Our country has a lot of separation, a lot of good and bad and many people believe themselves as superior. America possesses a large amount of hate towards many groups, Monat said. The Halt the Hate vigil is not only to halt hate and hate crimes toward gays and lesbians, but to halt the hate toward any other groups of people who are targets of hate, Monat said. Richard Kempter, a part time instructor at Eastern Michigan University, went on to say that men are so homophobic that their rage gets out of control. When women approach them they are flattered but when a man approaches a man, that man becomes furious.
Discrimination causes harm.
There was a handful of white balloons tied to the rail and it each balloon represented someone who was a victim of hate crimes. Participants read off names of gays, lesbians, blacks, Asians, and holocaust victims who were all victims of hate crimes. Then they let a balloon into the air for each name that was read. Monat lit the first candle and each candle was lit from another's candle. Everyone was instructed to hold hands as a poem was read in closing of the second annual Halt the Hate candlelight vigil.