the harassment

As much as I believe the importance of balanced news, it's true that my news and social media feeds are largely progressive. It can be easy to forget that not everyone is reading the same articles I am. Yesterday I sought out some news from a different perspective. I read a few conservative newspapers and watched a few interviews with Trump supporters. The one that struck me, that I just can't shake, was an article on the increase of harassment throughout the US. Or specifically, that there isn't one. I can't find the piece as I write this, so you will just have to trust my memory. The white male author described that there has not been an increase in violence at all, instead most of the allegations are made up, not actually symbols of hate, or they were just kids being kids not REAL threats. His proof for the fact that hate crimes are not actually increasing throughout America was completely based on police reporting.

It's that last part that is sticking with me. As a white person, I can see the logic of 'if I'm a victim of a crime I would call the police for help' and therefore there should be tons of new police cases out there documenting these hate crimes. But let's step back a moment and acknowledge that your reality is not the same reality as every other person's in America. Specifically, white male reality is much different from the marginalized voices of society. Can you imagine for a moment that you have family members who have been unfairly persecuted or jailed? Picture your partner getting teargassed for joining the front lines of a peaceful protest. Pretend you have been regularly stopped by police, maybe even frisked, while doing nothing wrong. Imagine you have a friend that was shot down or assaulted by police for petty crime or, hell, no crime at all. Do you see how that might shape the relationship you have with the police? Do you see how your first inclination, as a victim, might not be 'call 911'? That maybe the police don't stand as a symbol of safety for you?

Just because discrimination is not always reported, does not mean it doesn't exist. Racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia exist all around us, even if they do not touch you personally. And sadly, it exists as the norm for many of the inhabitants of this country. As a female who has been verbally and physically harassed by countless men, was I supposed to report every case to the police? When it's the norm? And I can imagine for a Muslim woman the frequent comments she must receive on her hijab. Should she report all of those? When it's the norm? What could the police possibly do for us, when this reality has been a part of life for many of us for so long? A uniformed officer cannot undo the objectification we faced or calm our hurt feelings. The police cannot change the mind of our perpetrators. Ending hate crimes begins with ending hate. That starts by us examining our inherent privileges, talking with and educating one another, and then inserting some empathy into the world around us.

The harassment taking place over the last few days is not new. No. It's existed long before the election results, but what is new is the frequency in which it is happening and that these acts are being committed in the name of our new president-elect. That is why we are afraid. And that is why we protest.