A Statement from OC Human Relations on Shooting in Laguna Woods
Violence and hate struck Orange County again this weekend, and our Taiwanese American friends and neighbors are suffering having been targeted for who they are.
We at OC Human Relations send our deepest condolences to all of those impacted by this tragic violence as well as all those across the nation still reeling from the white supremacist terror in Buffalo, New York.
Here in Orange County, we have seen historic increases in hate activity in Orange County over the last few years. These increases have crossed racial/ethnic, religious, nationality, and sexual orientation and gender lines. Similarly, our nation saw a 6% increase in hate crimes in 2020 and since 2014 hate crimes have risen by 42%, evermore punctuated by the hate motivated taking of Black lives by a white supremacist this weekend.
When hate and violence meet, when people decide that terrorism is the only way to express themselves it is our obligation to meet it with a force more powerful. It is time to show our solidarity with our Taiwanese American friends and neighbors and to work against all forms of hate.
We will not be safe until we stop dehumanizing others and using violence to address our problems.
When bias and prejudice are tolerated or even ignored those attitudes grow. There are day-to-day moments when we can all interrupt hate before hate violence erupts. We can each use our personal agency to disrupt hate and extremism at their foundation. We can show and model that bias attitudes and behaviors are not part of our community’s values by speaking out, creating positive narratives about our important and precious diversity and finding – as we try to at OC Human Relations – teachable moments that bring those who cause harm into the circle, into the community, because we know that isolation is not effective in the fight against hate.
Please join us in sending the message that we will not tolerate hate against any of the people of Orange County.
