can say anything they want to say about anyone. That's free speech. I choose not to associate with people who say stuff that I don't agree with, but I wouldn't wish to get in a confrontation with every bigot. I think it's ineffectual. Someone as vitriolic as Von Brunn is not going to change his mind, b/c people argue with him. His own son was estranged from him, obviously these aren't the kind of people who need the approval of others to do what they do.
I'm not suggesting that nothing be done. Obviously, I would prefer to see hate crimes stamped out. What I'm asking is what can be done that would actually be effectual in stopping this kind of crime. I do support hate crime legislation — I don't think it'll work, but I'm willing to throw it against the wall, so to speak.
I didn't mean to "chalk anything up," but I did want to put this recent wave of hate crime in historical perspective. I would like to believe that America will emerge from this dark period as a better nation. However, I would much rather that we didn't have a dark period at all.
Most of all, I wonder how we hope to solve a problem that throughout history has had no real solution. We don't have the resources to track every person who chooses to traffic in hate speech. How do we know who will be the lone gunman and who is just a crank? We can install better security at our museums and toughen up current laws and teach our children not to be hateful, but is this enough to prevent a Holocaust museum shooting from ever happening again? I don't think so.
I think a lot of people are trying to place blame on one person's actions outside of that one-person, and I don't necessarily agree that this is where the blame should be placed or that anyone could have stopped Von Brunn from doing what he did — unless we want to wade into the ugly territories of censoring free speech and making hate groups illegal.
Again I believe there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech, but explaining that would take another whole blog. I focused this blog on hate crimes, not hate speech. Maybe one day I'll blog about "Words that Wound."
Thanks for your comments.
Again I believe there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech, but explaining that would take another whole blog. I focused this blog on hate crimes, not hate speech. Maybe one day I'll blog about "Words that Wound."
Okay, upon further thought, I do think there are a few things that we can each do as individuals:
1. Same race co-workers should report it to HR when their co-workers engage in hate speech. The Sauda Voice pointed me to this Salon article who was able to join and thrive in the army, b/c his white recruiters and fellow soldiers refused to rat him out: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/06/15/neo_…
2. One thing that was mentioned in passing in the article is that the main reason this guy became a skinhead is b/c he was always getting beat up by blacks and Latinos in school while growing up. As parents, we have got to get better about teaching children of all races not to pick on those who are different from us. Violence only begets more violence.
3. Though I don't believe in arguing with bigots, I do believe in letting them know why we can no longer be friends if it is hatred that must bring the friendship to a close.
4. I do believe that our juvenile system should work more towards prevention. A lot of these guys have juvie records. If you go to juvie for a hate crime, then rehab and diversity training should be a part of your sentence.
Great article. So few op-ed pieces point out that this kind of rise in crime affects ALL of us, not just the people of a certain race, creed, or sexual orientation. Brava for noting that.
As far as prevention goes, I hate to say this, but I don't agree w/ Blow that there's much ordinary citizens can do. I was struck by the statement of Von Brunn's estranged son who said something like, "Yes, he was a horrible racist, but he was 88yo. I never dreamed he would do something like this."
It's interesting, b/c though I have one relative who is pretty embittered towards white people, I, like Von Brunn's son, don't think she would ever commit physical violence. Even if I did, I'm not sure who I would report it to. The thing about free speech is that anyone can say anything they want, but if they don't say, "Hey, I'm going to go kill so-in-so in the name of my hate," then there's little we can do to stop them beforehand.
Also, the problem with terrorists like Von Brunn is the same problem that we never solved with kamikazee pilots are suicide bombers. How do fight against people who plot where you can't see them and who fully expect to die while carrying out their crime.
I guess I feel powerless on this subject right now, b/c I don't necessarily believe that tougher laws will prevent men from getting drunk and kicking some poor black or gay kid to death.
I would also be interested to compare this time to other eras in history. Was there a rise in domestic violence right before women got the vote? Was their a rise in racial violence right before the Civil Rights Act was passed? Is this yet another example of the darkest hour is just before dawn? Enlightenment growing pains, if you will before we become a greater, better nation in general?
Without doing in-depth research, I am pretty comfortable conceding that you are probably correct that there was increased violence during the historic periods your reference. However, chalking it up to "enlightenment growing pains" is akin to doing nothing. And for me that is part of the problem. I suspect the it amounts to much more than "enlightenment growing pains" for the family of the guard that was killed in the shooting at the Holocaust Museum or the parents of the six children lost in the Oklahoma City bombing. I have relatives, who grew up in the South and experienced a form of racism I will never know, but I am not going to tolerate them using hate speech or racist terms about white people. But that is just me.
No, I am not positive that new laws will be an effective deterrent. But I am positive that doing nothing is an even greater injustice.
I think anyone can say anything they want to say about anyone. That's free speech. I choose not to associate with people who say stuff that I don't agree with, but I wouldn't wish to get in a confrontation with every bigot. I think it's ineffectual. Someone as vitriolic as Von Brunn is not going to change his mind, b/c people argue with him. His own son was estranged from him, obviously these aren't the kind of people who need the approval of others to do what they do.
I'm not suggesting that nothing be done. Obviously, I would prefer to see hate crimes stamped out. What I'm asking is what can be done that would actually be effectual in stopping this kind of crime. I do support hate crime legislation — I don't think it'll work, but I'm willing to throw it against the wall, so to speak.
I didn't mean to "chalk anything up," but I did want to put this recent wave of hate crime in historical perspective. I would like to believe that America will emerge from this dark period as a better nation. However, I would much rather that we didn't have a dark period at all.
Most of all, I wonder how we hope to solve a problem that throughout history has had no real solution. We don't have the resources to track every person who chooses to traffic in hate speech. How do we know who will be the lone gunman and who is just a crank? We can install better security at our museums and toughen up current laws and teach our children not to be hateful, but is this enough to prevent a Holocaust museum shooting from ever happening again? I don't think so.
I think a lot of people are trying to place blame on one person's actions outside of that one-person, and I don't necessarily agree that this is where the blame should be placed or that anyone could have stopped Von Brunn from doing what he did — unless we want to wade into the ugly territories of censoring free speech and making hate groups illegal.
Again I believe there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech, but explaining that would take another whole blog. I focused this blog on hate crimes, not hate speech. Maybe one day I'll blog about "Words that Wound."
Thanks for your comments.
Again I believe there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech, but explaining that would take another whole blog. I focused this blog on hate crimes, not hate speech. Maybe one day I'll blog about "Words that Wound."
Okay, upon further thought, I do think there are a few things that we can each do as individuals:
1. Same race co-workers should report it to HR when their co-workers engage in hate speech. The Sauda Voice pointed me to this Salon article who was able to join and thrive in the army, b/c his white recruiters and fellow soldiers refused to rat him out: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/06/15/neo_…
2. One thing that was mentioned in passing in the article is that the main reason this guy became a skinhead is b/c he was always getting beat up by blacks and Latinos in school while growing up. As parents, we have got to get better about teaching children of all races not to pick on those who are different from us. Violence only begets more violence.
3. Though I don't believe in arguing with bigots, I do believe in letting them know why we can no longer be friends if it is hatred that must bring the friendship to a close.
4. I do believe that our juvenile system should work more towards prevention. A lot of these guys have juvie records. If you go to juvie for a hate crime, then rehab and diversity training should be a part of your sentence.
I should be illegal to marry within your own race.
I should be illegal to marry within your own race.
Great article. We are becoming a nation seemingly ruled by hate. But for my grandson's sake I like to think their is hope for us as a people and we will eventually be more tolerant of each other.
Great article. We are becoming a nation seemingly ruled by hate. But for my grandson's sake I like to think their is hope for us as a people and we will eventually be more tolerant of each other.
I wonder if hate crimes have really risen lately or are they just being reported/recognized more now than before? I'm with Ernessa, I wouldn't want to take away anyone's free speech but if they speak of carrying out a specific threat against others, I would feel the need to report it to somebody. Anywho, these are definitely forms of domestic terrorism and should have been taken more seriously as such long ago, especially after Tim McVeigh. They've been so "distracted" by external terrorists coming through the backyard, they need to check who's already in the kitchen.
Yolanda, in all fairness, data on hate crimes from the FBI has only been available in the last four years so your argument that perhaps we are not seeing an actual increase but just "seeing" the data for the first time has merit. However, when you couple the data with the rise in the number of organized hate groups, it is clear that a real trend is emerging that we cannot ignore.
In terms of free speech, I'd argue that there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech. There is a great book with a collection on essays on the subject called "Words That Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment." But even more important, there is a clear distinction between hate speech and hate crimes.
What do you argue is the difference between free speech and hate speech?
Check out "Words that Wound" and similar books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Words-That-Wound-Assaultive…
I wonder if hate crimes have really risen lately or are they just being reported/recognized more now than before? I'm with Ernessa, I wouldn't want to take away anyone's free speech but if they speak of carrying out a specific threat against others, I would feel the need to report it to somebody. Anywho, these are definitely forms of domestic terrorism and should have been taken more seriously as such long ago, especially after Tim McVeigh. They've been so "distracted" by external terrorists coming through the backyard, they need to check who's already in the kitchen.
Yolanda, in all fairness, data on hate crimes from the FBI has only been available in the last four years so your argument that perhaps we are not seeing an actual increase but just "seeing" the data for the first time has merit. However, when you couple the data with the rise in the number of organized hate groups, it is clear that a real trend is emerging that we cannot ignore.
In terms of free speech, I'd argue that there is a distinction between free speech and hate speech. There is a great book with a collection on essays on the subject called "Words That Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment." But even more important, there is a clear distinction between hate speech and hate crimes.
What do you argue is the difference between free speech and hate speech?
Check out "Words that Wound" and similar books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Words-That-Wound-Assaultive…
Yeah, they may have just developed the term "hate crimes" in the last few years but a lynching in 1960 was still a crime of hate. I haven't looked at the statistics but I'm sure there has been a rise in "organized hate groups" – there's more access to information and to one another thanks to the internet/cell phones/etc, more people in our population, and less loyalty to older groups such as the KKK (I assume). Plus, bigotry is not just one-sided anymore. I wonder what the percentage of U.S. citizens in those U.S. based groups is now compared to fifty years ago though.
I believe people should be free to believe what they want to believe, at least in this country. It may be tough on others but I absolutely would not like for my children to grow up thinking our country is a utopia where everyone loves each other and just gets along, particularly because certain types of thoughts and speech are banned (i.e. China). Humans are what we are… we will forever have our biases towards one another. Hopefully as we evolve, we'll become more tolerant (I think that's showing up in the millennial generation). That's just not reality now though, so I have to do what I can to prepare my Black sons for what they may encounter.
As long as it does not rise to the level of harming others physically or financially, I don't see the big deal. Although, now that I think about it, if somebody thinks that way, and has a little decision-making power, they could bring financial harm to someone else… but how do you deal with that?
Yeah, they may have just developed the term "hate crimes" in the last few years but a lynching in 1960 was still a crime of hate. I haven't looked at the statistics but I'm sure there has been a rise in "organized hate groups" – there's more access to information and to one another thanks to the internet/cell phones/etc, more people in our population, and less loyalty to older groups such as the KKK (I assume). Plus, bigotry is not just one-sided anymore. I wonder what the percentage of U.S. citizens in those U.S. based groups is now compared to fifty years ago though.
I believe people should be free to believe what they want to believe, at least in this country. It may be tough on others but I absolutely would not like for my children to grow up thinking our country is a utopia where everyone loves each other and just gets along, particularly because certain types of thoughts and speech are banned (i.e. China). Humans are what we are… we will forever have our biases towards one another. Hopefully as we evolve, we'll become more tolerant (I think that's showing up in the millennial generation). That's just not reality now though, so I have to do what I can to prepare my Black sons for what they may encounter.
As long as it does not rise to the level of harming others physically or financially, I don't see the big deal. Although, now that I think about it, if somebody thinks that way, and has a little decision-making power, they could bring financial harm to someone else… but how do you deal with that?