Tuesday, November 11, 1997
Unspeakable acts
TRAVEL White House conference, broadcast across the U.S.,
tackles an age-old problem
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
Taking the next step in dealing with national hate-crime rates,
President Clinton met Monday with a panel of Americans at the
first-ever White House Conference on Hate Crimes.
In conjunction with the conference, 50 cities across the nation
hosted similar meetings to address the issue at local levels.
A mother, a high school sophomore, a police chief, a reverend
and several policy-makers sat down with Clinton at George
Washington University and began to tackle a problem which is as old
as the nation itself, though it has only in recent years taken a
place of significance in American politics.
Activists expressed concern, however, that the spirit of the
conference may fade when the excitement and emotional testimony is
over.
"We are very happy to be there and eager to participate. If some
past administration had done such a program, (the gay community)
would not have been invited," said Jeff Montgomery, associate
director of the Triangle Foundation, on the evening before the
conference. "But I’m apprehensive too. It’s one day’s worth of
attention and then who knows what happens afterwards. We can’t let
people forget."
Montgomery is one of dozens of anti-hate-crime activists whose
hopes were addressed when Clinton demanded that sexual orientation
be recognized as a type of discrimination that drives hate
crimes.
"We need to make the current laws tougher, including the laws
(dealing with) sexual orientation," Clinton said. "All Americans
deserve protection from hate."
Other groups at the conference focused on hate crimes manifested
through religious, racial, disabled and gender attacks. Stories
contributed by panelists varied in the type of discrimination
experienced, but discussion stuck to one idea: consistently
enforcing laws and symbolically returning to the ideals of America,
beginning at the beginning, with children.
"Children have to be taught to hate. … The most important
thing we can do is to reach these kids when they’re young enough to
learn," Clinton said after pledging that 50 more FBI agents would
be transferred to the field of hate crimes. "Somebody’s going to be
trying to teach them how to hate."
Vice President Gore’s statements focused on the symbolic. "The
act of attacking people because they’re different should send a
shiver down the spine of America. Any attacks based on the rights
to freedom are attacks on America," he said. "We need to cool the
sparks of hate before they burst into flames and engulf a
community."
Many speakers at the conference recounted the personal stories
that inaugurated their involvement in the fight against
hate-crimes. And thousands of miles away at the Museum of
Tolerance, Los Angeles residents were telling their own
stories.
In conjunction with the White House conference, intellects at
approximately 50 regional summits across the country explored the
same topics. Via satellite, the President and his panelists were
broadcasted at various cities, sparking discussion.
"It’s a good thing the White House made this conference
available for downlinks. (With the regional summits) it won’t be
just a couple hundred people attending, but thousands," Montgomery
said, adding that bringing the discussion to the local levels will
help bring about change.
At the Museum of Tolerance, several dozen guests including
students, professors, clergy and professionals watched the
big-screen conference and heard speakers on law-enforcement
strategies, psychological repercussions and Internet hate
crimes.
UCLA Professor Edward Dunbar localized the discussion by
addressing the problem of the long-term impact of hate crimes
within Los Angeles County. According to his presentation, nearly
1,500 incidents of hate crime were reported from 1994-1995.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of The Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of
Tolerance shared an array of hateful images found on hundreds of
Web sites, varying from white-supremacy themes to anti-Semitic
pages.
The regional summit, like the dozens other spanning the country,
echoed the national counterpart’s goals of confronting racism and
bigotry, continuing Clinton’s vision for "one America."
With reports from Bruin wire services.