The Jambar
In the past two weeks, several racially motivated incidents occurred on campus.
The first involved a man allegedly shouting slurs and attacking several students, and the second involved hateful fliers being posted across campus. Preventative matters should be put in place, but it is important to understand where this hate stems from.
The fliers distributed near campus originated from Patriot Front, which is not a Youngstown State University associated organization. The white supremacy group, linked to multiple hate crimes beginning in 2017, made its message clear.
According to Patriot Fronts website, “Membership within the American nation is inherited through blood, not ink.”
But why did they choose YSU particularly? With less than a month until what may be the most consequential election in American history, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hold widely opposing views on a range of issues, including immigration.
During his presidency, Trump’s policies on immigration became extremely restrictive. Following a tangent involving legal Haitian migrants residing in Springfield, multiple bomb and death threats were targeted at both the migrants and city officials.
It should also be noted that President Joe Biden instituted restrictive asylum policies during his tenure as president. These policies are far stricter than those enacted during Trump’s presidency.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights reported in 2023 that hate crimes tend to increase during elections.
“From white supremacist and anti-government movements coalescing and moving more into the political mainstream, to conspiracy theories circulating online and public officials amplifying hate, there are few — if any — signs that tensions will lessen,” the report stated.
While conspiracy theories can be easily debunked, a significant number of Americans fall victim to conspiracies. The Public Religion Research Institute found in a 2022 survey that 1 in 5 Americans had fallen victim to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Survey author Ian Huff noted that there had been a decline in QAnon conspiracy deniers over the course of 2021-2022.
“Interestingly, the decline in the share of QAnon rejecters have taken place across the party spectrum,” Huff wrote. “The share of Republican QAnon rejecters has decreased from 21% in March 2021 to 12% currently … and the Democratic share has decreased from 58% to 45%.”
White supremacist organizations often propagate false statistics and conspiracy theories on various ethnic groups. These conspiracy theories have contributed to an increase in hate crimes across the United States. The Leadership Council Education fund reported that hate crimes have increased by 80% since 2015.
Why must there be hate here at Youngstown State? Why can’t we all treat each other equally? After nearly 250 years, one would expect America to have progressed to the point of total equality, but for some reason, “The greatest country in the world” cannot see past skin color, and lives by the idea of liberty and justice for some.