By Harsirat Kaur | Staff Writer
Hate crimes start with a lack of knowledge, and an acceptance of misinformation. We can lessen hate crimes by learning about people and their stories.
Throughout history, hate crimes have been a prevalent issue and continue to affect many individuals today. In April 2022, an 82-year-old elderly Sikh man was attacked outside of Queens, NY. He was assaulted and robbed by criminals. This is one of the hostilities maintained in the U.S. because Sikhism is misunderstood. Many people mistake Sikhs for being Islamic. In both religions, the male wears a turban, although Sikhs wear it more publicly.
Some Americans remain mad at Muslims for the attacks on September 11, 2001. In reality, Muslim Americans had nothing to do with the attacks. This terrorist attack was committed by 19 extremists.
During World War II, Japanese Americans were unconstitutionally placed in internment camps by a presidential decree. This was done for the “safety of America.” If Americans looked like the enemy, they were treated like the enemy. This is how hate crimes begin.
The United States has improved with federal laws about hate crimes. According to the Department of Justice, federal hate crimes laws are crimes committed against someone, a group or an organization on the “basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability” (The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Act of 1968).
However, not all hate crimes are reported as such, and not all hate crime perpetrators are caught and properly held accountable.
The first of 10 Amendments to the Constitution, called the Bill of Rights, gives people the constitutional right to religion and “freedom of speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (1787). Under this constitutional right, people can have their opinions and it is protected speech. What people cannot do is impede on the rights of others, and few people understand that our First Amendment right is not absolute. There are some consequences to some things we say, write, or do in the name of our First Amendment right. The Supreme court continues to hear cases challenging this right and challenging previous landmark cases.
So how do people in today’s era grow up to commit hate crimes? How can this be stopped?
The first teachers are parents and families. Some families indoctrinate their children and grandchildren into ideals that maybe they were taught when they were younger, or ideas they adopted as they matured. This type of indoctrination is the hardest to combat. Family disownment, embarrassment, and financial cutoff are many factors that can persuade a person to fit in with their family’s ideals. Peer pressure is a convincing variable.
The second most influential education process happens in schools. It is in schools that students learn diversity, acceptance, fairness, and equality. While it is true teachers should teach students how to think, not what to think, there are certain foundations of diversity schools must teach that are universal values, such as how to work with others with differing views and from differing backgrounds.
Schools do a great job of working with students, communities, and families to share opportunities for all races, abilities, religions, and student variables to have access to quality education and resources. But this is not enough. Even for those who are able to continue their education beyond grade 12, the values taught in college do not always mirror those taught at home. Thus the conflict between familial indoctrination of values and school-taught values of equality can clash.
Another important influence is stereotypes. While studies show there is some truth found in stereotypes, it is not the rule. Because of stereotypes, it is easy to assume that some races are more racist than others, or that religions are better or worse than others, or why immigrants came to the U.S. If we are honest with ourselves, everyone is an immigrant, unless they are native.
As humans, we will meet people from different areas of the world and we should know that everyone has a different personality. If we meet a person from a specific race who is disrespectful, that does not mean all people from that race are discourteous. Maybe that person was going through something that day and needs better coping skills. Nobody knows what anyone else is going through.
What you think is easy could be challenging for others. We should be a country that does not judge people based on the pigment of their eyes, skin, or hair. We must understand that we were born with a color. It has nothing to do with our character. Judging the externals is the reason for all scorn, corruption, and racism. We should equally judge people based on their actions and how they treat others, not based on something they cannot control.
Remember the famous lesson: Never judge a book by its cover. Every race has bad and good people. We must judge people for their nature, not their ethnicity. Every person is different and worthy, regardless of their place of birth.