White men, twisting their faces into looks of determined anger, listen intently to their leader spit out anti-Semitic and bitterly racist sentiments. They have gathered to exercise their "freedom of expression"--by burning a cross in the yard of a mixed-race family.
The image evokes thoughts of the Deep South for many people, but such a scene has occurred all over the country, including Thurston County. A few years ago in Yelm, a man was arrested for burning a cross in an act of harassment. In Washington, it is a felony to attack, assault, or harass a person because of religion, sexuality, or race.
Despite this, hate groups remain active in the Northwest. White supremacist groups like the Aryan Nations and Constitutionalists believe the government exists to serve the people, and since the government refuses to conform to their beliefs nd "purify" the races, they take the law into their own hands. They target not only people of different races, but homosexuals, Jews, and anyone who does not fall into the white Christian demographic.
Even worse, however, is that although a system is in place to track them, few incidents are actually categorized as hate crimes.
Law enforcement officials must grapple with the nature of the alleged crime--is it free speech, or a hate crime? To be defined as the latter, it must be "violent or demoralizing," which can often be difficult to prove. Spray-painting racial epithets on a house obviously belongs under this definition, but even something as horrifying as a cross-burning can fall into an abysmal gray area. Recently, for example, someone painted his car with offensive words and was reported, but officials determined the act to be freedom of expression.
It is not surprising, then, that so few are reported. So far this year, only three incidents were reported and classified as hate crimes. Officials are definitely pleased with this downward trend, but some activists still say it is not enough. Though they may go unreported, "people are still targeted because they are scapegoats," says Anna Schlecht, a local community activist.
Schlecht co-founded Unity in the Community in 1991 in response to the murder of an Asian American teen by racist skinheads. She believes that "crime laws are not enough. It is important to go to the root. [People should] get involved in any way they can in responding when the crimes happen."
The community is always affected when hate crimes occur, Schlect says, because "they are acts of violent terrorism, not only against the victims, but the victim's kind. THe murder of MAtthew Shepherd was a message to all gays that they are under attack. THe murder of James Bird in Texas was a message to all African Americans that their lives are in danger. In responsee, it is critical for communities to mobilize public rallies and shows of support for diversity and to speak out against hate crimes."
(from The Olympus)
