Could A Revised History Curriculum Save Us From Further Hate Crimes?

by Staff May 7, 2019 3 Comments Opinion Politics Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) In the past three years alone, the FBI has revealed that hate crimes have spiked across America by 17%. Of these cases, most came down to racial and anti-semitic attacks. But, whether people are discriminated against for their race or their religion, it’s happening far more than most of us like to admit.

Of course, there are many reasons for this growing unrest. A lot of people are, obviously, quite quick to blame Trump’s inauguration for the rise. And, there’s no denying that anti-migration policies have been something of a green light for some hateful individuals. But, it’s also important to note that hate crimes rose steadily through Obama’s presidency as well. As such, pinning racial and religious tensions on Trump alone would be naive.

You could also argue that the media are partly to blame for these worrying increases. The growing popularity of social media, for instance, is providing a space for mostly unmonitored hateful rhetoric. This is contributing to normalizing something which hasn’t had a platform for many years now.

And, of course, there are the countless high-profile instances of discriminative killings by law enforcement. This is one the main fears that black men face today, and it’s behavior which sends an undeniable negative message. In a world where the people we trust to keep us safe are killing young black individuals with no repercussions, an increase in hate crimes seems somewhat inevitable.

But, we’ve heard all these arguments before. What we haven’t considered is the part that history plays in these events. That seems strange, given that history holds some of the most vital lessons of all about the discriminations we’re falling foul to today. Our history books hold the horrors of slavery and remind us why equality matters. Our WW2 veterans and Holocaust survivors can tell us exactly why anti-semitism is a downward spiral. And yet, these are resources which we don’t turn to. Kids are less engaged in history lessons than ever before. Our WW2 veterans are fast on the decline, and yet none of us ask ‘How many WW2 veterans are still alive?’ or ‘What can they teach us?’. We’re so busy looking at hate crimes today that we forget to consider the lessons and warnings which history has to offer.

A closer look at the talks around hate prevention in schools reveals that this is changing. In 2017, the Department of Justice hosted the first conference discussing how teachers can tackle hate. Since then, some steps forward have been taken. The organization ‘Facing History’, for example, offers school speakers including Holocaust survivors.

Sadly, these efforts are currently on a one-to-one basis. There’s still a long way to go before a focus on historical hate crimes becomes part of the curriculum. And, as is always the case with changes like these, progress is moving at a slow rate. If we want to tackle hate at its core, though, there would be a strong argument for looking backwards rather than forwards as we move ahead.

Staff Writer; Roy Moore

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Anirban (aka Abner) Bhattacharya says:
July 16, 2019 at 7:25 pm
Another thing. Many people including educated people wouldn’t know Korean War veteran Navy helicopter pilot John Kelvin Koelsch who died in a North Korean PW camp during the war. U.S. Navy logs did a program on him (1923-1951). The man died @ 27 years old in giving his life for freedom & thus by died before he could marry and have his own family. Navy honored John Kelvin Koelsch for what he did rescuing lives as a helicopter pilot before he was captured by North Koreans, poorly treated in North Korean PW camp and died.
Many people including educated people do not know much about the Korean War and many do not know that the Korean War did not end in a peace treaty but in a 1953 armistice which has been violated a few times by North Korea. Many do not know that during the Vietnam War, North Korea sometimes violated the 1953 armistice by doing attacks on American Soldiers and their South Korean allies south of the 38 Parallel DMZ.
If you want information on US military during Korean War and the Vietnam War, or other things military, the TV show the Big Picture presented by the U.S. Army which ran from the Korean War until the early 1971 gives alot of information. Big Picture also discusses topics such as nuclear powered submarines, small nuclear reactors, Ranger training, training military dogs, Berlin Airlift, Berlin Wall, Cuba Missile Crisis, etc. The USMC, US Navy Presents and USAF presents also did shows on these topics, as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Once asked a Vietnam War veteran what he thought about enemy soldiers ? He told me that if they were trying to kill him in a fight, he won’t pass judgment as it’s a war and soldiers are sent to fight for their nations whether it’s the right or wrong cause. Now however, if the enemy soldiers are going to take POW and mutilate them, then that is bad & that’s murder. Many people would not know who Sgt. Leonard George Siffleet was-the ANZAC PW who was beheaded during WW2 by the Japanese soldiers. Japanese soldiers followed Bushido code (Samurai way) and they treated PW, including American PW, Chamorro Indians in Guam, Chinese PW , Filipino PW were beheaded and bayonetted by Japanese soldiers.
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Anirban (aka Abner) Bhattacharya says:
July 16, 2019 at 3:35 pm
A broken clock gives you the right time twice a day & out of millions killed by the Nazis, you could find cases where the Nazis killed horrible people. Most people again, who the Nazis killed were Gentiles. But as said, Holocaust history since 1945 has been too much about worshipping those killed in concentration camps & ghettoes. The word Holocaust is victim worship because it implies those victims were holy.
The Pink Triangle inmates were homosexual pedophiles such as gay priests who molest children, but US Holocaust Museum, Dachau Memorial museum book omit these facts. Nazis killed homosexual pedophiles (pink triangle tattoo inmates) in the concentration camps & ghettoes & the Nazis killed Soviet Commissars by the Commissar Order. But US HOlocaust says little or even omits fact that the Soviet Commissars were Communists who did violent deeds before they were killed by Nazis. This poster is for peace & were it my way, there would have been peace. But
Also, many people including educated people do not know much about the Korean War and many do not know that the Korean War did not end in a peace treaty but in a 1953 armistice which has been violated a few times by North Korea. Many do not know that during the Vietnam War, North Korea sometimes violated the 1953 armistice by doing attacks on American Soldiers and their South Korean allies south of the 38 Parallel DMZ.
If you want information on US military during Korean War and the Vietnam War, or other things military, the TV show the Big Picture presented by the U.S. Army which ran from the Korean War until the early 1971 gives alot of information. Big Picture also discusses topics such as nuclear powered submarines, small nuclear reactors, Ranger training, training military dogs, Berlin Airlift, Berlin Wall, Cuba Missile Crisis, etc. The USMC, US Navy Presents and USAF presents also did shows on these topics, as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Finally, the military has used atomic energy since the 1950s. President Dwight David Eisenhower came up with the idea of atoms for peace. I support nuclear/atomic energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We must use Small Modular nuclear reactors (SMR) and we must use Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. I also support hydroelectric dams and geothermal. American Lung Association supports nuclear/atomic energy since that gives cleaner air and benefits asthmatics. Professor Steven Arthur Pinker supports atomic/nuclear energy. There are wildlife experts who support nuclear/atomic energy.
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Anirban (aka Abner) Bhattacharya says:
July 16, 2019 at 3:25 pm
Wars are holocausts, as they are about exterminating your enemies until you get what you want be they land, water, territory, surrender. During WW2, we bombed German, Japanese and Italian cities (along with their Axis auxiliaries) hoping for surrender. The 3 year olds killed in Germany, Japan and Italy are innocent even if parents were guilty. Incidentally,atom bombs should’ve been dropped elsewhere in Japan with fewer civilian deaths, but I can’t guarantee surrender and only bad choices for President Harry S. Truman. An invasion would have had more civilians killed and wounded. If Germany, Japan and Italy had atom bombs, then they would’ve used them.
There have been many Holocausts because all wars are Holocausts. There were millions killed in the 2 World Wars, Korean War, Vietnam War, etc. With people killed by Nazis among those are Soviet Commissars.
Commissar Order is a case of a broken :watch: getting the time right. Soviet Commissars were not ordinary war prisoners (PW). Soviet Commissars were involved in things such as sending millions to their deaths in former USSR, killing Red Cross nurses, among other things. In Washington DC Holocaust Museum, the Dachau museum book, they tell little to nothing about the ugly facts on who the Soviet Commissars were before they were killed by Einsatzgruppen. Soviet Commissars were violent people.
A 2nd eg. of broken clock getting time right are the Pink Triangle Tattoo inmates killed in concentration camps and ghettoes. The Pink Triangle Tattoo inmates were sometimes homosexual Catholic priests who molested children.
Original meaning of Holocaust was burnt offering esp. sacred or holy burnt offering. 2nd meaning was great destruction. Since 1945, it has been those killed in concentration camps & ghettoes esp. 6 million chosen victims. Most people killed by Nazis were Gentiles. Holocaust history since 1945 has been in some ways too much worshipping the created, because US Holocaust Museum says little if anything about the ugly facts of who the Soviet Commissars and Pink Triangle Tattoo inmates were, before they were killed in the concentration camps & ghettoes. In some cases the Nazis killed pedophiles in the concentration camps.
When you look bad things Communism has caused since then such as Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuba Missile crisis, etc., the Nazis by killing Communists during WW2 lessened Communisms future damage though that was not stopped.
Incidentally, most Muslims during WW2 fought on Allies side. Mufti Al Husseini is a minor figure when it comes to Nazi Germany, but don’t think that Hitler who was leader of 1 of the top 5 military powers (US, UK, USSR, Germany, Japan and Italy) would need military help from a Mufti. Yes, there were Arab soldiers in Wehrmacht and in former USSR there were Albanians who fought in Wehrmacht against USSR but that’s soldiers sent to do a job.
Once asked a Vietnam War veteran what he thought about enemy soldiers :thinking: He told me that if they were trying to kill him in a fight, he won’t pass judgment as it’s a war and soldiers are sent to fight for their nations whether it’s the right or wrong cause. Now however, if the enemy soldiers are going to take POW and mutilate them, then that is bad & that’s murder. Many people would not know who Sgt. Leonard George Siffleet was-the ANZAC PW who was beheaded during WW2 by the Japanese soldiers. Japanese soldiers followed Bushido code (Samurai way) and they treated PW, including American PW, Chamorro Indians in Guam, Chinese PW , Filipino PW were beheaded and bayonetted by Japanese soldiers.
Reply