Jussie Smollett. Bubba Wallace. Michael Brown. And, for those with long memories, Tawana Brawley.
The list of hate crime hoaxes is nauseating and long, but most documentary filmmakers have little desire to turn their cameras on the subject.
Enter The Daily Caller.
The conservative platform is churning out documentaries to fill the gaps left by Hollywood, Inc. The site’s “Demand for Hate” gets to the heart of the hoax matter, exploring a revolting case that turned a young woman’s life upside down over what appears to be a lie.
The documentary spends most of its screen time on Morgan Bettinger, a UVA student accused of saying she wanted black protesters to be run over like speed bumps.
Except there’s little proof she said that. In fact, she says she shared the opposite thought. Had a truck driver not blocked the roadway where protesters marched, something tragic might have happened. She was grateful for that turn of fate, she mused at the time.
No matter.
On-site protesters ran with the toxic narrative, and her UVA dreams curdled into a nightmare. Her cancellation will sound eerily familiar to most viewers.
- Social media persecution
- Abandoned by adults who should know better
- Judged guilty by her peers, facts be damned
“Demand for Hate” examines the case, blaming everyone from the media to the university’s brass for turning a misunderstanding into a debacle.
Why are hate crime hoaxes so common?
“Demand” argues the current hate hoax wave began with Trayvon Martin, the black fatally teen shot by George Zimmerman during an altercation. We may never know what happened between the two, but the Left and the Media (redundant) falsely claimed the clash came down to bigotry.
NBC even selectively edited a Zimmerman 911 call to suggest that fake narrative. Other journalists made up the “White Hispanic” label for Zimmerman.
That, plus the Michael Brown imbroglio, set the stage for future hate crime hoaxes.
It’s a microcosm of what’s wrong with western culture today.
Except given all the recent hate crime hoaxes the UVA case shouldn’t absorb so much of the film’s running time. Yes, Bettinger’s story matters, but showing similar hoaxes would paint a more powerful picture of why they keep happening.
The film addresses some of the root causes behind these morally warped hoaxes. We don’t get partisan talking heads eager to exploit the issue.
The conservative film takes a surprisingly measured look at the matter, with
“Hate Crime Hoax” author Wilfred Reilly and Legal Insurrection founder William A. Jacobson weighing in with keenly observed truths. They describe the mob mentality that fuels these hoaxes along with the press’ culpability.
Social media makes matters worse, with cyber-bullying attacking people like Bettinger without context or facts.
A darkly comic segment follows a focus group tracking the subject. When someone asks if the group trusts the mainstream media they answer in near-unison.
“No.”
The documentary takes a bird’s eye view of the culture late in the film, but the observations feel rushed and inadequate to the larger issues in play.
The filmmakers tried to interview Zyahna Bryant, the activist who helped rally the Left against Bettinger, UVA officials and University President James Ryan to glean their side of the story.
They all declined. Their silence speaks volumes. So does the lawsuit that gives the film a marginally happy ending.
“Demand for Hate” offers a single quote to sum it all up, courtesy of Jim Bacon from The Jefferson Council.
“There’s not enough racism to go around.”
HiT or Miss: “Demand for Hate” is a flawed but fascinating look at the rise in hate crime hoaxes.
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