FD5/ Final Exam- Don't Hate!

Thomas Akiyama
December 13, 2010
FD5/ Final Exam

Don’t Hate!

“Hate” is a powerful and destructive term that affects people globally and locally. Here on the Hawaiian Islands where many groups of individuals from all over the world live and visit, the word “hate” has a deeply rooted idealism that grows everyday. This influential term can be heard and felt among the lowest income communities along with the leaders of the communities. Prevention of hate crimes is a concept used in many cities where hate crimes are more prevalent and detrimental to the local surrounding communities. [THESIS] To curb the spread and devastating effects of hate crimes, we should have television public service announcements that reflect the use of these crimes and the resulting consequence. [THESIS]

The history of hate crimes can be traced by to the introduction of cultures amongst each other. People tend to judge other person on the materials they have and their personality. Nation-wide hate crimes have taken root in areas where the number of crimes is prevalent and racial tension is high. The report from the FBI stated an, “…overall total of 7,489 hate crime incidents” (Anderson). However the report also mentioned that, “All states except for Hawaii reported at least one hate crime last year,” which I believe gives the impression that we don't have hate crimes here (Anderson). There are hate crimes in Hawaii especially due to the amount of cultures and ethnicities living and visiting here every year.

Here in Hawaii, many hate crimes are not reported and are dealt with in private due mainly to the small island idealism. The people know that the island is very small and the news about any issue can travel across the island in a relatively short time which causes concern for people who are involved with a controversial subject such as a hate crime. Many people found out recently the depth that hate crimes over-took the community due to the news about University of Hawaii Football Coach’s “hateful” remarks. University of Hawaii Football Coach, Greg McMackin was recently suspended due to his comments involving a homosexual slur which cost him a total of $160,000 in salary losses (Zahid). The amount of money he lost was substantial, however it was the message Coach McMackin carried that caused members of the community to become more aware about the effects of hateful crimes.

Hate crimes and its prevention start with the education of how such offenses affect other people in different ethnicities. Educating the youth about the lasting effects of hate crimes should be a priority in teaching the students to respect all cultures. Since many youth and adults watch television, the idea of a public service announcement will relay the message throughout the community. However this public service announcement should not be easily forgettable but rather implanted in the minds of the audience by showing them graphic images and the consequences of doing a hate crime. Watching something controversial that haunts the mind of the viewer gives an everlasting effect in which the person will talk about the subject with his or her friends and continue a link throughout society. The public service announcement by the Hawaii Meth Project tells the audience via television that real-world experience of taking the drug crystal meth and the effects it has on the user. The commercial contains highly graphic images about the users of crystal meth, which I believe is effective in placing the idea that drugs can negatively affect the user. This concept should be used with the idea of hate crimes to impose the negative effects on the youth and adults.

My personal experience with hate crimes occurred when I was going to high school here in Hawaii. In high school there are many groups of people in which there are various ethnicities however there are also groups of teens where there is only one ethnicity. I remember during lunch period there was shouting done by a group of Caucasian males toward a group of Chinese individuals. One white male said one of the Chinese males was talking about him behind his back in class about his low-test score. The Chinese male did not say anything even though the Caucasian male yelled at him calling him names. However as soon as the white male said a racial slur about the Chinese ethnicity, the other Chinese males ran toward him and started punching the white male. A fight broke out between the groups and in the end all the teens were suspended. If only they had the public service announcement educating them about the negative effects of hateful remarks then maybe the use of racial slurs would have not come about. This provided me with the knowledge that hate crimes were prevalent here and impacts my daily life.

Hate crimes cause hurtful and negative emotions in various communities around the world including in Hawaii. As the number of hate crimes increase due to the expand of all ethnicities, the implementation of educational programs such as a public service announcement will deter the use of hateful slurs and remarks. Hate crimes has affected various people in my community including myself through the experience I had in high school. In the future, the reduction in hate crimes depends on educating the public about the negative effects and learning that having respect for each other is a necessary component.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Curt. “FBI Reports More Than 7,400 Hate Crimes.” 22 November
2004. Charlotte.com Retrieved 13 December 2010. [http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/10246350.htm].

Arab, Zahid. “University of Hawaii Coach Greg McMackin Suspended.” 31 July
2009. KHNL.com. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
[http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=10830037].