Ten Ways to Fight Hate: Act

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This is the first in a series of 10 programs on 10 ways to fight hate in your community. Bruce Gulland and Liz Waid look at the first way to fight hate – act.

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Bruce Gulland.

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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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On August 12, 2018, Hawk Newsome was visiting Washington DC, in the United States. He was walking with a crowd of people. They were all a part of an eight-day march. This peaceful protest was called the Agape March.

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Agape is a Greek word that means “love”. But agape is not just any kind of love. This love means that we give of ourselves for others. When we practice agape love, we are seeking the best for another person — even through our own sacrifice. The goal of the Agape March was to spread love. This kind of love is the opposite of hate.

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Today’s Spotlight program is the first in a series of ten programs. In this series of programs we will look at 10 ways to fight hate.

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Hate is a very damaging feeling. It damages the person hating. And it damages the person who is being hated. Hate can lead people to do horrible things, like hate crimes. A person commits a hate crime because he hates that the other person is different. Hate crimes can take many different forms. Hate crimes may be violent. Or they may be non-violent. But they are very damaging to people and communities. They always are meant to scare or hurt other people.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center has made this list of 10 ways to fight hate in your community. In today’s program we will look at the first way to fight hate in your community: Act.

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Hawk Newsome wanted to act because of what he had seen a year before. One year before, in Charlottesville, Virginia, a hate group formed rallies and shouted hateful words. Violence broke out between the hate group and protesters. During the violence, a man drove his car into the protestors. He killed a woman and injured 19 more people. This incident affected Newsome. This is why he began the Agape March. He told Newsweek,

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“I was in Charlottesville last year. I saw the tear gas, the rocks, and the guns. I saw the power of hate. What I want to see now is the power of love.”

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Hate crime happens in many places around the world. Maybe you have seen or experienced a hate crime for yourself. People who observe or experience hate crimes often feel helpless or alone. But it is important to remember that you do have the power to stop hate. You are not alone. Many people in your community also want to stop hate.

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Imagine if you read about the violence in Charlottesville. What would you have done? The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, says that when you observe a hate crime you could react in two different ways. First, you could do nothing. You could continue living your life as you are. Or you could react in a completely different way. You could do something. They suggest that you “rise up, speak up and stand up against hate.” People must act out against hate crimes. Hate will continue if people do not act.

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People who commit crimes because of hate are not only attacking one person or group. The hate crime in Charlottesville influenced the whole community. Hate tears communities apart. When communities are in conflict, all members of the community suffer. Experts say that hate crimes encourage community conflict and riots more than any other crimes.

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So, the SPLC suggests that people should react to hate crimes by doing good things. In one city in West Virginia, vandals wrote words of hate on the outside wall of a building. A teacher at a school nearby discussed this act of vandalism with his students. The children wanted to fight this form of hate crime. They decided to paint over the hateful words. The vandals sent a message of hate. But the students sent another message. They sent a message saying that they did not want hate in their community.

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People who commit hate crimes can see if people do not react. The students reacted. The criminals could see that the community did not agree with their words of hate.

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What can you do to fight hate in your community? That is not an easy question. But there are many things to try. You can lead a prayer, paint over vandalism, or speak in your place of worship, or school. You can work with others to lead a meeting in your community and think of ideas to stop hate crimes. You can organize a rally. Gather many people together to protest hate. If you are an artist, offer to make materials to inform other people about the anti -hate rallies. If you play an instrument offer to perform at a concert to raise money to fight hate.

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Hawk Newsome saw the power of hate. He was sad and angry because of the injustice he had seen. He believed that a change was necessary. Otherwise, more violence like the kind people saw in Charlottesville would happen again. He wanted to make a difference. So he worked with other people to make the Agape March. He told Newsweek:

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“This march is an exercise of love. A revolutionary love. With it, we seek to truly change America.”

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Hate separates a community – but you can help bring it back together. As the SPLC says: “In the face of hate, silence is deadly.” We cannot stay still and silent when hate is around us. We must act.

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This is the first program in a series of 10 programs on 10 ways to fight hate. This list is from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a group that works toward racial justice, especially in the Southern United States. They monitor hate crimes, teach tolerance, and seek justice. Here are their 10 ways to fight hate.

Act, Join Forces, Support the Victims, Speak Up, Educate Yourself, Create an Alternative, Pressure Leaders, Stay Engaged, Teach Acceptance, and Dig Deeper.

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Keep listening to Spotlight to hear the complete series. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. Visit us on YouTube at youtube.com/spotlightenglish1.

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The writers of this program were Liz Waid and Amelia Berglund. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called “Ten Ways to Fight Hate: Act.”

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Visit our website to download our free official App for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!

Question:

Have you ever acted against hate? Have you ever seen anyone fight back against hate?