Hijabs and hate crimes – lessons from the 'hijab-cutting' story

Just as the villagers feel cheated when the boy cries wolf over and over, so, too, might some people feel frustrated at the statement from Toronto Police that an alleged incident in which an 11-year-old girl had her hijab cut on her way to school turned out not to have taken place at all. I personally felt slightly relieved.
Last year, one of my own students, who was in Grade 8 at the time, was approached by a hateful man on her way to school. She was with her older brother, who was in Grade 10.