There have been
reports of increases in hate crimes. In
New York, as of last December 14, hate crimes were up 6In New York, as of last
December 14, hate crimes were up 63 percent over the same period in the
preceding year.
According to a radio report,[1]
the Center for Anti-Violence Education is sponsoring training for
“updstanders”: people who will speak out
when they see minorities being accosted because of their race, creed, color,
sexual orientation or religion. Here is
an excerpt from the broadcast of December 22, 2016.
If you were to witness a bias-based attack or a hate crime, how would you respond?
It's something some activists are preparing some New Yorkers to be ready for, as reports of hate crimes in the city have increased since the election of Donald Trump. They are up 63 percent compared to the same period last year as of Dec. 14, according to the New York City Police Department.
Earlier this month, a man allegedly threatened to cut the throat of an off-duty police officer wearing a hijab. Two days later, a transit worker wearing a hijab was allegedly pushed down the stairs in Grand Central Terminal by a man who called her a "terrorist."
Christen Brandt, a trainer with the Center for Anti-Violence Education, wants more bystanders who witness attacks and hate crimes to become what she calls "upstanders" — people who will intervene rather than just walk away.
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Recently, she
helped train about a hundred people at a community center in Queens. They
warmed up by repeating phrases they might use on a harasser, things like
"Leave him alone!" and "You can't do that!"But before you speak up, Brandt says it's important to stay level-headed. Then, figure out what's the safest way to take action.
"Are you behind the harasser? Are you in a position where you are in physical danger of being assaulted should the harasser decide to attack the victim?" she says.
Intervening as an "upstander," though, doesn't have to involve getting in a harasser's face. Brandt says there are more indirect strategies.
"If there are people around you, go up to that person and say, 'Hey! Do you see what's happening? Yeah? Can you call someone?' " she says.
You could ignore the harasser completely and instead engage the person who is under attack, or you could ask the harasser unrelated questions — about directions, for example — in an effort to distract the harasser.
Advocacy groups have been scrambling to hold more workshops for bystanders.
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In New York,
where the threat of danger has been heightened in the Muslim community, Mariana
Aguilera of Queens says she finds comfort seeing so many of her neighbors
training with Brandt at the community center."I'm a convert to Islam, so for the last 10 years I've been going through these experiences of harassment. And in these 10 years, I've never witnessed something like this in this room, people from different faiths and different walks of life coming together," she says.
They're all preparing to stand up against hate and violence, and that, she says, is an empowering sight to see.
