Ordie
09-30-2009, 01:47 AM
Hate Speech Targeted by California Lawmakers
Sept. 28, 2009
Ivan Mejia--EFE
Hate speech leads to crimes, California lawmaker Gil Cedillo says, explaining why the state Senate approved a resolution against this type of verbal activity.
"Resolution 58 approved on Sept. 10 seeks to get people's attention about the dangers of hate speech that is the precursor of crimes," Sen. Cedillo, a Democrat who represents Los Angeles, told Efe.
"There are commentators in the mass media who create anti-immigrant and anti-Latino hysteria that leads to, besides individual hate crimes, the implementation of public policies that reflect human insensitivity," he said.
Cedillo said that another of the consequences of the promotion of prejudices against Hispanics is that the U.S.-born offspring whose parents are undocumented are treated like second-class citizens.
"And the most likely thing is that they may have to survive by receiving money from government social services or that their salaries (in comparison with other citizens) will be lower," he said.
The sponsor of Resolution 58, which condemns radio programs, blogs and cable news programs that use hate speech, said that in recent years the exacerbation of prejudice has led to an increase in crime against Hispanics nationwide.
In 2007, there were 9,535 victims of hate attacks in the United States, of which 52 percent were motivated by racial prejudice, according to FBI figures.
Of the total number of crimes against ethnic communities, more than 61 percent were against Hispanics, and Cedillo said that the FBI figure from 2007 indicates that, compared to 2003, there was a 35 percent increase in hate crimes against the Hispanic community.
"A couple of years ago when we were talking about trying to get immigration reform approved, many of the conservative radio hosts began to talk trash about the Latino community," Alex Nogales, the president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which is in charge of seeking information to support Resolution 58, told Efe.
"Some just gave mistaken information, like that Latinos bring leprosy to the country (and) that we're nothing more than thugs or drug traffickers," he said.
The NHMC in January presented a pilot study that identified four types of racist speech on U.S. radio.
There is hate speech based on false facts, people who present an erroneous argument, those who use language to divide and those who use metaphors to dehumanize.
Nogales said that the profile of the population to which the messages "describing Hispanics in the worst way possible" are directed are conservative whites.
"Those (radio) hosts are a small group, about 50, but with great influence in sectors that don't want foreigners in the United States. They're the same ones who never wanted the Irish, the Italians, the Jews and now they're hating us, the Latinos," he said.
Nogales expressed his satisfaction with the resolution approved by the California Senate against hate speech and said he hopes that the initiative will serve as an example in other states.
The NHMC directs its efforts to creating awareness among federal authorities about the effects of hate speech.
Recently, in a request for the investigation of hate speech before the Federal Communications Commission, the NHMC said that a simple Internet search using denigrating phrases against Hispanics like "I hate wetbacks" turned up 26,100 Web sites, where 68 percent of the messages expressed hate in some way.
In like manner, the expression "I hate beaners" appeared on 50,900 Web sites, where 54 percent of the messages used those words. EFE
Source:http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/news_print.asp?id=162144
Sept. 28, 2009
Ivan Mejia--EFE
Hate speech leads to crimes, California lawmaker Gil Cedillo says, explaining why the state Senate approved a resolution against this type of verbal activity.
"Resolution 58 approved on Sept. 10 seeks to get people's attention about the dangers of hate speech that is the precursor of crimes," Sen. Cedillo, a Democrat who represents Los Angeles, told Efe.
"There are commentators in the mass media who create anti-immigrant and anti-Latino hysteria that leads to, besides individual hate crimes, the implementation of public policies that reflect human insensitivity," he said.
Cedillo said that another of the consequences of the promotion of prejudices against Hispanics is that the U.S.-born offspring whose parents are undocumented are treated like second-class citizens.
"And the most likely thing is that they may have to survive by receiving money from government social services or that their salaries (in comparison with other citizens) will be lower," he said.
The sponsor of Resolution 58, which condemns radio programs, blogs and cable news programs that use hate speech, said that in recent years the exacerbation of prejudice has led to an increase in crime against Hispanics nationwide.
In 2007, there were 9,535 victims of hate attacks in the United States, of which 52 percent were motivated by racial prejudice, according to FBI figures.
Of the total number of crimes against ethnic communities, more than 61 percent were against Hispanics, and Cedillo said that the FBI figure from 2007 indicates that, compared to 2003, there was a 35 percent increase in hate crimes against the Hispanic community.
"A couple of years ago when we were talking about trying to get immigration reform approved, many of the conservative radio hosts began to talk trash about the Latino community," Alex Nogales, the president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which is in charge of seeking information to support Resolution 58, told Efe.
"Some just gave mistaken information, like that Latinos bring leprosy to the country (and) that we're nothing more than thugs or drug traffickers," he said.
The NHMC in January presented a pilot study that identified four types of racist speech on U.S. radio.
There is hate speech based on false facts, people who present an erroneous argument, those who use language to divide and those who use metaphors to dehumanize.
Nogales said that the profile of the population to which the messages "describing Hispanics in the worst way possible" are directed are conservative whites.
"Those (radio) hosts are a small group, about 50, but with great influence in sectors that don't want foreigners in the United States. They're the same ones who never wanted the Irish, the Italians, the Jews and now they're hating us, the Latinos," he said.
Nogales expressed his satisfaction with the resolution approved by the California Senate against hate speech and said he hopes that the initiative will serve as an example in other states.
The NHMC directs its efforts to creating awareness among federal authorities about the effects of hate speech.
Recently, in a request for the investigation of hate speech before the Federal Communications Commission, the NHMC said that a simple Internet search using denigrating phrases against Hispanics like "I hate wetbacks" turned up 26,100 Web sites, where 68 percent of the messages expressed hate in some way.
In like manner, the expression "I hate beaners" appeared on 50,900 Web sites, where 54 percent of the messages used those words. EFE
Source:http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/news_print.asp?id=162144