The shooting at the Sikh Temple again awakened me to the violence that still pervades racial (and religious) discrimination in the United States. When we do not properly engage hate and discrimination, through education and dialogue, it always exists.
As I followed the Sikh Temple news and more information was revealed about the man behind the shooting, underground habits of his came to light. Wade Page was a guitarist and bassist in what is called a “hatecore” band. He played with multiple different bands, all of which use their lyrics to disseminate hate. The
New York Times article that reported on this quotes Mark Pittcavage, Director of the Anti-Defamation League, “[hatecore] is one of the pillars of the white supremacist sub-culture”.
Many movements have used music to motivate and rally support. The US army, as well as many other nations, used music to rally troops to war. In this day and age music has largely become a way to communicate across cultures and generations. For example, in almost any country you travel to you can find a CD of Celine Dion. I do, therefore, understand the motive and logic behind employing music to motivate.
However this is the first I had heard of such a sub-culture- “hatecore”. It saddens me to think that such a way of life still persists in the United States. How the KKK have still managed to hang on in the form of hatecore boggles my mind.
How do you tackle a problem that doesn’t want to be solved? And keeps morphing into new versions of the same deep-seeded issue?
The answer in all cultural issues of acceptance is education and exposure. However, how do you go about facilitating an educational, exposing environment that is also organic, as well as reflective and supportive of the human experience?
I propose an easy three step, fool-proof way to stamp out racism in America: #1 Do not always teach the victor’s version of history; #2 Use the classroom from Pre-K onwards to foster an appreciation, through creative means, for cultures besides your own; #3 Live in a place where you are a minority. These steps are of course too simplified and small, but it's a place to start. And it has to start somewhere, in every life of every person in America, or else nothing will change.
