Los Angeles launches 'Card the Hate' campaign for World Cup

Los Angeles County and the Immigrant Rights Coalition (Chirla) have launched a campaign called 'Card the Hate' to combat rising hate incidents ahead of the World Cup. The initiative uses the familiar yellow and red cards from soccer to symbolize identifying and reporting prejudiced behavior that, while harmful, may not be a criminal offense.

Robin Toma, director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, stated that recent years have seen "the highest levels in history" of hate incidents, with Latinos, immigrants, and minorities being frequent targets. "It is a time when people seem, unfortunately, to be getting used to hate, disrespect, incivility, hostility, and prejudice against everyone, so we consider it crucial to redouble our efforts and send an important message: we need to change this reality," he insisted.

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It is a time when people seem, unfortunately, to be getting used to hate, disrespect, incivility, hostility, and prejudice against everyone, so we consider it crucial to redouble our efforts and send an important message: we need to change this reality.

Miriam Mesa, director of CHIRLA's Community Outreach Department, highlighted the campaign's goal to remind people that hate incidents are not normal and must be addressed. "The yellow and red cards are a universal symbol, they tell us when boundaries have been crossed, they remind us that actions have consequences, they protect the integrity of the game and ensure that everyone can participate safely and fairly. Today we bring that same principle to our communities, we are going to card it," she said. Mesa attributed the increase in hate incidents to former U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies and warned that hate and racial profiling incidents have occurred in Los Angeles and other World Cup host cities in the U.S.

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The yellow and red cards are a universal symbol, they tell us when boundaries have been crossed, they remind us that actions have consequences, they protect the integrity of the game and ensure that everyone can participate safely and fairly. Today we bring that same principle to our communities, we are going to card it.