White Right Meeting the Enemy

White Right Meeting the Enemy is a documentary about a Muslim journalist, from the UK who is confronted with vicious hate by White Nationalists after an interview she participate in discussing multiculturalism. The anonymous (of course) attacks were vile included terms like "Sand Ni#$%$ and Shit Skin. There were also personal death threats against the journalist. Online examples of the darkest parts of our humanity set the tone for what it feels to be attacked for your beliefs or the color of you skin. Many watching the documentary surely felt the ugliness of the attacks, however what makes this documentary unique is the approach the journalist takes to confront the enemy.

Deeyah Kahn (the journalist)  takes a dramatic step towards decency by trying to find the humanity behind the hate she experienced. She comes to the United States and immerses herself into the White Nationalist movement. Truthfully, you can not get more authentic experiences than what she went through. The timing of her arrival in the United States was uncanny. (She was filming during the horrible events in Virginia.)Vicious at first, and then the humanity slowly beings to arrive once interactions among enemies occurs. It was quite telling, and in my opinion the best example how we should confront hate. Isolation from these groups solidifies the hate, while interaction brings about change in personal values and insight. There is a transformation happening as she gets to know the leaders of the movements.

Why is this documentary so important?  Too often ,we choose rallies over personal contact. Dissent is often resolved on social media versus personal contact. Most people who hate have been victims of trauma. The hate comes from a space that all us have shared at one point in our life. It is difficult for humans to see the humanity in our actions, when actions are aggressive towards another human being. However, we have a responsibility to confront hate with compassion and understanding, as crazy as this statement must sound. Hate is often attributed to environment, and the best way to change the narrative is to introduce people to new environments. A very very powerful point that this documentary makes is we all have a responsibility to see the humanity in our actions, while judging the actions of others.