Wolf!
Hate crimes are on the rise, at least that is what it looks like. All you have to do is turn on the news and you hear about a new hate crime.
Reported hate crimes in Los Angeles increased 15% in 2016, with a marked rise in violence against LGBTQ individuals, according to a new analysis.
There is just one small problem.
Police: Brown County church organist admitted to November vandalism “He explained that one of the reasons he had done it was because of fear. He was concerned about the results of the election,” Adams said. (Wolf!) ((I guess he missed the line about bearing false witness against his neighbor.))
A woman in Ann Arbor, MI has admitted that she was not a victim of a post-Election Day hate crime, but in fact scratched her own face. She says she was depressed. (Wolf!)
And then there is this, U-M student made up story about man threatening to burn hjiab, police say. (Wolf, I tell you.)
Or this, Anti-Trump Communist Arrested For Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats. (a Wolf did it!)
Not all of them are deliberate hoaxes, sometimes it’s just people jumping to conclusions Vandals not responsible for dozens of tipped graves at Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn, management says. “Police and the general manager of a Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn said that 42 fallen headstones were not caused by vandals, saying Sunday that the memorials had naturally tipped over due to age - though some elected officials were calling for an investigation, anyway.” (I'm sure it was a Wolf)
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I found a list here http://www.fakehatecrimes.org/, as well as other sites like reedit. I picked this one because the gentleman reportedly has been collecting false reports for over 20 years.
We all know the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In the end no one believed him when a wolf really did attack the flock. Every one of these false claims causes doubt to grow when we see yet another report. F.B.I. Helping American University Investigate Bananas Found Hanging From Nooses. Some of us wonder if it will turn out to be yet another false claim. S. Jersey man arrested in ‘Pro-Trump’, racist post-election vandalism in South Philly.
I’m not saying that some people don’t say and/or do hateful things to people of other races/cultures, but stop and think before you cry Wolf or try to make it look like the wolf has attacked in the night. You may be hurting your own cause. Cry Wolf enough times and we’ll stop coming when you call.