Beginning in 2008, there was a change in the distribution of hate crimes. Two types of hate crimes increased, religious and sexual orientation hate crimes. By 2010 (the last year that has fully analyzed statistics, 2011 should be out soon), religious hate crimes were 20.0% of the hate crimes reported to the FBI while sexual orientation hate crimes were 19.3%. This increase in these two types of hate crime are a strong indicator of what has been happening in our society over the last four years. Frankly, it is most worrisome, but it also helps to explain some of our perceptions and some of the claims that are being made by both Christians and LGBT’ers. What do I mean?
In other words, are religious people (not only Christians) more hit upon than before 2008? YES. But, are homosexuals more hit upon than before 2008? YES. Hate crimes against BOTH religious and homosexual people increased. But, crime statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. Below hate crimes are categories such as verbal violence. I attended a seminary of The Brethren Church for a year and a half and received an MA from there, back when. The Brethren are Anabaptist pacifists to this day. But, this means that they have a highly developed theology of violence. After all, if your group’s stance is pacifism, then you need to make sure you know what violence is. It was from them that I first learned about the category of verbal violence. It comes from the Gospels. Do you remember that Jesus said that if you even call your brother a fool you are guilty of murder? That is the beginning point of the Brethren definition of verbal violence. It is something which Our Lord Jesus Christ himself has forbidden.
This is why Brethren, Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and other Anabaptists descended from the German-Swiss Anabaptists tend to have such peaceable ways of speaking. Verbal violence is not merely hate speech. Hate speech would simply be the worst expression of verbal violence. It is also angry speech or even speech spoken in a calm voice that is meant to be destructive or demeaning. There is a delightful story/joke that I heard there several decades ago about an Amish farmer who was reputed to have said to his mule, “Mule, I’ll neither curse thee nor revile thee, but I WILL twist thy tail!”
It is helpful to keep that particular bit of Anabaptist theology in mind because it is applicable to the crime statistics. Remember that I said that they are only the tip of the iceberg. There are both verbal and non-verbal events that are the hidden bulk of negative feedback but are less than a hate crime. Thus, there is actual verbal violence, verbal insults, scorning, spurning, disrespect, etc., as well as non-verbal shunning, etc. In fact, non-verbal shunning is considered a severe punishment by the Anabaptists. The failure to associate with other human beings is considered to be a form of either violence or (if applied by the family or the Church) a form of disciplinary action designed to change the behavior of the person being shunned. Withdrawing human relationships from another human being is sinful unless used for legitimate disciplinary reasons. Thus, to an Anabaptist of the type mentioned above, to refuse to relate to someone, save for sound Biblical reasons, is considered a severe sin.
Why do I bring all this up? Because the hate crime statistics are an indicator of a larger set of negative behaviors that are lurking below the tip of the iceberg and that are experienced by many more people than those that experience a hate crime. Those behaviors breed a climate of fear or of worry or of concern on the part of those who are the target of those behaviors. What does this mean?
It means that if you are a conservative Christian, Jew, or Muslim, you are completely correct in claiming that since 2008 you have felt an increasing pattern of negative behaviors towards you. The crime statistics show increasing hate crimes against you, and that is only the measurable tip of the iceberg. But, it also means that those who belong to the LGBT faction are also correct in claiming that there is an increasing pattern of negative behaviors towards them. You see, their crime statistics have also gone up for sexual orientation hate crimes. Each side is actually correct when they claim that they are feeling increasingly under pressure and live under increasing fear or worry or concern! Each side is correct to claim that the USA has become a more difficult place for them.
What worries me is that I see a deeper pattern here. Violence related to the issues being hotly debated in this country is increasing. The radical fringes of both sides are beginning to react in violent ways. But, it is not just them. They are but the tip of the iceberg. Remember what I commented on about Anabaptist theology. Below the obvious hate crimes are icebergs that are not as clearly visible. Both verbal and non-verbal violence and/or inappropriate speech or behaviors are becoming more and more acceptable in this country. In fact, various politicians no longer hold town hall meetings unless the participants are very carefully vetted, not because they are afraid of questions from the other side, but because they fear the verbal violence that has become all too common and acceptable at rallies.
As Orthodox Christians we need to be very cautious. The history of the countries from which the Orthodox jurisdictions in America came show what can happen when either the Church suffers from violence and distrust or when the Church engages in violence and distrust. (You see, the Church has sinned at times.) It is only necessary to go to an OCA parish and find an old Russian or Polish or Romanian or Albanian immigrant to hear the tales of what happens to the Church when it is distrusted and suffers violence. However, sadly, you need only watch the movie Fiddler on the Roof to see the Church failing to prevent pogroms.
We need to learn from the Anabaptists, in this instance. None of the Orthodox that I know would commit a hate crime. However, all of us are prone to acts of verbal or non-verbal violence and/or inappropriate speech or behavior. We need to watch that. We need to learn from those Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and many Orthodox monastics, and learn to cultivate an appropriate attitude and behaviors. Let us be salt at this time in our country and let us help to lower the violence and anger level that is currently present. If we do not, we are in danger of paying all too heavy a price.
Thank you for this. It really made me stop and think, not only about what’s going on in the world around me but also about my own parenting.
It’s a joy for me to read an Orthodox Christian blog – thank you for taking the time to do this.
Thanks again for a good post. And yet I wonder… whether the flipside of this statistic is to consider that as acceptance of each sort of hate crime – and by this I mean recognition that these are in fact crimes and acceptance of a once-outsider group as worthy of police protection – has grown, the filing of reports tends to rise as well. This is a well established phenomenon, and so in a perverse way, this is a good sign. Yet it is not without cost. We saw this with rape some years back. And if rape is an indicator, increased reporting then tends to result in broadening the definition of the crime into more distinctions. These distinctions tend to mushroom allegations and ultimately tip the cycle over as disproportionality sets in on the other side… resulting in yes, a certain weariness and reduced penalties as people become insensitive to “just another”.
My problem with hate crime legislation is that ALL crime is a hate crime. When someone kills you, you’re just as dead as when they say something demeaning when they do the deed as when they don’t. Does one really deserve extra time because one fellow said something the other’s actions more than compensate for his lack of utterance? Fact is that to many of us on the sidelines and likely unprotected by any of this, it’s a distinction without a difference… or if there is a difference, it’s a sad one in that only in these instances does the community as a whole rise up and the police actually seem to get interested in resolving the matter. This is good in that we’re finally equalizing enforcement perhaps… it that’s what we’re doing. Suspicion is that we’re not. And so were it not for the tendency or perception that we’ll now proceed to ignore all the other assaults, murders, etc. and effectively demean them as unimportant and reduce manpower allocated there, I’d guess I’d be more sympathetic. Why didn’t we solve these sorts of crimes before? Is it not important to stop crime between two minorities (or outlier groups) from happening? Yes. Is selective application of the law in itself constitute a hate crime? Hmmmmm.
None of this is meant to detract from your point… with which I am otherwise in 100% agreement and thank you for making it. If I may, I’d suggest an Orthodox source like Elder Thaddeus’s book, “Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives” as an excellent follow-on to your excellent theme.