Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics

Whitlock and Bronski observe that as a society we've created a "hate frame"--a way of seeing and understanding violence. And we've come to believe that violence against vulnerable communities--queer, the disabled, Muslims, and others--occurs because of hatred, and so we punish perpetrators harshly. Though well-intentioned, the authors argue this hate frame is severely limited, and often ineffective, and doesn't allow the societal conditions that produce the hate to be addressed. Providing numerous examples--from the murder of Matthew Shepard, to attacks on undocumented workers, to the Steubenville rape incident--Whitlock and Bronski challenge our beliefs on hate and violence, arguing that it is our collective responsibility to work towards more caring and just communities.