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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Joshua Leo.
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And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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In many countries around the world hate takes the form of a rally like this one. Hate groups organize crowds of people. They send out information about their rally, or gathering. They meet at a particular time and place. They may bring signs to carry. These signs tell the message of the hate group. Often, these signs insult another particular group of people.
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Sometimes these rallies become dangerous. For example, this can happen with protesters. Sometimes, people come to a hate rally to protest. People in the rally and people protesting begin to fight. Riots start. Police try to keep the peace. They arrest the fighters. Often, people fighting suffer injuries. In situations like this, the hate group often accuses the protesters of inciting violence. They accuse the protesters of limiting free speech. And news of the violence spreads. In the end, more people know about the hate rally. In this case, protesting the rally also does harm.
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But people do want to protest hate rallies. So, how can a person show that he disagrees with hate, or a hate rally? How can a person lead a protest to a hate rally without inciting violence, or denying the free speech rights of the hate group?
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Today's Spotlight program is the fifth in a series of ten programs. In this series of programs we will look at ten ways to fight hate.
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Hate is powerful enough to destroy people and communities. So Tolerance.org has made this list of ten ways to fight hate in your community. On today's Spotlight program we will look at the fifth way to fight hate in your community: Create an Alternative.
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Tolerance.org knows that communities want to react to hate rallies. People faced with hate rallies may feel helpless against such a large hate-filled group. They may feel angry. People may want to show their anger by physically hurting the hate group or causing trouble for them. People protesting hate may want to shout or throw something at the hate group. But violent protests like this do not usually change anything. In fact using these methods to protest a hate group can cause more trouble and hate in a community.
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Tolerance.org has a different idea about what people should do when they are faced with a hate rally. They say that "Every act of hatred should be met with an act of love and unity." That is, people can create a sort of balance. When someone does an act of hate, another person can fight it with an act of love.
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Tolerance.org suggests that you can do this when you are faced with a hate rally. You can create an alternative. An alternative is a different thing to choose. For example, you may want to attend a hate rally to protest it. But instead, you could choose an alternative. You could choose to protest the hate rally in a different way.
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So, what could you do as an alternative? Well, Tolerance.org suggests holding another event in a different place, but at the same time as the hate rally. You could host, or lead, a picnic, a parade, or a celebration of diversity. Celebrate every kind of culture represented in your community. Include as many different cultures in your celebration as you can. Celebrate the different religions in your community. Include food, music, dancing, and information. One town in Maine, in the United States, experienced this kind of alternative. Here is the story:
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In 2001, a large group of Somali immigrants moved into the town of Lewiston, in the state of Maine. In 2002 a local government official, the mayor of Lewiston, sent the Somali community a letter. He asked them to stop inviting more family to live in Lewiston. He told the group that the town of Lewiston could not deal with any more Somalis. Somali community members were shocked at the mayor's letter. Mohamed Driye was a Somali living in Lewiston. He told the local newspaper:
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"The mayor thinks he is the mayor for only white people in the community. He is not only their mayor. He is our mayor too."
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Two hate groups also read the mayor's letter. They saw a chance to spread their message. They planned a hate rally in January 2003. They hoped that people would join their rally against the Somalis.
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People in the community reacted to the plan for the hate rally. They planned an alternative event. The group planning the event called themselves the "Many and One Coalition." They invited local churches, students and many concerned people to join the event. They used the event to teach people about diversity, or differences in people.
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The Many and One Coalition hoped their event would send a message against hate. They believed that their message against hate would be stronger than the hate group's message for hate. They were right. Tolerance.org says that more than four thousand people attended the Many and One Coalition's diversity event. And less than one hundred people attended the hate rally.
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Tolerance.org tells another story of how a community fought racism in a creative way. One town completely closed to oppose a racist rally that would happen there.
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On the day the rally was planned, businesses everywhere were closed. Many people stayed inside their houses. People used orange flags and ribbons to show they were against the racist rally. Bob Henry was a leader in the alternative against the racist rally. He said,
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"Our protest is to turn our back on them. We are rejecting them to let them know they are not welcome here. We think brotherhood is better than racist ideas."
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How can you react to hate in your local area? Are there hate rallies in your area? Do not fight hate with more hate. Instead, think about creating an alternative to hate in your community.
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This is the fifth program in a series of ten programs on ten ways to fight hate. This information is from Tolerance.org. Here are Tolerance.org's ten ways to fight hate.
Act, Unite, Support the Victims, Do Your Homework, Create an Alternative, Speak Up, Lobby Leaders, Look Long Range, Teach Tolerance, and Dig Deeper.
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Keep listening to Spotlight to hear the complete series. And be sure to visit Tolerance.org on the internet.
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