Bowling Green Community Stands Together Against Racist Tweets, Again
hate speech
Oberlin ‘Hoax’ Shows Pranks Still Hurt
Fighting Virtual Hate
A petition circulating on Change.org is calling for Twitter to adopt a “report abuse” button. After Caroline Criado-Perez successfully campaigned for Jane Austen to be featured on Britain’s 10-pound note, she began to receive an onslaught of rape and death threats via Twitter. Now, over 60,000 people have signed the petition, calling for Twitter to take stronger measures against online hate.
Twister brings divided Alabama community together
CREDIT: CBS Atlanta
The Public Opinion reports that a twister that devastated the Alabama neighborhood of Kikpatrick in March has helped to bring the community together.
As our country deals with the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon earlier this month, many commentators have been anticipating an anti-Muslim backlash. Some hate crimes motivated by hostility to Muslims have been reported, including the valdalism of an Oklahoma City mosque this weekend. However, ABC News argues that the Muslim community has defended itself against backlash by quickly coming forward to condemn the bombings, and by fighting radicalization internally.
This month, students at Miami University are making the distinction between humor and discrimination. A student-created Twitter account called "Oxford Asians" attracted nearly 1,000 followers using language that some called "benign humor," while others found it a "form of cyber racial bullying."
In response, the university's Asian American Association turned the hurtful incident into an opportunity for learning by launching "The Real Oxford Asians," which rewrites offensive tweets, transforms them into positive messages and defies stereotypes. In this guest post, graduate student Suey Park discusses the impact of this atmosphere of intolerance and the need to speak up.
By Suey Park
Above: The building targeted with hate speech at UC Berkeley, from Berkleyside. Below: UCLA, from KPCC.
Alex Nogales, CEO and President of National Hispanic Media Coalition talks about our film in this video. "It's a very important documentary that everyone should see," he says, adding that it's crucial that "Latinos and all Americans stand together to take action against hate speech."
He encourages you to screen the film in your local communities and take action on their website, nhmc.org.
Eugene, OR: Students at the University of Oregon have been up in arms since the Pacifica Institute started holding meetings on their campus.
Pacifica Institute, deemed a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, insists it is merely providing a forum for speakers with diverse views. Recent speakers the group brought to the U of Oregon have called Martin Luther King, Jr. a "communist dupe," denied the Holocaust, and called the Russian Revolution a Jewish conspiracy. At a meeting last December, the Nazi salute was given.
Students have been protesting the group, both outside buildings where they appear and during meetings, demanding that they be banned from campus. University officials say they feel torn between the need to protect free speech, and the anti-tolerance message Pacifica's speakers convey. One student who left the school over the group's presence told reporters: "I do not want to be on a campus where the president talks about diversity and inclusiveness but still allows a hate group on campus."
Students and faculty at the University of Oregon in Eugene have been up in arms since the extremist Pacifica Institute started holding meetings on their campus.
Pacifica, deemed a hate group by experts, insists it is merely providing a forum for speakers with diverse views. Recent speakers at the U or Oregon have called Martin Luther King, Jr. a "communist dupe," others have denied the Holocaust and called the Russian Revolution a Jewish conspiracy. At a meeting last December, the Nazi salute was given.
Students have been protesting the group, both outside buildings where they appear and during meetings, demanding that they be banned from campus. University officials say they feel torn between the need to protect free speech, and the anti-tolerance message Pacifica's speakers convey.
What are the limits of free speech? Should there be different standards for schools, universities and other educational institutions? Has your school or town had to decide whether or not to host Pacifica Institute, or any similar group with extremist, hateful views?