Alarming upswing in bias related incidents in the 10 days since election

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

Over the course of the election campaign, many people criticized Donald Trump for appearing to encourage behavior that could lead to bullying and violence. In the 10 days since the election, there has been an alarming upswing in bias related incidents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and other civil rights groups including the American Federation of Teachers, The Leadership Conference on civil and Human Rights, Muslim Advocates, La Raza and others.

According to the Associated Press, “The Southern Poverty Law Center says it collected 867 hate-related incidents on its website and through the media in that time period. Anti-immigrant and anti-black hate incidents made up the largest number of claims. The group said it has not independently verified each claim but said it has weeded out any reported hoaxes.”

The AP report says, “The groups called for Trump to publicly denounce violence and hate speech and enforce his promise to protect all Americans.”

The SPLC report says, “In the first days after the 2016 presidential election, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project administered an online survey to K–12 educators from across the country. Over 10,000 teachers, counselors, administrators and others who work in schools have responded. The survey data indicate that the results of the election are having a profoundly negative impact on schools and students. Ninety percent of educators report that school climate has been negatively affected, and most of them believe it will have a long-lasting impact. A full 80 percent describe heightened anxiety and concern on the part of students worried about the impact of the election on themselves and their families.

“Also on the upswing: verbal harassment, the use of slurs and derogatory language, and disturbing incidents involving swastikas, Nazi salutes and Confederate flags.”

The 10,000 persons responding to the survey reported over 25,000 responses, in the form of comments and stories, to the open-ended questions.

Here are the highlights noted by the SPLC:

• Nine out of 10 educators who responded have seen a negative impact on students’ mood and behavior following the election; most of them worry about the continuing impact for the remainder of the school year.
• Eight in 10 report heightened anxiety on the part of marginalized students, including immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and LGBT students.
• Four in 10 have heard derogatory language directed at students of color, Muslims, immigrants and people based on gender or sexual orientation.
• Half said that students were targeting each other based on which candidate they’d supported.
• Although two-thirds report that administrators have been “responsive,” four out of 10 don’t think their schools have action plans to respond to incidents of hate and bias.
• Over 2,500 educators described specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric. These incidents include graffiti (including swastikas), assaults on students and teachers, property damage, fights and threats of violence.
• Because of the heightened emotion, half are hesitant to discuss the election in class. Some principals have told teachers to refrain from discussing or addressing the election in any way.

The report cited some of the comments from teachers. One of the most compelling is this one, from a High school teacher in Virginia: “’The day after the election, white male students were seen running through the halls, wearing American flag shorts and socks, Confederate flag shirts and carrying large American flags. The students were told to put their flags away, but they argued that it was freedom of speech. They continued to run through the halls periodically throughout that day. The symbol of our flag was changed for me that day. When I attended a Veteran’s Day service on Thursday, some of those same students were in the ROTC group here. I saw a distinct parallel to Hitler Youth. I am no longer able to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I am compelled to turn away when it comes on over the loud speaker and am repulsed by ‘liberty and justice for all.’”

To see the full SPLC report on the resurgence of bias-related incidents, visit this site: http://tinyurl.com/hkzukxu.

Copyright 2016 The Gayly – November 29, 2016 @ 12:55 p.m.