Tracing hate’s roots

“Only by persistent and unremitting educational efforts will we one day see that mutual helpfulness and tolerance between differing peoples have become as important to our welfare as having clean air, clean water and a healthy environment.”

Alan B. Slifka, “Handbook

of Interethnic Coexistence”

A Spokane woman – a human rights worker – and her children recently awoke to the sight of a noose on their doorstep. She and other persons of color have been the targets of a resurgence of hateful and threatening behavior in the Spokane and North Idaho communities.

There is a documented increase in this kind of activity throughout the country. Whether it is due to fear and divisiveness associated with the economy, racist rage at the election of a black president, organized hate online or a cultural shift toward uncivil behavior, it is here again in our community, and we must say, loudly and clearly: Not in our town!

The responsibility for creating healthy communities and respect for difference lies with us, as individuals, working in our respective and relevant contexts.

Because hate has always been a vigorous and stubborn enemy of human rights, it is useful to know as much as possible about how it takes root and grows. It is also important to learn what strategies are most effective in eliminating hatred and treating its effects.

The Gonzaga Institute for Action Against Hate was founded by Gonzaga University in 1998 to fight hate through education, research and advocacy. Its genesis derived from concerns surrounding the apparent increase in the phenomenon of hate – especially racial and religious hate – as it manifested itself on campuses and in communities throughout the country.

The prevalence of hate crimes, organized hate groups and hateful Internet sites prompted the university community to reflect upon ways that Gonzaga – a Jesuit institution – might provide understanding regarding how hate afflicts campus life, society in general and the world. What are its causes, its characteristics and its effects? How does it spread and how can it be counteracted? What can the various disciplines – from religious studies and law to psychology, science, history and anthropology – contribute to our understanding of hate and its prevention? And, importantly, what can institutions of higher education contribute to education theory and practice in relation to teaching about and eliminating hate at the postsecondary and K-12 levels?

The Gonzaga Institute for Action Against Hate provides resources and a framework for a new field known as hate studies by bringing together different disciplines and perspectives on the subject of hate, by increasing relevant interdisciplinary learning opportunities, by encouraging and facilitating hate-related research and scholarly writing and by developing new hate studies curricula.

The institute recently published its seventh annual volume of the Journal of Hate Studies (available online and in print). Journal themes and articles represent the work of authors in fields such as psychology, religious studies, information science and technology, neurobiology, sociology, history, human rights activism and law. Future issues will continue the journal’s central role as a vehicle for establishing the evolving field of hate studies.

The effort to understand and combat hate is no simple task in a world of competing cultures and ideologies, dwindling resources and widespread poverty. But the institute believes it is an effort and responsibility that educators, professionals and people of good will everywhere should undertake with enthusiasm and dedication.

We know our work is just one initiative among many good works and strategies by which our neighbors throughout the Inland Northwest are reaffirming the region’s support for diversity and human rights. Later this month, the institute will host a banquet at which the first Take Action Against Hate Award will be presented to Eva Lassman. A Holocaust survivor, Eva is a shining example of those who fight for justice. In this crucial time, we all have a role to play to ensure that our children inherit a hate-free society.