[smashthestate]

What are everyone's thoughts on Hate Crime laws? Do you think they are violating individual rights? Do you think they are a good deterent to racist behavior? Any and all opinions will be greaty appreciated.

Discuss!

[Ásatrúar]

Gute Idee
Lets talk about racism and I'll tell my opinion and be called a nazi agian. Oh well, I'll take a stab at it.

I am of the opinion that all crime can be considered hate crime. If one hates me because he disagrees with me and then commits a crime agianst me for that reason, how is that different to me if infact he did it cause of my ethnic or culural background. It makes no difference to me, either way I got criminalized - either way the man is a criminal. How would hate crimes violate individual rights? Is that some issue in the United States or something?

[Boondock Saint]

Ásatrúar

Here in the US certain politicians are pandering to the black vote. That is what this is all about. The entire concept of hate crimes is to add on extra years for crimes that were commited out of hatred, most specifically racism.

Here are two examples ...

- A man is mugged, in the process he is stabbed and dies of the wound. Now the only reason he was mugged was because ... well, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only reason he died is because he attempted to resist and the mugger decided it would be easier to mug a dead man.

- A man is mugged and the mugger decides 'hey this guys is white, I hate white people' and decides to stab him simply because the guy is white. (Yes I said white intentionally because here in the states stabbing a white guy isnt that bad a thing).

Now both incidences have more then one crime being commited but the obvious and most serious crime is murder. Both examples have the person being killed intentionally by the mugger but one is because its easier and the other is because of the guys color. Now hate crime law will give the guy who killed because of color more time then the other guy ...

In the end its just pandering to the black vote and really wont solve any crime at all. It will just waste time and take attention away from the real issues at hand ... which is exactly what the politicians want.

Take a look at the issues in the US ... and the a good number of the top ones are pointless. They are issues that in the big picture wont really effect the nation but because people are so emotional about them they happen to be tops on the list ...

[enLight]

Should racism be tolerated or not? Hard to answer. The real question one should ask is this:

Should the people have the freedom of opinion?

I'd say yes. I guess I just apologized for racism.

Anyway, any hate crimes that are violent will be prosecuted just like any other violent crime - whether it's racist or not.

[Individual #2032029018]

I support anyones right to their opinion and their right to speak on their opinion in a public forum no matter how offensive I find that opinion. I do not support their right to use speach in a private context to attack another person racially nor do I have any tolerance for behavior that attacks in a physical manner.

Furthermore I do not support people who use speach to drown out a voice in a public forum excercising their right to speak.

[Enigmatic]

Where the "hate crime" law is intended to take into account intent to commit the offence (mugger who stabs person because he resisted vs mugger who always intended to stab the person because he was black) and likelihood of reoffending (guy who attacks a guy in revenge for something specific vs guy who attacked a guy for being a member of another ethnic group...) and public order problems connected with the offence (inciting race war) I'm in favour. Where it's pure political correctness I'm not.

[Comrade Ogilvy]

It doesn't matter to me what the reason behind crime, crime is crime no matter what motivates it, destroy the destroyers!

[TROI]

I support anyones right to their opinion and their right to speak on their opinion in a public forum no matter how offensive I find that opinion. I do not support their right to use speach in a private context to attack another person racially nor do I have any tolerance for behavior that attacks in a physical manner.

If you gave a speech about how whites were superior to blacks you'd want to stay up on that plinth for a long time, cos when you got down you'd have the ass kicking of life time to look forward to. In the UK anyway

Matt

[tallgrass]

Tacking on an ethnic, race, or religious element to the commision of a crime only perpetuates prejudice.

A crime is a crime, regardless of who the victim is, and should be prosecuted the same no matter what the person's motives were.

[Cap]

In my opinion, motive is irrelevant. Prosecute the crime, not the reasons for it.

Education can help reduce racism and homophobia related hate crimes etc, but having a stiffer penalty seems unreasonable to me. A person killing for fun, or a person killing for hate, makes no difference to me. They should be equal under the law.

Why does the motive matter?


Cap

[Mark]

I support anyones right to their opinion and their right to speak on their opinion in a public forum no matter how offensive I find that opinion. I do not support their right to use speach in a private context to attack another person racially nor do I have any tolerance for behavior that attacks in a physical manner.

If you gave a speech about how whites were superior to blacks you'd want to stay up on that plinth for a long time, cos when you got down you'd have the ass kicking of life time to look forward to. In the UK anyway

Matt

I dunno...... see http://www.bnp.co.uk


i think thats the website anyway

[ZenWilsonian]

It's www.bnp.ORG.uk

Always a good website for a laugh.

[redcarpet]

Hate Crimes aren't just to combat racism!!!!

It's also to combat homophobia.

[Jesse]

Its to combat any form of crime that is motivated in non-traditional ways - i.e. by the fact that you're igorant and believe in race - or that a homosexual is tremendously different from you, or that an immigrant has 'stolen' your job.

I disagree with adding extra sentences onto crimes considered to be 'hate' based, as of course, determining what exactly is 'hate' is damned near impossible. You stab somebody? Aggravated assault with a weapon, and however many years (or months ) in our so-called penentiaries that earns you. You lynch a black man, or stomp a homosexual? Murder, and Murder, respectively. While obviously these crimes may have been perpretrated by someone who still believes in the antiquiated concept of race, we can't go and verify their beliefs by recognizing the idea of race.

[Truth-a-naut]

Aren't crimes in general full of contempt and hate?

You don't rob someone because you like them... all this PC stuff is awesome!

[Comrade Ogilvy]

How many of these perpetrators were charged with a hate crime? None, all the crimes were horrible, yet if whites committed these same acts upon a minority- it would be a considered a hate crime.

Denver, CO- A white female teenager, Brandy DuvaI, is
raped, sodomized, tortured with a broomstick and stabbed 28 times by
a gang of six blacks and Hispanics. Her skull is caved in and corpse
dumped into a ditch. Police confiscate a blood soaked mattress as
evidence. The murder trial started on the same day as the James Byrd
trial!

Killeen, TX - A white couple, Todd and Stacy Bagley are
kidnapped on the way to church, lit on fire, burned to death and shot
in the head by four blacks.

Flint,Michigan - Three white teenagers, Michael Carter,
Dustin Kaiser and (girl's name withheld by police) are attacked by
six black youths. Carter is shot and killed. Kaiser is beaten and
shot in the head, but recovers. The girl is forced to perform oral
sex on her black attackers, pistol whipped and shot in the face

South Carolina - A white female, Melissa McLaughlin, is
raped, tortured and skinned alive in a tub of bleach by seven blacks

Jacksonville, FL - A mentally retarded white man,
Gregory Griffith, is beaten and stomped unconscious by blacks and
died a few days later. The blacks admitted to the police beating
Griffith because "he was white".

Kansas City, MO - A black male shoots two white co-
workers, Micheal Scott and Traci Riehle. Scott is killed and Riehle
is critically injured. Police find a note referring to "blood sucker
supreme white people".

Alexandria, VA - An eight year old white child, Kevin
Shiffiet, is killed when his throat is slit by a black who also stabs
his 80 year old great grandmother and punches her in the chest.
Police find a hand rambling note stating. "Kill them raceess whiate
kidd's anyway".

Burlington, NC - A ten year old white child, Tiffany
Long, is raped, sodomized, sexually tortured and murdered by two
black males and a black female. The black female rams a broomstick up
her vagina and rectum. The parents were prohibited from seeing their
dead daughter's body.

Fayetteville, NC - Two white women, Tracy Lambert and
Susan Moore, are carjacked by a group of seven blacks and Hispanics
and shot execution style in the head. This murder was part of a gang
initiation. The bullets found in the victims' heads were painted
blue, the Crips' gang color.

Alton, Illinois - A white male, Richard Skelton, is
attacked and stomped to death by a group of 25 blacks while black
onlookers yell, "Kill the cracker".

Cleveland, OH - A five year old white girl, Devon
Duniver, was stabbed to death by a black teenager who said after the
murder, "She got what she deserved."

Buffalo, NY - A white man, Gary Traska, is stomped to
death by three blacks. Many of his organs were actually split apart
from the savage beating.


Fayetteville, NC - A white male, Donald Lange, is
stomped by ten black males. Lange is now brain dead and a complete
vegetable.

Salt Lake City, UT - A black man breaks into the house
of two white women, Amy Clinton and Aaron Warren. The black man stabs
both women, killing Amy Clinton and seriously injuring Aaron Warren

Boulder, CO - A white college student, "Jane Doe", is
gang-raped at gun-point by six Asians. Because of court proceedings
and fear of retaliation by the "Asian Crips", she is referred to as
"Jane Doe". The Asians admit to raping the girl "because she was
blonde and white".

Miami, FL - Seven whites are murdered by the Yahweh Cult whose leader
orders the members to cut off and return the ears of the victims as
proof of the murders. The trial was conducted at the same time as the
Rodney King trial.

[The One.]

justice ought to be colorblind.

Hate crimes laws uses racism in order to prevent racism.

Repeal them