Time for community action to prevent hate crimes in SLO County

I was extremely upset to hear of a hate crime on Main Street in Morro Bay when a woman of color, a friend of a friend, was chased down the road while driving by some yahoo who feels empowered to publicly flaunt his racism. He tailgated her, flashed his brights, chased her to a stop sign and screamed racist expletives at her, and then sped off, laughing. This is completely unacceptable. When she went to the police, she got no assistance or even commiseration. What?

If hate crimes are going to increase, as is very apparent that they are, we need community training for potential victims as well as for allies who want to take responsible action. I suggest the police get involved in training the community to aid in the prevention of hate crimes, and if they won’t, then we need an organization that will. Our lovely county should not be in any way tolerant or dismissive — these are not hijinks or isolated acts. They are symptomatic of a far deeper danger, and every resident of San Luis Obispo County needs help to learn how to be the best neighbor, ally and vigilant against creeping — or flagrant — hatred.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Time for community action to prevent hate crimes in SLO County."