I don't object to hate. Higher minds strive to overcome their feelings of hate but it is natural to hate someone who has wronged you. Another few days of upsetting racist stories are about unreasoning hate. There is no excuse for hate of a group of people just because they are not us. The sharing of these stories makes it seem like hate is worse than it had been. I think racism and xenophobia are more like mold. It may not always show but it's there. The coarsening of discourse over the last while is just like a crowbar that pried up the countertop to expose the rot underneath. People spraying swastikas on Jewish buildings or calling the police to report a threatening African American are not just discovering their racism. They just feel emboldened to express it.
I don't know if racism and hate can actually be cured. It might be hard wired in us to suspect the stranger. I do know that we can decide its expression is intolerable. We repress a lot of "natural" things for the good of society. Everybody has genitalia but it's an accepted rule that we keep them hidden from strangers. A lot of behaviours that are acceptable at one time become taboo as society evolves. People used to joke about driving drunk. Societal pressure to be better has made it unacceptable to do and unseemly to joke about. It is important that we make it clear that open racism is not funny or "just an opinion". People who don't want to accept that this is supposed to be an inclusive society need to be shamed back underground.
I agree it is not a perfect solution. Ideally, we would actually feel love and acceptance or, at worst, tolerance for our fellow humans of all colours, creeds, religions and the like but that is a matter of enlightenment and enlightenment comes with time and willingness. In the absence of true changes of mind, behavioural modification is the only real world answer. The firing and public shaming of the Central Park Karen is a good example of the kind of consequences that should discourage thoughtless and dangerous behaviour from others.
The cops who killed the man by kneeling on his neck need to be charged criminally to emphasize that the law is the law. Gravity is a law. There is no race, power or money that can make you levitate. Man's laws need to apply in the same way. There needs to be constant outrage every time the rules are applied unequally. There are already so many subtle and unseen microaggressions against people of colour. The blatant and open misapplication of what is supposed to be equality under the law needs to be shamed and punished out of existence.
I know it feels like the world is sliding into tribalism and chaos but there is no such thing as unstoppable momentum when it comes to human behaviour. It can seem like only those shouting have an opinion but I believe that there are many more who quietly hope for a better, kinder world. It's time that thos quiet speak up. Not necessarily shouting to drown out the hate but gently and firmly pointing out that it is unacceptable whenever it rears its ugly head. Let those who would try to get away with racism and hate be fearful instead of the other way around.
Long rant. Thanks for reading.
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