Hope, not hate. Always.
This has been a bleak few days.
Whether we knew her or not, sadly I did not, we must remember Jo Cox.
She was fearless in her engagement with the purveyors of hate. She reasoned with them and was ruthless in the way she exposed the flaws in their arguments. Jo Cox stood, and her memory will always stand, for the hope that by engagement we can conquer hatred and the violence that it generates.
She embraced every opportunity to communicate with words, and deeds, her peaceful and positive message to powerful people. Jo Cox is an inspiration whose example, were we all to emulate it in everything we do and everything we say, would be the most powerful remembrance for her children, her husband, her family, her friends and for us.
As of today, the fund set up in her memory has raised over £1 million. The three charities who will benefit from it are:
This is Hope not Hate’s published goal:
“HOPE not hate exists to provide a positive antidote to the politics of hate. We combine first class research with community organising & grassroots actions to defeat hate groups at elections and to build community resilience against extremism.
“Hate is often the consequence of a loss of hope and a political articulation of despair, but given an alternative, especially one that understands and addresses their anger, most people will choose HOPE over hate. Our job is to expose and undermine groups that preach hate, intolerance and division whilst uniting communities around what they have in common.
“Building a society that celebrates rather than scapegoats our differences.”