Columnist knows little about hate speech

submitted by Sean Kosofsky

December 10, 2007 —

Michael Westendorf should refrain from commenting on subjects that he knows little about. He calls those opposed to hate speech and intimidation "crybabies" and makes light of anti-transgender hate speech. Let me guess - he has never been the victim of a hate crime. Yet he chides members of his community about how they should respond to victimization.

No one is trying to ban nooses or hate speech, so why does he think they are? Hate violence is different from all other forms of crime.

It is not motivated by personal gain, but by simply victimizing the victim and the group in which they are believed to belong. What Westendorf has not learned from history is that a noose one day may signal a knife in a tire the next day and a possible assault the next week.

That's right ... hate violence escalates. Hate crimes, like terrorism, punish entire communities and cause people to live in fear that any day, their lives could be in danger.

Triangle Foundation specializes in this work, so I am qualified to make these statements based on facts and statistics. I'll bet Westendorf has not even read even one hate crime law that he is criticizing.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Wisconsin vs. Mitchell that hate crime laws do not punish speech. They enhance penalties on other crimes such as arson, assault and vandalism. Opponents of hate crimes and hate speech do not demand censorship, we demand accountability and justice. Westendorf should aim his pen at bigots, not those responding to bigotry.

Sean Kosofsky Director of Policy, Triangle Foundation