I've never met Professsor Arjun, but he was kind enough to consult in the case of a hate crime in my city.
Even though I'd heard about most of the thirteen cases, the power of the testimonials still overwhelmed me. I had not adequately considered the long-term effects of these crimes on their immediate victims, and many of the initial media accounts did not include poignant details revealed in this volume.
While I've in general been a proponent of emphasizing the continuity between #45Regime & previous administrations, I do agree with Professor Arjun's assessment of Darth Orange's role in the hate crimes described in this book.
And while it is a fact that communities of color, immigrants, people of faith, and others have long faced hate in this nation, something has changed during these past few years. I have spoken and met with organizers, activists, and policy advocates; and sat down with survivors of hate in their offices, universities, community centers, houses of worship, and homes. They all say something similar. The 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent election of Donald J. Trump emboldened, empowered, enabled, facilitated, and legitimized the worst in America: racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and anti-immigrant hostility. Much of what we see today is an outgrowth of what we have experienced before, but the hate nowadays is more visceral and widespread than many of us could have imagined just a few years ago. (pp. 2-3)
The conclusion covers a range of important issues, such as the necessity of broad based coalitions among groups which may have recognized their common interests and vulnerabilities, the essential features of good hate crimes laws, the role media and tech companies can play in reducing hate groups' power and the negative impact discriminatory and violent government policies have in green-lighting hate ideology and ingraining it among the dominant groups in a society.
No concluding essay can or should cover everything, but I wished the author would have shared his thoughts on the pressure minority victims of hate crimes receive to forgive the perpetrator.
Another topic which is of great interest to me these days is prison abolition. One group profiled in the book does in fact advocate prison abolition and for this reason did not contact the police in response to the crime which it suffered. When the hate crime occurred in my city, I don't think anybody seriously considered the possibility of not calling the police. In retrospect, that discussion, regardless of the ultimate decision, could have opened the doors to the coalition-building necessary to reverse the losses reactionary movements have inflicted on our society.
Purchase the book from your independent book seller or borrow it from a library near you.
Updated June 5, 2019: Shabd Singh interviewed Arjun Sethi did on "The One" Podcast.
