More Racist Hate Crimes

Read LA Times article about white extremists

Well, I guess there is a flipside to America electing its first black president: not only does it ignite hope in people who believe in liberty and civil rights, it also ignites fear and hatred in people who believe in the power of white privilege. These people feel threatened by the idea of a black president so much that they will go any extremes to get their message out.

I feel so angry and personally affronted by these crimes that you would think I didn't have white skin myself. In fact, I really truly wish that I didn't when I see things like this. I despise my own race for committing these heinous acts. I know this probably is not a helpful response - responding to anger with more anger usually only makes the situation worse. But I truly don't know a way to productively respond to these messages of hate and intolerance.

They say that true love casts out all fear - so I suppose the best way to respond to hate crimes would be out of love. How do you respond to hate with love? This is something that many of my heroes have done: Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa. But I think that I would be more inclined to follow the lead of Sampat Pal Devi of the Pink Sari Gang and go out seeking vengeance, or at least humiliation, on these perpetrators.

Is one the better way? Obviously most of the superheroes in Hollywood don't set out to transform the bad guys through love and peaceful non-resistance; superheroes set out to punish and eliminate them for their evil deeds. Given the choice, I would say that Jesus is a better model for true reconciliation. But my human nature wants to put on a pink sari and beat down these idiots!