Over the past year, a new front for hate has opened up across Canada and the United States, with drag performances and gender-affirming care providers becoming targets of harassment and threats. But the vitriol has an all-too-familiar tone — one that a well-known anti-hate organization says is a cause for concern.
The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is warning about a “convergence” of antisemitism and anti-LGBTQ hate.
“Extremists and antisemitic conspiracy theorists have capitalized on the spread of dangerous and offensive falsehoods about LGBTQ+ people,” read a Jan. 24 post from the ADL’s Center on Extremism. Simultaneously, the organization wrote, anti-LGBTQ “fearmongering” is serving to boost anti-Jewish prejudices and conspiracy theories.
The increase in language that vilifies Jewish and/or LGBTQ people raises a red flag for organizations that work to fight discrimination out of concern that hateful rhetoric could lead to violence.
“Demonizing people is the first step in committing violence,” Sheba Birhanu, associate director of partnerships at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), based in Toronto, said in an interview.
“When so many different communities are affected by the same forms of hate wearing different hats, the worst thing we can do is turn our backs.”
Canada Tonight’s Dwight Drummond speaks to Crystal Quartz, a drag queen performer, and Heidi Klaassen a writer and parent, about recent drag show events that have been cancelled due to threats and how watching family-friendly drag performances can help spark important conversations for kids. (December 9, 2022)
Same hate, different targetsÂ
It’s no surprise to S. Bear Bergman, an American author and consultant on equity and inclusion who’s living in Regina, that people who espouse transphobic and homophobic views would use antisemitism to further…
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