Hate crimes are on the rise, and the nation is doing less and less to fight against them. This may seem okay at first glance, but the truth of the matter is that these heinous ideals are not removed from local communities. In San Antonio’s North East Independent School District, school teacher April Jones was forced to remove a sign that stated, “Hate has no home here,” from her classroom. Forcing the censorship of phrases on this sign is not only symbolic of the rampant hate that is festering within the U.S. — it is also symbolic of how it is spreading closer and closer to local communities, day by day.
The small cloth sign’s removal from Jones’ desk may have initially been insignificant, but NEISD parents and families quickly took notice. More than a dozen people attended a NEISD board meeting to protest the sign’s removal. Although initially a minor action, the censorship casts a far larger shadow over the community than the board may have expected.
The forward push by parents, fellow teachers and students forced the district to compromise on the banner’s censorship. NEISD agreed to permit the sign so long as the phrases encouraging transgender and LGBTQ+ rights were covered. Regardless of the district’s so-called compromise, the damage has been done. As communities around San Antonio become increasingly aware of their liberties being trampled, citizens find their voice to speak out.
The repression of voices, not only in San Antonio but across the U.S., is telling of how President Donald Trump’s administration is affecting the average American citizen. With bills such as the Bluebonnet Bill — which forces religion into public schools — being implemented across the state, it is clear that the youth’s education is under attack nationwide.
The NEISD school district’s rejection of the phrase “Hate has no home here” sends a troubling message to the community’s youth: that even a simple, unifying statement against hatred can be divisive among the adults they are supposed to trust. Infamous dictator and orchestrator of the Holocaust Adolf Hitler said that “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”
This country is either choosing to secure a safe, empathetic and equal future by teaching children empathy from a young age, or it is pushing an agenda and repressing opposing ideologies instead. Investing in youth can lead to progress and peace; however, if used manipulatively, that investment can lead to destruction
