A growing challenge for students, teachers and parents in the Information Age is to recognize and reject hateful material transmitted through mass media. Hate literature has a long, ugly history, but new technology has brought cheaper, speedier distribution and a broader reach. The racist novel The Turner Diaries, for example, which served as a blueprint for the Oklahoma City bombing, was formerly available only through "underground" channels from its publisher, the National Alliance. Now, the book can be downloaded from the Alliance's Web site — in three languages!

As more schools open e-mail access to students, teachers or media specialists must discuss both the ramifications of hateful e-mail and the likelihood that it will be traced. In reported instances, most offenders claimed that they sent the mail as a joke and never considered the fear or emotional pain it might cause.

Music is another medium that has experienced an upsurge in hateful content. According to Michelle Lefkowitz, an official with Oregon's Communities Against Hate who has worked to get teenagers out of the Skinhead movement, "[Music] is probably the most successful organizing tool White supremacist Skinheads have. Kids get into the scene because of the music, and then they're introduced to the politics."

Although the market for White supremacist music is small, a much larger audience of both teens and adults regularly listen to forms of "gangsta" rap and other music that contains degrading and violent references to women, homosexuals and White people.

In the wake of the Columbine High School massacre and other tragedies, the influence of antisocial messages in all media has come under increasing scrutiny. By emphasizing equity and respect in all aspects of school life — and the need to examine media messages in these terms — teachers can equip students to make responsible choices as readers, viewers and listeners.

When addressing the problem of hate in literature, electronic media and music at school and in the community, consider the following steps:

• Help students recognize hate literature. "Warning signs" include swastikas, derogatory references to race or ethnicity, and caricatures of racial/ethnic groups. Discuss what students can do when they find or someone gives them a hate flier. Emphasize that anyone finding or receiving such a flier should tell a teacher immediately. Ignoring it or dropping it on the ground only makes it available for others to find.