In one of those rare cases where there ought not be a law to protect the public, it’s up to each and every one of us to put a stop to the rising incidence of some so-called hate crime.
The police, the Legislature, the city council and the courts can’t take care of most of the problem. It’s up to us.
As it turns out, in most cases, it’s nearly impossible to make it clear that hateful, racist, bigoted behavior is in fact criminal. A recent story by Aurora Sentinel reporter Brandon Johansson focused on the remarkable rise in reported hate crimes across the Aurora region. The story pointed out the problem with expecting the government to prevent people from intimidating or abusing others because of their race, religion, sex, sexual preference or national origin. Police have noted that during the past few years, the number of reported hate-crime incidents have grown dramatically.
There were 39 reported cases of hate crime in 2016 — three times as many just the year before. While that may not seem like a lot compared to the size of the city or compared to the hundreds of garage break-ins every year, it’s what the number represents that’s disturbing.
Civil liberties officials and even police admit that few people confronted by bigots report the issues or call police.
Because of unparalleled American rights to free speech and expression, determining what’s an offensive-yet-protected opinion and what’s a crime is often impossible. Calling someone a racial slur in front of a convenience store clerk is not a crime. Calling them the same slur and implying they could be harmed because of their race or religion could constitute a crime. Or not.
In the Aurora Sentinel story, a Muslim woman harassed in a local drug store said the wrist-slap her offender received from courts was beyond disappointing.
The irony is that because of the conflict of rights and laws, it’s virtually impossible to prove that people who use racial slurs are intentionally trying to intimidate their victims, even though the sole purpose of such remarks is to intimidate and belittle someone.
While no study has proved the point, it’s hardly unreasonable to see the ties between President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign and victory, and the outright and subtle racist, bigoted supporters he attracted and emboldened.
Sociologists will have to help us understand how Trump’s campaign and victory are translating into steep increases in abhorrent bigoted behavior, but we can’t ignore it.
Rather than expect police and the courts to solve most of these problems, it’s up to each and all of us to call it out when we encounter it. Just as people are emboldened by the increase and acceptance of bigoted behavior, they’re discouraged when they’re shunned and met with opposition to their cruel stunts.
Whether it’s just an aside at work or in an e-mail, or a blatant abuse in the check-out line or in a restaurant, it’s up to each of us to call out snide or repulsive comments and acts.
It doesn’t mean victims shouldn’t call police immediately when they feel threatened. However, they so rarely do. So it means that we have a responsibility to the community to simply point out to someone that telling a Muslim they should go “home” or that their “kind” aren’t welcome here is bigoted, and it’s wrong.
It’s easy to see how Trump’s campaign has empowered and legitimized this derelict behavior, and it’s easy to see how important it is to push back against. Ignoring it, or expecting the system to take care of it, will only make it worse.