Hate Like This Is Spreading Across the Country

(daniel sieradski/twitter)

This post originally appeared at The Nation.

Donald Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric has been encouraging violence against people of color since the beginning of his campaign. In March, for example, Wichita State University student Khondoker Usama and his friend were assaulted at a gas station. After, the perpetrator sped off in his motorcycle chanting, “Trump! Trump! Trump!” Similar accounts cropped up over the course of his campaign, but Tuesday’s election has brought on an even greater magnitude of violent acts: burnings, threatening graffiti, assaults, intimidation. The surge prompted Nevada Sen. Harry Reid to write in a statement, “Watching white nationalists celebrate while innocent Americans cry tears of fear does not feel like America.… If Trump wants to roll back the tide of hate he unleashed, he has a tremendous amount of work to do and he must begin immediately.”

Instead, yesterday Donald Trump addressed those protesting his election on Twitter: “Very unfair!”  When will he say the same for the hate crimes committed in his name?

Many of these acts have been disseminated through social media: Shaun King has been keeping a near-hourly tab on the crimes; several compilations have been made under the heading “Day 1 in Trump’s America.” Below are only a few.

What can you do if you see or are a victim of a hate crime?

• Anti-violence organizations recommend immediately calling the police. If you do not feel comfortable calling police, the Southern Poverty Law Center recommends calling someone: a friend, a community group, your local paper. The important thing is to let people know that the crime happened, so that others may provide support for those targeted and can unite against further violence. For more information in this vein, SPLC has a comprehensive guide.
• The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has a national directory of local anti-violence groups. Their 24-hour hotline is 212-714-1141
• The National Center for Victims of Crime also has a directory of local groups for specific crimes. Their hotline is 1-855-4-VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)
• You can also submit the crime to the Southern Poverty Law Center, mentioned above, which tracks more than 900 hate groups in the US.
• This comic shows what you can do to help if you witness someone being targeted.