Hate Speech
George Orwell’s novel 1984 portrayed a daily ‘2 minutes of hate’ as well as an annual ‘Hate Week’ prescient perhaps of the sort of anarchy and mob rule we’ve seen in Europe over the last few years. The press like to polarise it as left and right politics and maybe that’s partly true. My feeling is that it’s more to do with education, opportunities and misinformation.
I’ve been appalled recently that a local cafe Xoko Bake House in Inverness (Highland Capital and my closest city) has been the victim of ‘hate crimes’. Fernando and Tristan make food with love and passion and serve their bakes, brunches and lunches in a convivial, bright, sharing space in the city centre. They have always been clear that they provide a safe space for everyone, including gay patrons, and they display the rainbow flag on their premises. It is this stance which seems to have attracted the vile outbursts of hate crimes against the duo and their cafe. The flag has been defaced and destroyed on numerous occasions, their windows have been spat on and painted on and they themselves have been the target of personal verbal abuse. The most recent attack - the 10th this year - resulted in an I.D. of one of the perpetrators, caught on their CCTV, being published in local media and online, in an effort to trace and prosecute the offender. The police are treating the incident as ‘hate crime’.
I don’t personally think there’s any one thing to blame for this sort of action, any more than there was for the riots that happened in the summer in the UK, largely against immigrants. Social media has definitely made it easier for people to spout abuse with impunity. We tolerate levels of unkindness, criticism and abuse on line almost without question. People can be blocked, but no one’s calling the behaviour out. It’s not purely an on-line phenomenon either, as these incidents demonstrate, although it’s certainly easier to say what you think and spout vitriol when you’re not face-to-face, staring someone directly in the eyes.
The days of debate and discussion are over, it seems. Views are polarised, with no room to see someone else’s perspective. I’m not quite sure how we got here, but when we are unable to empathise with another person’s views and choices, it’s an easy step to direct our frustrations and disappointments into hate towards them, objectifying ‘gays’ or ‘immigrants’ or whatever other group of people we disagree with. The consequences of our actions on another human being - flesh and blood that weeps and bleeds - is not considered.
I don’t know what the answer is, but education has to be a key doesn’t it? Teach your children to see other perspectives, to value difference, not to be threatened by it. We need to have ways to express frustration, personal failures and disappointments without blaming a particular group of people. We need to learn resilience, so that we don’t walk around with proverbial chips on our shoulders. We have created a generation of young people who are an ‘under-class’ who feel dispossessed, rootless; who have no ideologies to chew on and no hero’s to look up to. Our society has created poverty and divide and not the sort of egalitarian model we might have hoped to aspire to. Politicians, business people, education and a lack of all have their part to play.
I’m not making any excuses for the criminals who destroyed and defaced XoKo’s property in the recent incident, or over the last year; I’m not excusing the vile abuse they have had to endure over the last 18 or more. There is no excuse. I’m sad and disgusted that a city I call my own has dished out such hate against two lovely, talented guys who are following their passion to bring baking and joy to people. I do think we need to take a deeper look at what’s going on here and consider how we can move forwards positively. Let’s call out ‘hate speech’ when we hear it. It is not and never can acceptable. It’s a crime and will be dealt with as such, but it’s not isolated, it’s indicative of something going bad below the surface of society’s ’polite’ veneer. People should not feel comfortable to commit these sorts of crimes and we all need to play our part.
Feel free to disagree and discuss in the comments!