Weekend Read: To fight hate, vote.
Consider the last 10 days in our country.
First, a in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, after trying to break into a black church.
Then, a man who reportedly was arrested for mailing pipe bombs to President Barack Obama, George Soros, Hillary Clinton and other people President Trump has criticized.
And on Saturday morning, as worshippers gathered at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, a white gunman shouted 鈥淎ll Jews must die鈥 as he opened fire, killing 11 people.
Behind each attack was the same kind of naked hate.
Last week鈥檚 terrorist attacks were far from the first of their kind. Three years ago, white supremacist Dylann Roof massacred nine African Americans at a church in Charleston. Three years before that, neo-Nazi Wade Michael Page killed six at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. And there have been many other far-right attacks and plots in recent years.
鈥淭his irrational fear that 鈥榯he other鈥 鈥 minorities and people of color 鈥 will take the country away from whites is the through-line connecting a spate of violence targeted at houses of worship across different religions in just the past six years,鈥 wrote Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich this week.
At a , this week, asked, "If you can't go to your church or your mosque or your temple without being shot, or the fear of being shot, what kind of country are we living in?"
In three short days, voters will have the opportunity to help determine just what kind of country we鈥檒l be living in.
鈥淭he midterm elections on Tuesday are not about partisan politics,鈥 said 人兽性交 President Richard Cohen this week. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e about the future of our country. Whatever your political persuasion, reject hate and vote.鈥
Indeed, if anything is clear from the horrific violence of the last 10 days, it鈥檚 what鈥檚 at stake.
Regardless of the outcome, we know there will still be an incredible amount of work to do.
Last year we released an updated community resource guide with 10 ways that individuals can fight hate. The guide includes concrete actions, listed under umbrellas like 鈥淐reate an Alternative,鈥 鈥淭each Acceptance鈥 and 鈥淛oin Forces.鈥 As we wrote last year:
The good news is, all over the country people are fighting hate, standing up to promote tolerance and inclusion. More often than not, when hate flares up, good people rise up against it 鈥 often in greater numbers and with stronger voices.
That鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檝e seen since last week鈥檚 attacks.
鈥淚 will not let this stop me. I鈥檓 here to stay because this is my country,鈥 said Dr. Nadia Rasheed at a vigil in Kentucky this week. 鈥淭he Muslims, the Jews, the Catholics, the Hispanics, the Asians, the gays, we are all American. We need to let them know us and take the hate right out of them!鈥
Or as Patricia Fulce-Smith, wife of the minister of another church in Jeffersontown, told the , 鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta sing through your tears some days.鈥
The Editors
P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:
- by Richard A. Friedman for The New York Times
- by Tayari Jones for TIME
- by Ari Berman for The New York Times
- by Jamelle Bouie for Slate