Pyramid of Hate

Write a quick write reflecting on a time when

you felt you were not accepted

19 October 2015—Warm-up

Take the next few minutes to read through the “Have You Ever” questionnaire.

At first, please respond to these questions with a simple “Yes” or “No”.

BE HONEST- this paper is for YOUR EYES ONLYAfter you have answered each question, read

through them once again and summarize any specific incidents or stories that come to mind related to each question/topic. (ONLY DO THIS IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE & HAVE A RELEVANT STORY TO REFLECT UPON)

Have You Ever?

As I click through the following slides our goal as a class is to engage in an open and mature class discussion

Some of these discussion prompts relate to sensitive topics, please remain respectful of your classmates as we discuss them

The Floor is YOURS

Why do you think people tell ethnic jokes

about other groups, insult others, or exclude

them socially?

Pair and Share

Why would these differences cause a person

to “put down” someone else?

Pair and Share

Where do people learn to disrespect people

who seem different?

Pair and Share

Can you give examples of a prejudice you

have learned through the media?

Pair and Share

Imagine the following…

STORY TIME

In one school, a group of four boys beganwhispering and laughing about another

boy intheir school that they thought was gay.

Theybegan making comments when they

walkedby him in the hall.

Soon, they started callingthe boy insulting anti-gay slurs. By the

end ofthe month, they had taken their

harassmentto another level, tripping him when he

walkedby and pushing him into a locker while

theyyelled slurs.

Some time during the nextmonth, they increased the seriousness oftheir conduct — they surrounded him and

two boys held his arms while the others hitand kicked him. Eventually, one of the boys

threatened to bring his father’s gun intoschool the next day to kill the boy. At this

point another student overheard the threatand the police were notified.

Do you believe something similar to this story COULD happen at Perry?

Connections

How could a situation like this effect our entire school?

What could have been done to stop the situation from escalating?

Connections

The story we just read displays a situation that started out as just “laughing and whispering”, and then escalated quickly to a much more violent situation.

This type of progression can be better understood by taking a look at the “Pyramid of Hate”

Connections

Turn over your “Have You Ever” worksheet and read through the “Pyramid of Hate”.

Label each level of the Pyramid with a number 1-5 (1 is the bottom level of the pyramid)

Read through each level and observe the progression from “Prejudiced Attitudes” to “Genocide”.

On the margins of the handout label each level with 1 to 2 examples that you believe exemplify each level.

The Pyramid of Hate

Where would you categorize “whispering and laughing”?’

Why do you think that something which, at

first, seemed harmless, progressed into violence?

Based Upon the Case Study We Read…

Even if it seemed harmless to the perpetrators and bystanders, do you think it felt harmless to the victim? How do you think he felt?

Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes…

At what level of the pyramid do you think it

would be easiest for someone to intervene?

What would be some possible ways tointervene?

Solutions

Considering everything we have discussed today, please respond to the following writing prompt in your composition book relating it back to the focus of today’s lesson.

What is the result of an intolerant society?

Closure Activity