Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

EDITORIAL:

Wave of hate ripples through nation in wake of election

At a middle school in Michigan, white students chant “Build that wall!” in a lunchroom where several of their Hispanic classmates are eating.

In New York City, a Muslim police officer who was given a commendation last year for rescuing a baby from a fire is accosted by a man who shoves her son and yells “Go back to your country!”

In San Antonio, a former White House intern is victimized two days after Election Day when someone writes “It’s over, (expletive deleted)” on the hood of his car, using a slur for homosexuals.

Hate crimes and hate speech are sweeping across the United States like a brush fire. Hundreds of people are being victimized — men, women and children of various ethnicities, faiths and sexual identities.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reported 867 acts of racial or sexual harassment in the 10 days after the election. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, which tracks activities on both the far right and far left, conducted a study of social media and found there had been more than 2.6 million anti-Semitic tweets over a 12-month period around the election.

“I’ve only been on the job 16 months, but my predecessors, who have been around a long time, said we’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and director of the ADL. “So that’s concerning, and it’s concerning that we have not heard our leaders speak out firmly and forcefully about this when it would be easy to tweet out a few messages.”

Leaders at all levels — national, state and local — need to address the rash of hatred before it gets out of control.

Unfortunately, the person who could do most to fight it, President-elect Donald Trump, isn’t giving the problem the level of attention it deserves. He notably told bigots to “stop it” during a “60 Minutes” interview and also condemned bigotry during a rally in Cincinnati, but he could and should do more.

As Trump is so quick to point out, he has an exceptionally effective way of reaching his followers — his Twitter account. Not only that, but he’s a master media manipulator whose every word seems to make national news.

There’s no reason Trump couldn’t start being more proactive in quelling the ugliness that exploded amid the horrible rhetoric of the campaign, including Trump’s inflammatory remarks about immigrants and Muslims.

But while Trump has vowed to represent all Americans and has made a smattering of statements aimed at reducing bigotry, he also further fanned the flame with his irresponsible and completely false suggestion that there were millions of illegal votes for his opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. It was a dog whistle to racists who falsely believe illegal immigrants are being allowed to vote in huge numbers.

House Speaker Paul Ryan did nothing to extinguish the hate when he declined to repudiate during a “60 Minutes” interview.

It’s past time for leaders in Washington, at the state level and in cities to take an active approach to stamping out hatred. A statement or two isn’t enough. Elected officeholders should use social media and their offices’ websites to condemn bigotry and offer their constituents whatever help they can provide to those who are harassed or victimized. They also should reach out to community advocates to offer support services, encourage victims to come forth with reports and help ensure incidents are fully investigated.

What’s happening in our nation is unforgivable. Leadership needs to send two clear messages — one of solidarity with Americans of all faiths, ethnicities and sexual identities, and the other that anyone committing hate crimes or hate speech will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

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