Community unites against hate at forum

“We need to recognize that our differences among us make us stronger,” U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit told more than 170 Bonner and Boundary county residents in the Heartwood Center on Nov. 14. 

“We need to listen to one another,” he said via Zoom on a big screen on the stage behind the in-person speakers. “I hope you’ll accept today’s program in the spirit with which it was intended.”

U.S. Department of Justice officials based in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Seattle along with human rights task force members from both counties explained how they work to prevent and combat hate crimes.

FBI Special Agent Bryant Gunnerson, who focuses on hate crimes and civil rights violations, explained that when a crime is committed and the motivation for that crime is based on hate, whether a hate of the victim because of race, ethnicity, color, religion or other identifications, that is legally considered a Hate Crime.

Hateful rhetoric online is considered free speech as long as the perpetrator has not threatened anyone, but threats make it a hate crime.

“When a hateful incident occurs without threats, one speaker pointed out. “We note it and move on, but if property damage or assault occurs, the DOJ can step in.”

Another term that was explained to the audience was special intent. “Special intent involves the intention to cause injury to someone, and they are harder to prove than general intent crimes,” said Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall.

When Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s Vice Chairman Gary Aitken Jr. began a panel discussion between community activists, Aitken related his personal challenges as a tribal member living with “up-front bigotry. There were racial jokes, the N-word, my people were disrespected. I see people who carry that weight on them from instances they went through.”

As a 5-year-old who was being picked on by a boy who later became a good friend, Aitken stood up for himself and fought the bully. But it was Aitken who was disciplined and banished from the school yard at recess, not the bully.

“So I learned to fight first, but through the years, as I grew up, I learned that reaching people and building bridges was more effective,” he said. “Each generation since has had to fight less. You can’t bring darkness to light but you can bring light to darkness, so as a tribe we focus on open communications, transparency and working with others.”

Brenda Hammond of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force shared her group’s responses to what she termed hate propaganda. “Our teams cleaned up posters, stickers and such. But when a group with lots of money distributed hate through the mail, they reached everyone in our county. Our response was to offer opportunities to give donations to the Human Rights Initiative, and then we sent thank you letters to the organization that funded the hate mail.”

“Unfortunately, in Boundary County we have experienced an increase in hateful rhetoric and actions against our library and schools,” said retired teacher Elsie Hollenbeck of the Boundary County Human Rights Task Force.

Hollenbeck summarized a very long and difficult history in the county dealing with hate, beginning with their successful rejection of white supremacist Robert Miles in 1985.

Then she explained what led to the current hate campaigns that continues to threaten Boundary County library and schools. “An anti-government group wants to put Idaho in the center of what they call the Redoubt. So many came to Boundary County and established white Christian Nationalist churches.”

She said, “When they saw that the city council had a statement welcoming everyone to our area on their official agenda, they mobilized supporters to overwhelm city council meetings. So the City Council moved the next meeting to the high school auditorium,” Hollenbeck explained. “When our task force chair (Barb Russell) spoke in favor of keeping the welcoming statement, she was met with angry, loud disruptions.” 

“The city council conceded to the group’s demand and removed the statement. Emboldened by the city council decision, that group, which includes those against public education, went on to attack the school district. They began upsetting school board and library meetings.”

She explained the responses her group of retired teachers and others had to these challenges. “We listened to them and conducted tours for them, explaining where the money is spent. We believe in positive, factual messages and (deceased, former Congressman) John Lewis’s words, ‘Don’t Give in to Hate.” 

Bonners Ferry Lutheran minister Andy Hinderlie, a member of the Human Rights Task Force, spoke about being at a meeting with other local speakers. “It was in January 2016, and letters had been sent to county commissioners demanding that they refuse refugees who might want to move to our community. 

“We decided to provide a welcome in contrast to that, and we had an outdoor meeting downtown where speakers told of their families’ early arrival. I was an ‘immigrant’ from Minnesota the year before. 

“As I began to share from 1 John 4:18, ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,’ I was heckled. I said to the hecklers, ‘In many countries, you can’t heckle, so you’re lucky.'”

Whelan asked each panel member to express their hope for the future. Hinderlie said, “As I look out at all of you sharing the hope expressed by these people, seeing all of you gives me hope.”

Whelan ended the panel discussion by acknowledging how difficult it is to “determine if you think someone is wrong.“ Then she asked the group to consider how much worse things get “when we define people as evil.”

An incident at the very end of the two-hour meeting drew the concern of the last speaker of the day, Knight Sor. The conciliation specialist, who works in the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, had just finished explaining how he helps communities in conflict by not taking sides and being an impartial facilitator to help different factions communicate.