Johana Martinez: Be careful what you say in this polarized time
Donald Trump’s campaign seemed to spark a growth in hate speech and hate crimes targeting American immigrants. President Trump has used hateful words toward Latinos, African Americans, women, Muslims and others. At the same time, there has been an increase in hate crimes in our communities, including vandalizing mosques.
This hateful rhetoric demonizes members of our community, forcing them to change who they are to avoid discrimination. As a tutor at Merced schools, I have witnessed students who have stopped wearing hijabs or speaking their native language for fear of becoming victims of hate crimes. Our community should be a place where everyone feels welcome and where we encourage diversity instead of fearing it.
We live in an era where anything you say or do can be publicized and spread with just the click of a button, so we have to be conscious of what we say. As scientist Newton Lee once said, “there’s a fine line between free speech and hate speech; free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence.”
Elected officials, politicians and other influential figures in our community should be more careful with their choice of words; their rhetoric can lead to actions – positive or negative.
Johana Martinez, Merced
This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Johana Martinez: Be careful what you say in this polarized time."