Why tracking 'hate incidents' that don't break the law is crucial to tackling rise in hate crimes

Irfan Chaudhry

From Mohammed Abu Marzouk being viciously beaten on his way home from a picnic, to a man in a grocery store refusing to let another customer leave and calling him a 'illegal immigrant' — hate-fuelled confrontations in Canada appear to be on the rise.

According to a Statistics Canada report released in June, police-reported hate crimes are increasing. But experts say the observation of incidents of hate that fall outside criminal offences are also crucial. 

"I often go back to an analogy that a colleague of mine Barbara Perry, a leading hate crime researcher in Ontario, [uses]," said Irfan Chaudhry, the director of the office of Human Rights, Diversity and Equity at MacEwan University. "She talks about the 'slaps' versus the 'punches' — the punches being that hate crimes are more obvious, they're more physical ... they're the ones that we hear more about. But the slaps are just as impactful."

Chuandry helps run an online tool called StopHateAB.ca that tracks hate incidents in Alberta.

He spoke to The Current's guest host Ioanna Roumeliotis about why paying closer attention to more subtle forms of hate-fuelled violence can help in understanding the climate of hate and possibly preventing future attacks.  (more...)

Why tracking 'hate incidents' that don't break the law is crucial to tackling rise in hate crimes

Background:

Police investigating alleged racist incident caught on camera at London, Ont. grocery store

Police investigating alleged racist incident caught on camera at London, Ont. grocery store

Your friendly neighborhood ethnic cleanser

Police in London, Ont. say their hate crime unit is investigating an altercation between two men at a local grocery store.

In a now widely-shared Facebook video, a man appears to be blocking the path of another man at the checkout area of a Sobeys.

A man in a red shirt holds a phone to his ear while preventing a man in a hoodie from leaving the store.

The video, posted by Facebook user Katie Pocasangre Montoya on July 17, has since been viewed nearly two million times.

In her post, Montyoa claims the man in the red shirt called the other an “illegal alien” and demanded to see his “Canadian documentation.”

The man in the hoodie can be heard saying “don’t touch me” and “I want to leave, stop assaulting me” while the other man continues to obstruct his path.

Const. Michelle Romano said there was some sort of argument between the two inside the store before the altercation at the checkout, though it’s unclear what it was about.

Despite this, she said the actions of the man in the red shirt are “quite disturbing.”

“That’s why our hate crime unit is looking into the matter,” she said. “Currently, we’re investigating the incident as a possible hate-motivated crime.”

Police received multiple calls from customers in the store about the altercation while it was going on. Once they arrived and spoke to the men, police said both the men “left the store peacefully.”

Romano said the victim chose not to press charges.  (more...)

Police investigating alleged racist incident caught on camera at London, Ont. grocery store

That's South Onterrornazi for you:

Growing Up Among Closet Nazis in Southwest Ontario

Police investigating horrific Mississauga beating as possible anti-Muslim hate crime

Yes, social conservatism is used by organized fascism as a recruiting device. I've become very cautious about who I affirm and legitimize. There are some very unwelcome passengers on the big blue bus.

Growing Up Among Closet Nazis in Southwest Ontario

As the title implies, I grew up in a community profoundly influenced by eugenicist and Nazi ideology. The contradiction with media and academic portrayals of Canadian values and customs was bewildering and disheartening. How did my country become so duplicitous and traitorous?


Racist Southwest Ontario

The Many Shortcomings of Germany's Neo-Nazi Terror Trial

In the end, after a five-year trial against Beate Zschäpe and supporters of the right-wing extremist terror cell known as the "National Socialist Underground" (NSU), it's worthwhile to take another look at how it all began. To examine what happened on that day more than 20 years ago when Zschäpe, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt went underground. It makes sense to focus on some of the details that were initially ignored, at secondary players who seemingly didn't play a significant role -- to understand just how complex the NSU really was.

Back then, on Jan. 26, 1998, police searched a garage in the eastern German city of Jena that had been rented by Zschäpe. They found five pipe bombs containing 1.3 kilograms of explosives. It looked as though the authorities had found a hot trail.

For the trio, that search meant it was time to disappear. Zschäpe and her two companions climbed into an old car to flee toward Chemnitz. But then the car broke down.

It was a completely normal breakdown and normal people would simply have called a tow truck and waited on the side of the road. But Zschäpe, Böhnhardt and Mundlos didn't wait -- and they made it to Chemnitz despite the mishap. After that, they were gone and stayed gone for almost 14 years -- until the terror network's cover was spectacularly blown in November 2011 when Böhnhardt and Mundlos committed suicide and Zschäpe set the trio's hideout in Zwickau on fire.

And what about the escape car they left behind? The trio alerted an old friend from whom they had borrowed the car and who shared their right-wing view of the world. That friend contacted another friend who towed the car away. It was only with the help of such friends that the three were able to erase the clues that could have helped lead the police to their hideout.  (more...)

The Many Shortcomings of Germany's Neo-Nazi Terror Trial

Background:

Woman accused in neo-Nazi killings of nine immigrants and police officer found guilty by German court

The Underappreciated Saint Gesmas

In the era of the Benedict/Francis papacy, the Church can now adequately reflect on the merits of the unrepentant thief. Symbolic of the German/Argentine project to loot 20th Century Europe, the hitherto neglected saint truly comes into his own. Who cares for heaven, when you can have the world?

The Real Odessa: How Peron Brought The Nazi War Criminals To Argentina

Father Krunoslav Draganović's Ratline

A Holy Father who finally understands the time value of money has dispensed mercy upon those who want their reward now:

Go together like Bayer and Monsanto

What if he lost a few friends along the way? Make an omelette and ya gotta break a few eggs:

Love hurts:

Argentina 'death flight' pilots sentenced for deaths including pope's friend

And, it sometimes gives you payback for an old boss.

World Cup Postscript: Palatable Slogans

ZAGREB/BERLIN (Own report) - The Croatian nationalism, currently causing an uproar at the FIFA World Cup has been supported by the German government for decades. During the World Cup, members of the Croatian national team also sang a song with well-known fascist lyrics - originally a song from a singer glorifying Ustaša fascism and praising the mass murder of Serbs in World War II. Virulent nationalism has been prevailing for years throughout the Croatian society. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recently confirmed that fascist tendencies are gaining strength in that country. Following World War II, old Ustaša structures had been able to hibernate in the Federal Republic of Germany. Bonn also had supported the growing Croatian separatism in the 1970s and established links to the exile Croatian nationalist groups. In the early 1990s, Germany promoted Croatia's secession - and thus its nationalism - for geostrategic reasons.

Even before the Croatian player Domagoj Vida's remarks became known, one of his teammates staged a provocation, by referring positively to his country's fascist past during the World Cup in Russia. Following the Croatian team's victory over the Argentine team, Dejan Lovren enthusiastically chimed in a song of the Croatian singer "Thompson" that starts with the words "Za dom - spremni!" ("For the Homeland - Ready!"). This had been the slogan of Nazi Germany's collaborator Ustaša fascist movement, which had ruled the Croatian state between 1941 and 1945 and participated in the Holocaust. The exact number of its victims is unknown, however, estimates run from 330,000 to over 700,000 murdered Serbs and up to 40,000 murdered Jews and Romani, respectively. "Thompson" is known for his glorification of the Ustaša-regime. In his songs, he has verses such as "Oh, Neretva, flow down, drive the Serbs into the blue Adriatic Sea," or "Shining star above Metković, send our greetings to Ante Pavelić." Pavelić had been the Ustaša's historic Fuehrer.  (more...)

Palatable Slogans

More coverage:

Ustachi and the ABN at the World Cup

Background:

Father Krunoslav Draganović's Ratline

Croatia's Far Right Draws Strength from Diaspora

Rise of populist autocrats driven by corruption

Populist electoral victories around the world in recent years have led many to conclude that liberal democracy is under assault. But the arrest this week of Malaysia’s former prime minister on corruption charges is one of several signs suggesting that widespread predictions of the global demise of liberal democracy are premature.

The implication of the doom-and-gloom view is that liberal democracy’s defenders cannot reclaim the moral high ground until they have re-examined their own political and economic assumptions. Yet it is a mistake to think that the rise of autocrats is all about ideology, or that it represents a widespread rejection of democracy, liberalism, or human and civil rights.

Today’s elected demagogues are motivated not so much by principle as by power and greed – they are in it for themselves, their families, and their cronies. Restoring balance to our off-kilter world requires that we expose the rank corruption at the heart of the new illiberalism.  (more...)

Rise of populist autocrats driven by corruption