We Learn How to Hate

I was in Cincinnati the weekend following the election. I was feeling surly following the victory of the p@$$y grabbing, “Lock Her Up” yelling, “Mexicans are rapists” asserting Tweeter in Chief. Everything that day seemed to touch a nerve. While crossing the street from Fountain Square to a diner for breakfast, a shabbily dressed man asked if I had any spare change for a homeless veteran. Channelling the vitriol of the election, my response, “No. get a f]ng job.” I’m not particularly proud of that. It does seem to be sum up where our new president wants us to be: divided. My concern for others was tossed out the window by a message hammered home by Trump. Throughout the campaign, we were to fear and mistrust "the other." We had better take care of yourself first.

The fear of the other carried over after breakfast. A verdict was expected to be announced concerning a shooting of an unarmed black man by a University of Cincinnati police officer. The officer claimed that the driver tried to run him over and the officer feared for his life. Body cam footage of the shooting seemed to contradict the officer’s story. Fountain Square had become a staging area for Cincinnati police gathering in anticipation of a protest. The police were bracing for the worst. The worst never materialized. In the end, a small peaceful rally formed when a mistrial was announced. The prosecutor announced his plans to retry the case in May 2017.

Next to the police bracing for trouble was an outdoor ice-skating rink. Two boys, one white and one black were racing around the rink. Every so often they would practice their hockey stops to see who could shoot snow from their skates the farthest. The healthiest display of friendly competition, I had seen in weeks if not months. These two kids, did not hate one another, yet they were trying to best one another. They were obviously different races but united by their love of skating. Their competition was driven to better themselves and the other, not to dismantle the other’s worth. They had yet been taught to hate because of some perceived difference. What they saw in one another was the love of the same thing, despite seeing it through different eyes.