The lethal protest between white supremacist groups and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia exposed the hateful race-identity politics in our country as well as the ugly racism that simmers beneath the surface of polite company. Young Americans marched through the town’s streets chanting, “Blood and soil,” and “Jews will not replace us” while carrying swastika flags – a symbol of bigotry and genocide. This violent march lead to the death of Heather Heyer, injured numerous others and encouraged the loosely tied white nationalists movement to gather and maximize their ability to influence political policy.

The FBI and Southern Law Poverty Center have been tracking these numerous movements – Christian Identity, Neo-Nazis, Identity Evropa, Aryan Brotherhood and other white supremacy groups – since the 1990s and they have noted that many leaders of these organizations including David Duke, a former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), supported Trump’s presidency. The polite umbrella term “alt-right” disguises the abhorrent racist movements and their propensity for violence. The new batch of highly-educated white-identity leaders such Richard Spencer, who runs the National Policy Institute, are smooth operators that advocate for “peaceful ethnic cleansing,” quoting from Nazi propaganda and devaluing other human beings who are not of “white European descent.” Unfortunately these slick spokesmen such as Spencer hide how easily it is to influence disaffected young people. Remember Timothy McVeigh who killed 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing?

            Currently we have over 900 hate groups operating in the United States. Multiply that influence with the power of social media and you understand how easily domestic terrorism can mushroom. Far right groups are booking space at universities all over the country to influence our youth with their vitriolic speeches. Instead of working together, politicians from both sides of the aisle no longer hide their biases.

Since the presidential election, hate crimes have risen by 20% in metropolitan areas including anti-Semitic incidents such as cemetery desecration and violent assaults against Muslims, Sikhs and members of the LGBT community. In New York alone, bias incidents increased 400% in the two weeks following the election according to the New York Police Department. Assaults against Hispanics and Muslims have increased the most.

            Why? Because every word and every action from our president and politicians count. By embracing the “very fine people” bearing swastikas and spewing hate in Charlottesville, President Trump gave his approval to bigotry and hate groups that threaten the very social fabric of our country.

            As concerned citizens and parents, we must demand that every politician, corporate leader and religious figure stand against the politics of hatred and not be complicit in passive racism by being silent. We cannot be timid in confronting hatred at any moment. We must never forget that Hitler’s racist views almost destroyed Western civilization and that hatred can destroy entire countries in very little time as we witnessed in Rwanda and Serbia.

          So what can we do as parents?

  • Do not remain silent. As parents, our children listen not only to our words but also to the words unspoken. If an acquaintance, relative or colleague begins a tirade against “those people” whoever those people are, defend them. There are always bad apples in every group but those bad apples do not define an entire people, race or country.

In the famous words of Hitler’s foe and prominent Protestant pastor, Martin Niemoller :

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.  

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out.              

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.  

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—                                              

Because I was not a Jew.

 Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

  • Acknowledge your own biases.  If you say, “I am not a racist, but…” there’s a problem. Examine it. See if you are inadvertently teaching hate to your own children. As someone who grew up in the South, I have been very aware of the subtle racism taught in the classroom or passed on behind closed doors.   Josh Bryan’s brutally honest essay “Charlottesville Was My Fault” describes it painfully. It is a must read. https://sarondipityuniverse.wordpress.com/2017/08/13/charlottesville-was-my-fault-2/
  • Symbols matter. The Swastika, the Confederate flag, Hitler arm salutes, statues of Lenin, Civil War generals or Chavez unite people for hatred or against it. Know what you stand for.
  • Acknowledge history. Unfortunately America has a difficult history of hatred. We cannot deny that slavery was a blot against our national conscience. Nor can we ignore the damage or destruction that it has caused and continues to cause through its resulting racism.
  • Education.  By exposing our children to different cultures and stories, we allow them to see the humanity in everyone. Yet if we promote ignorance and remain steadfastly with those who are only like us, we could inadvertently breed contempt for others who are not like us. To learn more on how American diversity upholds our national security, please read Thomas Friedman’s article – Unity in Diversity is What Makes Us Strong.   http://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20170818/thomas-l-friedman-unity-in-diversity-is-what-makes-us-strong

 Get out of your comfort zone. Read. Learn. Volunteer. Make friends outside your circle and teach your children to do the same thing.

  • Get involved with groups that promote civility and fight racism such as the Southern Law Poverty Center (SPLC). Please see their guide on Ten Ways to Fight Hate. https://www.splcenter.org/20170814/ten-ways-fight-hate-community-response-guide
  • And if you’re in education, please check out SPLC’s brilliant magazine “Teaching Tolerance” and their array of anti-bias resources that they distribute, free of charge, to educators across the country – award-winning classroom documentaries, lesson plans and curricula and more. https://www.splcenter.org/teaching-tolerance
  • Appreciate our country’s exceptionalism and diversity. Understand its historical significance. No other nation has been built on the concept of liberty and that makes us unique among the world’s countries. The United States was founded not on bonds of blood or race or religion, but on the ideals of freedom, equality, and self-government. And because of those ideals, many of our citizens who sought freedom achieved our greatest scientific and artistic accomplishments. It would take hundreds of pages to list all of those new Americans who gave us incredible discoveries, athletic achievements, medicines, music and political insight such as Albert Einstein, Madeleine Albright, Hakeem Olajuwon, Irving Berlin and Dr. David Ho.
  • Contact your political representatives by email, fax, Twitter, Facebook or snail mail. Let them know you will not tolerate hate in your community.

If all of us take a stand, demonstrating that our greatest strengths lie in our diversity and compassion, we can defeat hate.

Silence is not an option.