Reflecting a national trend, documented hate crimes are on the rise in Texas, and so is the promotion of racist propaganda from hate groups.
And they’re increasing in Texas quicker than any other state, even as Texas’ population becomes increasingly diverse.
The Anti-Defamation League found a 61% jump in racist and antisemitic flyers appearing around the state last year, while the rest of the nation had a 38% rise in such incidents.
The ADL documented 527 incidents last year in which people found white supremacist propaganda on their property or in public places — and these are just the documented incidents. Hateful messages showed up on lawns and driveways in rock-filled plastic bags. According to the report, three hate groups, including one based in Texas, are responsible for most of the acts.
San Antonio had more such incidents in 2021 and 2022 than it did in the previous decade. The Express-News reported the number “rose steadily from zero in 2011 to 11 in 2020 before a sharp increase to 31 incidents in 2021.”
In 2020, white supremacists plastered a Hollywood Park neighborhood with hateful flyers, prompting city leaders to state that “racism and hatred are not welcome” in San Antonio. But white power signs and neo-Nazi recruiting posters began to appear more frequently.
White nationalist stickers appeared throughout The Village at Stone Oak shopping center in October 2021. Alamo Heights residents found antisemitic flyers in February 2022. The next month, more “white power” messages landed on lawns in a West Side neighborhood.
In San Antonio suburbs, there were 14 incidents in 2021 and 17 in 2022, including when Helotes police collected 81 papers with antisemitic COVID-19 conspiracies.
In Houston, one of the most diverse metro regions in the nation, hateful messages appeared nearly weekly.
The ADL has reported three groups — the Texas-based Patriot Front, the Goyim Defense League and White Lives Matter — have generated some 93% of the hate propaganda nationally. Why such an emphasis in Texas is unclear.
But it’s striking that this is happening at a time when Texas is rapidly diversifying. As we, and others, have noted, Hispanics are now the state’s largest demographic group. Of the roughly 4 million new Texas residents in the last decade, some 95% were people of color. Of course, this diversity is not reflected in Texas’ political maps, but we digress.
While those groups that disseminate hate speech are undeserving of the attention they seek, hate speech must be confronted and condemned at every turn.
Hate speech is the seed of physical violence, and it takes heavy emotional tolls on the communities it targets. The words can divide people, generate fear and lead to a chain of sorrow. It also, left to grow on its own, can become normalized and rationalized.
Being aware of these incidents, and the striking increase in their prevalence, is an important starting point. So is the requisite condemnation. But we should also expect and demand our social and political arenas ensure that all people, regardless of race, religion, political views, orientation or background, are welcomed and valued; that our inherent human dignity is seen.
Be alarmed by this proliferation of hate — and reject it.
San Antonio Express-News
