Stay calm if faced with hate-speech bully
Experts: Avoid agitating person, keep as much distance as possible.
A Portland, Ore., man last month fatally stabbed two other men on a commuter train when they and another bystander attempted to stop him from harassing two teenage girls on the train. Witnesses said the attacker, identified by police as Jeremy Joseph Christian, used racial and ethnic slurs against the two girls, one of whom was wearing a traditional Muslim head covering called a hijab.
The men have been hailed as heroes for standing up to hate, but police, protest organizers, lawyers and self-defense teachers say it’s important to remember to keep yourself safe first, as there might be physical and legal consequences with intervening.
Safety should be your first concern, said Austin police officer Destiny Winston. If you are in a public place and think the bullied person could be injured, make sure you are in a safe place and call the police because they are trained and equipped to handle these situations, she said.
Witnesses said the attacker in Portland entered the train already agitated and violent, but most situations involving hate speech in a public place start small and escalate, said Susan Schorn, a protest safety instructor with Indivisible Austin. It’s important to intervene at the start, before emotions heat up and the incident becomes violent, Schorn said.
“Take a deep breath,” she advised. “Before intervening in a situation where the emotions