Cedar Falls is fighting a wave of hate speech that’s appearing through graffiti. Several sites along the city’s trails and public infrastructure were spray-painted with swastikas and homophobic slurs this week.
Sonja Bock, a member of the Cedar Falls Human Rights Commission, points to the current divisive political climate and past attitudes as contributors to the outbreak.
“We’re in a time where we’re extremely polarized,” Bock says, “and we know that some of these groups are gaining momentum again like they did in the old days.”
Bock is concerned that far-right extremism has been present in northeast Iowa for a while, and current events have emboldened those groups to speak out.
“I think it’s been quietly brewing probably since Obama,” Bock says. “There are several factions that have really intently mobilized and have done a really good job of spreading their message to certain groups, especially in rural areas.”
In addition to the hate symbols, a telephone number appeared this week at one of the vandalized sites that’s linked to a white supremacist group.
(By Grant Winterer, Iowa Public Radio)