How to fight hate without being hateful | Charlotte McDonald-Gibson | TEDxAntwerp
Speaking on the current climate, the speaker asserts that societal division fueled by language of hate is powerful, arguing that individuals can counter this apathy by moving beyond inaction and engaging with empathy, as exemplified by the story of Sina from Eritrea. The speaker diagnoses the problem by contrasting "ostriches" who ignore global crises with "penguins" who see opportunities for change, proposing four concrete actions: voting responsibly, contacting local politicians, volunteering skills, and refusing silence.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker gave the talk after an initial feeling of having "so much to do" and needing to get it out of the way.
- The presentation is framed against the backdrop of refugee crises, rising populism, nationalism, and extremism globally.
- The context is characterized by political leaders using the "language of hate and fear" to gain power.
## Theses & Positions
- Doing nothing is easy, but actively engaging is necessary to combat the language of dehumanization.
- Political groups exploit fear by defining an "enemy" to maintain power and secure votes.
- The path of "ostriches"—ignoring global problems—is insufficient; the path of "penguins"—seeing opportunity in difficulty—is more constructive.
- The core solution is returning to empathy and understanding other people's motives, even those who act in ways that appear harmful.
- Challenging hate must be done with "history," "empathy," "emotion," and "most importantly with emotion."
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Language of hate/dehumanization:** Rhetoric used by politicians to numb empathy, foster violence, and split society.
- **Ostrich:** Person who refuses to acknowledge or look at global problems, often by turning off the news.
- **Penguin:** Person who can see opportunity in difficult times and remains engaged.
- **Grassroots:** Concept related to the call to action, though the speaker admits the term is often vague.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Scapegoating:** Leaders identifying groups (e.g., migrants) as scapegoats during economic crises to regain a popular narrative.
- **Dehumanization:** The process of stripping a group of humanity, evidenced by comparing refugees to "cockroaches" or "vermin."
- **Political exploitation of fear:** Using fundamental human desires for safety to bypass critical thought and achieve political ends.
- **Return to empathy:** Understanding that even those who act in ways that seem threatening are driven by understandable priorities (like protecting family).
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Present:** Growing instances of hate speech and political exploitation across the world.
- **2015:** Year the hateful, dehumanizing rhetoric regarding refugees moved into mainstream political conversation.
- **US Midterms (November 2018):** Election cycle noted for historic firsts (Muslim women in Congress, Native American Congress women, openly gay governor) *without* a certain Donald Trump in the White House.
- **Earlier this year (Hungary):** Prime Minister Viktor Orbán referred to migrants as "Muslim invaders."
- **September 1941:** Kyiv, Ukraine, where occupying German forces marched Jewish people to the Babel Yar ravine.
## Named Entities
- **Eritrea:** Country of origin for Sina, the woman who traveled to Sweden.
- **Greece:** Country where Sina traveled from.
- **Sweden:** Destination where Sina traveled.
- **Hungary:** Country where Viktor Orbán was Prime Minister and where Sina's fellow refugees were located.
- **Germany (occupying forces):** Forces mentioned in the context of Kyiv in 1941.
- **Israel/Jewish people:** Group targeted by German forces in 1941.
- **Rwanda:** Country where Tutsis were targeted.
- **Bosnian Muslims:** Group targeted by Serb leaders.
## Numbers & Data
- Age of children with speaker: **under the age of four**.
- Number of refugees in the initial book: **five**.
- Date of US Midterms: **November 2018**.
- Year of refugee crisis documentation: **2015**.
- Year of the 1941 atrocity: **September 1941**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Refugee Crisis 2015:** Rhetoric shifted from political fringes into mainstream conversation.
- **UK Columnist:** Used the term "cockroaches" for migrants.
- **US Republican:** Compared refugees to "rabid dogs."
- **Viktor Orbán (Hungary):** Referred to migrants as "Muslim invaders" who endanger daughters and women.
- **Sina's journey:** Traveled from Greece to Sweden alone with her three-month-old baby, Anthony, strapped to her chest.
- **Lying in a ditch (Hungarian border):** Fellow refugees attempted to convince Sina to drug her baby so he wouldn't cry.
- **Historical Atrocity (1941):** German forces marched 34,000 Jewish women, children, and the sick to the Babel Yar ravine.
- **Historical Comparisons:** Nazis referring to Jews as "vermin"; who to leaders in Rwanda referring to Tutsis as "cockroaches"; Serb leaders to Bosnian Muslims as "aliens."
## Tools, Tech & Products
- None mentioned.
## References Cited
- Book by the speaker regarding five ordinary refugees.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Fighting Hate:**
- *Ineffective approach:* Fighting hate with hate, or treating opponents as the enemy.
- *Preferred approach:* Using history, empathy, emotion, and recalling human shared goals (safety for loved ones) to challenge hate.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker is not suggesting another "inevitable atrocity" is happening.
- The speaker is not claiming that today's leaders *want* atrocities to happen.
## Methodology
- Reporting experience across the refugee crisis, rise of populism, nationalism, and extremism.
- Academic study of the link between dehumanizing language and violence/hate crime.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- **The four practical actions:**
1. Vote, but reject politicians exploiting hate and fear.
2. Identify and contact a local politician who represents one's worldview to offer help.
3. Volunteer skills/expertise to foster understanding locally (e.g., voter registration drives).
4. Do not be silent; engage with people, listening and understanding different viewpoints.
- If confronting hate, challenge it with history, empathy, and emotion.
## Implications & Consequences
- The failure to challenge hate allows it to flourish, leading to increased hate crime globally.
- The primary consequence of inaction is the erosion of shared humanity and the normalizing of violence.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"doing nothing is kind of nice"*
- *"language which numbs the empathy which fosters violence which splits society"*
- *"nobody is powerless"*
- *"I've come across two different points of view about what's going on in the world today I'm going to call these people ostriches and penguins"*
- *"The penguins can see opportunity in today's difficult times"*
- *"If we do want to fight those narratives of hate and fear we need to understand how they work and why they work"*
- *"The language of hate and fear aimed at making voters feel like he was the only one who could keep them safe"*
- *"We need to return to this understanding of other people's motives"*
- *"Don't be silent"*
- *"challenge it with history with empathy with emotion most importantly with emotion that is what we see working real emotion"*
- *"Nothing else seems to be working"*
- *"I don't need to change the world just one person as mine would be enough"*