Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/30/hate-crime-numbers-reach-an-al.html
…
5 Likes
Synagogues, mosques and other non-Christian or non-mainstream Christian places of worship are targeted because they are easily identified. Jews, Muslims and other religious groups are sometimes identifiable because of head coverings or other items of clothing.
Most devoutly religious individuals are also targeted because these people mostly abhor violence, in part due to their faith. They make easy, low-consequence targets (unless I happen to be nearby).
4 Likes
Sometimes increases in reported crimes can just be increases in reporting and not increases in crimes. We’ve definitely seen that in places where confidence in police handling of sexual assault goes up, the number of reported assaults increases dramatically, for example.
But I don’t really buy it here. It says the reported crimes are mostly vandalism. From 2016 to 2017 we saw a 47% increase in the willingness of people to report swastikas spray painted on their synagogues? Bullshit.
Anyway, this is easily checked by talking to community leaders. Talk to some rabbis and imams and ask, “So, have you been more willing to report vandalism or is it happening more?”
12 Likes
When you consider a) how closely we tend to mirror the US to the point that b) people forget that we have different laws, I am inclined to believe that incidents are on the rise.
We’ve always had hate groups and hateful people. A few of the darlings (or at least until last week) of the alt-right are from Canada. Right now, they’re getting platforms and voices, especially in big US media. Which emboldens their homegrown fans. One is leading the most populous province in Canada. Look at the rhetoric from Scheer (leading one of the main federal parties) and Bérnier. You don’t get there spouting those views unless a significant number of people share them. Now that those people feel legitimised with what they perceive as political and academic support, they’re doing the things that up until now they only dreamed of because they thought they were outnumbered.
So I think it’s more than just reportage here. It’s not just more attacks, either, but the fact that they’re getting bigger and more blatant.
9 Likes
The trend is your friend. I would guess we will have another new high next month. Buy hate crime futures.
I would expect most anyone facing an insurance issue to report vandalism to police.
2 Likes
On behalf of the better parts of upper mexico I apologize for letting our racism sneak across the border.
2 Likes
Meanwhile the RCMP continue to beat, apprehend without cause, and kill indigenous Canadians (while flat out ignoring the disproportionate number of missing or murdered indigenous women) without anyone blinking an eyelash. O Canada.
11 Likes
I was telephone-surveyed this evening. From the questions, they were trying to see how distrustful/scared I was of The Other. Meh, my answers will probably be tossed as some kind of weird outlier.
6 Likes
After over a hundred years, they’re going to try to keep indigenous children in their communities rather than taking them to dump in foster care. A weird idea, but maybe it’ll work.
8 Likes
It’s sneaking globally.
Gavin McGuinness is currently trying to organise an Australian tour, although he thankfully just had his visa refused. Milo is coming back for a repeat performance as well.
From NotAmerica, Tommy Robinson is on his way down under, and we had Lauren Southern not that long ago.
White Australians are racist as all hell already. We don’t need further encouragement.
5 Likes
That’s basically the same for us.
3 Likes
O Canada!
Not you too?!?!
Hey Margaret Atwood, http://margaretatwood.ca/ … please hurry.
I really need to find out how this is all going to end, or at least what is coming up for us:
3 Likes
This is ridiculous. Canada is a settler colonial state built on the genocide of indigenous people and it somehow has a past that wasn’t as racist?
3 Likes
Canada has a long, ugly history of systemic racism against our Indigenous Peoples. There’s no excuse for it. It’s a constant, continuing embarrassment. Our leaders talk about reconciliation and do little to work towards it. It’s a hate that’s seen in northern communities, and in pockets across the county.
That racists feel emboldened to branch out with their hate openly, brazenly and without fear of consequence on a wider scale, feels new. I’m a Noahide: I study under a Rabbi as part of my faith. My brother-in-law is Metis. Things have been terrible since our nation’s inception. They’re getting worse.
6 Likes
When the numbers are so small, a handful of nutcases with spraypaint can skew the percentages considerably.
For instance:
This came as such a shock to me. I grew up with Australia as kind of this exotic place filled with weird animals and maybe some weird Crocodile Dundee Stereotypes, but it was a place I’d want to visit someday.
Then the Cronulla Riots happened and it all became decidedly more pedestrian and less interesting. I’d still like to visit, and obviously there are plenty of decent folk on the continental country, but that was my first real exposure to serious events in Australia. Well, that and the immigration detention facilities. (That last one made the outcry over Johnny Depp’s dog seem so perverse.)
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
