By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper
As many of us know, hate crimes are against the law and have been so for many years. The problem is that until the recent uptick in such crimes, many went unreported or undocumented. Here in San Diego, this newspaper has been reporting on “stop the hate” since the early 1980s. In the last two years, we have done a number of Town Hall meetings in person and online with the County District Attorney on hate crimes in San Diego County, the most recent, a zoom meeting with the District Attorney just a couple of months ago.
On Tuesday, October 17th, the next Biscuits, Grits & Politics Breakfast meeting at the Jacob’s Center for Neighborhood Innovations will have as its theme, a focus on “The Politics of Hate” (and stopping the hate). This meeting will not only feature San Diego County District Attorney, Summer Stephen, but also members of San Diego’s ethnic communities speaking on the politics of hate impacting their communities.
This is a great followup discussion opportunity following the recent indictment of 17 members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang who racially and brutally attacked three
African American males in Ocean Beach in June of this year. Law enforcement is now more aggressively looking at this issue and documenting like never before. Much of this is due to the serious commitment District Attorney Summer Stephen has made to stop hate and share awareness of the problem.
While the Black community has the highest number of hate crimes incidents in the state, the occasions of hateful conduct extends to other ethnic groups as well as the LGBTQ+ communities.
The Politics of Hate discussions represent a major step toward finding solutions and a real campaign to Stop The Hate. Your participation, from all elements of the San Diego community, is important and necessary before you become a victim of such crimes or activities which can take a variety of forms in speech and actions.
Please plan to join us at Biscuits, Grits & Politics on October 17th for the Politics of Hate. Tickets are available on Eventbrite or come to our office to purchase. Please call or email your thoughts and comments as we work on this important topic.
