It seems every day since the end of the 2016 election I have seen a rising tide of hateful crimes and messages targeted at minorities. The actions are disturbing enough since the petty small people who make these attacks feel emboldened by Donald Trump, but I find our response to them even more disturbing. I’ve seen all sorts of editorials rebuking the horribly misspelled and grammatically faulty messages of hate being sent to our fellow Americans. I agree with the majority of these editors’ sentiments, especially the hilarity of receiving a note full of hateful non-sequiturs and misspelled derogatory words. While I agree that these hateful messages must be ridiculed and derided as a cowardly, foolish expression of someone’s hateful id, we must not let the fumbling attempts of racists, misogynists, and homophobes lull us into complacency. Now, more than ever, we need to be vigilant in our efforts to forestall the creeping social decay brought on by such hateful people. Lest we forget, 62 million people did vote for a man who proposed deporting millions of people and has said ridiculous and awful things to get attention and power. This is evidence that there is still a strong segment of the population which harbors hateful and misguided sentiments and a larger segment who was willing to be complacent in the face of hateful language to reclaim some sense of their perceived power.

In light of the challenges our minority neighbors face, I believe the best way for privileged persons to help is to follow a twofold strategy. The first step is to listen with intent to understand. This applies to both people in oppressed social groups and to the people seeking to oppress them. I know it seems counterintuitive to listen to people who are willing to spew hateful and oppressive messages. At the same time, it is clear that much of these hateful messages come from a place of uncertainty and misguided intentions. This uncertainty is something we need to understand and empathize with if we are to strike at the ignorance and fear at the source of such hateful thinking. The second step is that we must draw a line in the sand and become radically orientated towards protecting people without power and promoting justice in any way possible. This means making the choice to be vigilant and active socially and politically. Becoming active means not standing by when someone is being rude to a vulnerable person or when I child is being bullied for being different, we must show these people that they are valued members of society be showing solidarity with them. This means making true sacrifices, donating time and money to the causes which support our minority friends and neighbors. Now more than ever, our society needs people to be engaged in the workings of the world, we must invest in the world we wish to have our children grow up in.