Editorial: No room for hate crimes in our city

Mar. 2, 2004. 01:02 AM

Casey Korstanje
The Hamilton Spectator

Let it be known that The Hamilton Spectator stands with Hamilton's gay community.

We join Mayor Larry Di Ianni in calling for an immediate response from our community's leadership that condemns violence and persecution in any form toward gay members of our city as outrageous and unacceptable.

We call upon this city's business leaders, faith leaders, cultural and political leaders, our police and education sectors to take a public stand in support of the gay community and the intrinsic right of every citizen of Hamilton to live their lives unburdened of fear.

And we ask those leaders to begin -- if they haven't already -- discussion within their own communities to explore what and how their individual communities can respond to help combat racism and discrimination in Hamilton.

This call is not because of any one single act of violence or the details surrounding it, although we are shocked and saddened by the frightful attack upon Ronn Mattai and we extend to him our sympathy and sincere hope for a speedy recovery. We must recognize that an arrest and even the eventual resolution of the Mattai case does not end the problem of hate and hate crimes in Hamilton. There have been other hateful attacks, some targeting gays, some targeting members of other communities.

Mayor Di Ianni notes that the message our city needs to hear and embrace is that "an attack upon one of us is an attack upon all of us," whether it be the fire bombing of the Hindu temple, a drunken attack on an individual or group, a racist epithet scrawled across a fence or house of worship, or the shunning or bullying of a school-aged child or teenager.

One incident is one too many. No incident of racism or discrimination should be considered small or not noteworthy.

Unfortunately, the hard truth is that incidents of this nature happen all too often in our city and many go unreported.

A second difficult truth to face is that there is fear in our community and that is a shame upon us all and should spur greater action.

Yes, we are tempted to perhaps a Polyanna view of what Hamilton can become and should become. But we also recognize that since September 2001 this city has begun to make inroads against racism through a number of programs spawned by Strengthening Hamilton's Community Initiative.

SHCI has been instrumental in bringing people to the table to talk. Representatives of the city's gay community are at that table, but they can't do it alone. The whole city needs to come to the table figuratively speaking. We encourage Hamilton's leaders keep faith with SCHI and to once again stand up and be counted.