by Beth Givens
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, May 1999
Republished with permission
Hate Activity: Communities Can Respond, a handbook by the Community Advisory Committee on Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism, Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, Access & Equity Centre, Toronto. 1996. 90 pages
This handbook was designed to enable community workers to assist victims of hate and to mobilize communities in response to hate activity. It contains useful background and practical information on understanding hate activity, assisting victims of hate and mobilizing communities. It also explains the roles of various institutions, legal remedies and law enforcement.
Copies can be obtained, free of charge, from the Access & Equity Centre of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, 55 John Street, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3C6 Tel: (416) 392-5581, Fax: (416) 397-0888
Combatting Hate? A socio-legal discussion on the criminalization of hate in Canada, by Senaka Suriya, Carleton University Press, Ottawa, 1998. 100 pages.
In this work, the author critically explores whether the criminalization of hate effectively combats hate in Canada. By looking at the cases in which people have been tried under the Criminal Code provisions dealing with hate, the author concludes that the current legislative means to criminalize hate "may give the false sense of security that society at large is not engaged in hate conduct, confirming the dominant view that hatred in Canadian society is a product of extremist groups...In other words, the criminalization of hate appears to in fact normalize and cover up many forms of hate in Canadian society."
Available from Carleton University Library, reference number: M.A. 1998.S87.
Web of Hate: Inside Canada's Far Right Network, by Warren Kinsella, Harpercollins Canada, 1997. 81 pages. ISBN: 0006380514
As organized hate crime rises in Canada, this book responds by tracing the history, ideas and influences of hate-group members in Canada, through first and second hand accounts from members, their families and friends. It illustrates that the far right is maintaining a presence in every region of the country, and is actively recruiting young people in various ways.
Racism in Canadian Schools, by Abrahim Alladin, Harcourt Brace Canada, 1996. 179 pages.
An examination of systemic racism present in Canadian classrooms and of the biases and stereotypes in school curriculum. Anti-racist education programs at two schools are also examined. Resource lists and teaching ideas follow each chapter.
High-Tech Hate: Extremist Use of the Internet, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), USA. 1997. 86 pages.
Between 1996 and 1997 the number of hate sites on the Internet more than doubled. Sites devoted to Holocaust denial have increased faster than other hate sites, and many anti-Semites are republishing or linking to Holocaust denial materials. More of the well known hate groups are now on the Web and many are using more sophisticated technology. The "Identity Church Movement" has established a significant number of Web sites. Many individuals not specifically connected to organized hate groups are using the Internet and thus supplement the on-line activities of the established groups. This book discusses these and other issues relating to extreme hate on the Internet.
To obtain a copy of this book in Canada, write to the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith Canada, 15 Hove Street (Suite 210), Downsview, Ontario, Canada, M3H 4Y8 or email: league@bnaibrith.ca. $10.00
To obtain a copy of this book in the United States, write to Anti-Defamation League, Dept. MRC-W, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017. $9.95
Hate Crimes: Criminal Law and Identity Politics, by James Jacobs and Kimberly Potter, Oxford University Press, 1998. 208 pages. ISBN: 0195114485
This book looks at the history of modern hate crime and hate laws in the United States. Legal definitions of hate crime are shown to be ambiguous and subjective, thus making it challenging to identify what crimes can be classified as hate crimes. No matter how hate crime is defined, and despite an apparent media consensus to the contrary, the authors find no evidence to support the claim that the United States is experiencing a hate crime epidemic - instead, they cast doubt on whether the number of hate crimes is even increasing.
Digital Crime: Policing the Cybernation, by Neil Barrett, Kogan Page Ltd, UK, 1998. 224 pages. ISBN: 0749420987
A legal primer for laypeople, this book examines the range of crimes being committed as a result of the technology boom, and the ways in which various levels of UK law enforcement are responding. The methods they are developing to police this new "cybernation" are examined in detail through issues such as: the gathering and presenting of digital information as evidence for prosecution; the possibilities of digital terrorism and cyber war; and the problems inherent in the worldwide jurisdiction of the Internet.
The Governance of Cyberspace: Politics, Technology and Global Restructuring, edited by Brian Loader, Routledge, New York, 1997. 264 pages. ISBN: 0415147247
A collection of essays examining the complex nature of governing the Internet. Topics covered include the right to privacy versus protection from criminal activity, and freedom of speech versus use of the Internet by hate groups. Contributors include political theorists, computer scientists, social theorists, science fiction writers, psychologists, and sociologists.
Internet Culture, edited by David Porter, Routledge, New York, 1997. 279 pages. ISBN: 0415916844
A collection of essays that examine emerging cultures on the Internet, both positive and negative. Various social aspects of cyberspace are considered, from virtual communities to Net politics, including the presence of racism and other forms of hate.
"Approaching the radical other: The discursive culture of cyberhate", by Susan Zickmund, pp. 185-205; a chapter in Virtual Culture: Identity and Communication in Cybersociety, edited by Steven G. Jones, Sage Publications, London, England, 1997. 262 pages. ISBN: 0761955267
This chapter addresses one of the typically marginalized elements of society - hatemongers - and compares their position as a community in cybersociety. Other chapters in Virtual Culture look at gay identity in cyberspace and the punishment of "virtual offenders".
