US Vice President Joe Biden announced a White House summit to fight hate-related violence.
The Summit will be dubbed the “United We Stand Summit,” according to the White House, and Biden will invite specialists, crime survivors, and other local leaders to discuss the topic in detail. In addition, the Summit will allow the country to recognize persons who have been victims of hate crimes.
For example, the Summit will remember previous major shootings, such as the 2016 Orlando gay nightclub shooting and the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting. These incidents have claimed the lives of those who have faced prejudice. Mexicans and Black folks are among the casualties.
During the Summit, Vice President Kamala Harris will also speak out against the violence perpetrated by racists and others. A presentation will also show statistics on hate-based violence in the country. In addition, a former neo-Nazi will take the platform and initiate a discussion about the topic. Finally, Biden will speak in front of the audience on the Summit as a whole and its objectives.
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The Summit and its objectives
The goal of Biden’s leadership has always been unity. Biden promises to bring together people of various backgrounds, origins, and ages under his stewardship. Many others, however, remain skeptical that the current president would be able to achieve his aim.
The event was also announced only weeks after Biden made a speech warning of the dangers of extreme Republicans to democracy.
“America must choose: to move forward or to move backward. To build the future or obsess about the past. To be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness,” said Biden.
“MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies,” he added.
Officials from the White House have stated that the Summit is not politically motivated but rather addresses a topic that everyone in the country should be aware of since it impacts everyone. Furthermore, authorities indicated that Biden would address the nation and highlight his message of unity, leading up to the Summit’s conclusion.
According to Biden, the country is better off unified than divided. This could only mean that violence intended to divide people and propagate hatred across races and origins should not be tolerated but should be fully exterminated. Violence motivated by hatred has no place in the United States.
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US National identity under threat
According to Deborah Lipstadt, a special envoy for the Biden administration, a sizable portion of the American population believes that the country’s identity is under siege. Lipstadt works with the White House to monitor and combat antisemitism.
“Whether they read it online, whether they hear it in the media, whether they hear it from certain politicians – but they believe it. People have to recognize that it’s this panoply of hatreds that constitute this threat to our democracy and threat to our country and to national security and foreign countries as well,” Lipstadt stated.
Meanwhile, the White House has urged internet companies to control and monitor hate-based violence. In its effort against hate-based violence, the government has involved media corporations such as Twitch, Microsoft, YouTube, and Meta. Furthermore, a top White House official emphasized the relevance and impact of social media businesses in tackling various challenges afflicting the United States.
“Every tech company should be thinking about what they can do,” he said.
Source: NPR
