Editorial: "Protecting communities from the tenacity of hate"

December 28, 2001

Source: The Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/134383747_hateop28.html

On December 28, 2001, The Seattle Times featured an editorial by Pramila Jayapal, "Protecting communities from the tenacity of hate." She writes, "On Dec. 13, a 47-year-old Sikh man was shot to death at the gas station he owned in New Haven, Conn. Eight days before that, the offices of the Arab American Action Network in Chicago were set on fire by an arsonist. These incidents � along with the murder of two Yemeni Americans and the alleged plot by the Jewish Defense League to bomb a mosque in California � serve as important reminders that hate crimes and incidents have not receded since Sept. 11." She continues, "While many want to believe that hate crimes and incidents have decreased, those of us who work directly in these communities know that hate and discrimination is only becoming more widespread and more insidious. ... Basic freedoms of mobility are challenged, but even more important, a personal sense of place in this society is at stake for all those who have been targeted."