Hate crimes are on the rise in Columbus and surrounding communities, reflecting a painful national trend.
As the Republic reported Sunday, the FBI said 10 hate crime incidents were reported in Columbus in the past three years — four against Black victims, three against members of the LGBTQ+ community, two targeting Hispanics and one described as “anti-other race/ethnicity/ancestry.”
The increase in these cases, largely instances of assault, intimidation, property damage and vandalism, is disturbing for a community growing ever more diverse.
But the FBI’s numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Fact is, there almost certainly were more than 10 hate crimes or bias incidents in Columbus during the past three years. Law enforcement and human rights officials agree these cases are under-reported. Victims may be too fearful to come forward, and the FBI relies on law enforcement to voluntarily furnish data on hate crimes.
As Columbus Human Rights Director Aida Ramirez said, it’s worrying that unreported instances of bias could escalate to the point someone is hurt. “My concern is that bias incidents turn into bias crimes,” she said.
Columbus Police Department spokesman Matt Harris told the Republic that the CPD takes hate crimes seriously, and while the number annually is low, even one such case is more than the department wants to see.
That’s reassuring, and getting the number of reported hate crimes to zero is a worthy goal, but is it possible? Getting there would require not just a community effort, but also a commitment from every person in the community.
Choose not to hate.
It sounds simple because it is.
None of us has a choice regarding the color of our skin, the place of our birth or the genetic makeup we inherited. We play the hand we’re dealt. What we do have the power to shape, each of us individually, is the content of our character. We can recognize we all have biases. We can take the bold and self-actualizing step of examining our own. We can recognize learned behaviors and attitudes over which we have control.
Our common humanity binds us far more than individual differences can divide us. Realizing this truth while celebrating our diversity builds a strong, vibrant, prosperous community.
The FBI’s hate crime statistics are useful in several significant ways. They shine light on crimes that target vulnerable populations. They allow communities to measure the scope of harmful, shameful offenses and whether the response is adequate. The information also demonstrates how much work lies ahead to protect people from becoming victims simply because of who they are.
Further, the reports give us, individually and collectively, the opportunity to forcefully call out those who seek to exploit individual differences for their own cynical, destructive ends. Sadly, that’s a position we may have to take more and more in the coming years if the rise in hate crimes persists.
But the reports also leave us with an inescapable realization: It doesn’t have to be this way. Eliminating hate crimes is a choice. That choice is up to every one of us.
