Expose, Resist Hate

On Dec. 10, a beer bottle was thrown into a Spokane home, shattering the lighted menorah in the window. It is being investigated as a hate crime. Some people were critical that it was deemed that, instead of simple mischief. And some thought the incident should have been kept quiet.

Also in December, a white separatist group in North Idaho did a mass mailing, sending into homes words of hate and bigotry. Some said the incident should have been ignored, so the region doesn’t get branded as a haven for bigots.

But the incidents should never be swept away. That gives them more power. They should be reported, put in perspective and countered with the words of those working against hate and bigotry.

Some people hate others for not being exactly like them. And others condemn and work against that hatred. May the efforts of the second group prevail in the new year.