Hate Speech

I am very disappointed to say that Oberlin College has seen more than its fair share of hate slurs graffiti-ed on walls in the past few weeks, and just last night (or early this morning) somebody was evidently spotted walking near the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgender People in a KKK outfit. But, as strange as it may be to say this, I am also not sure that I am doing the right thing by giving these incidents any more attention.

On one hand, it’s about time that people are paying attention to the fact that there is hate speech (and more) on this campus – I have heard unofficially that some of our dorm buildings such as African Heritage House have dealt with such problems as vandalism over the past few years, without receiving much acknowledgement or press about it. And yes, I do want to support my friends, classmates, and colleagues who have been the subjects of the hate slurs and/or feel uncomfortable because of them. Of course what the perpetrators are doing is nowhere near okay.

But, even as part of the LGBTQ+ community and as a Jew, both of which are among the targets in the hate speech, I personally see the incidents as attempts at getting attention more than anything. On a campus that tries very, very (very, very, very) hard to be politically correct, there should be no surprise that some people would push against the extreme political correctness in both appropriate and inappropriate ways. The important thing is that the college finds the people who react inappropriately and disciplines them accordingly. And according to one of the residential assistants at the college, a couple of the perpetrators may have been caught already. So we have a sign that the college administration is at least trying to do that job.

But instead of sticking with calm reactions to the incident, a rally has been planned for this afternoon – the second to occur this semester, which is barely a month old. Sadly, we are likely merely encouraging the perpetrators by giving them the big, pissy reaction that they seem to want. The rally that occurred last month didn’t stop them, so why should the rally that is planned for today stop them?

I am in full support of the convocation planned for tonight, and other such examples of calm reactions that focus more on supporting our fellow community members, and not as much on shaming the unknown perpetrators. Because unfortunately, events that focus on yelling at a few invisible people, who can simply watch us and laugh, don’t do much good.