Ladies and gents... this is one tired Black Man Next Door! Today has been a whirlwind of events, and they aren't quite over. Work has been somewhat busy, toiling away with co-workers of all different walks of life - race, religion, nationality, and sexual orientation.The melting pot of a harmoniously working team of underlings sparked me to write about times where those differences actually make people clash. Last summer, a gay man was savagely beaten in the gayborhood of Dallas by two hetero-thugs looking for trouble. (Story HERE) The DA's office opted not to pursue this as a hate crime, which enraged many in our community.
Hate crime... issuing a higher echelon of punishment to offenders motivated by hatred or contempt for a certain "group" of people. This is one issue that I've straddled the fence on for quite some time now. It may be shocking to hear this from a Black, gay blogger... but it's true. Ultimately, I am for hate crime legislation, but I acknowledge holes.. problems.. concerns about my stance that need alleviating.
This will more than likely be a four-part post, as there are many aspects of hate crimes that I want to touch on and ping you for your thoughts. First and foremost, aren't all violent crimes an expression of hatred toward another human being? For example: Four White men driving on Peace Street witness a man savagely beating his wife, stop the car, assail him, drag him into the street, and beat him within an inch of his life... staining the concrete with his blood. What is driving their actions? If it's not a strong, negative emotion like hatred... why not simply restrain the man until the cops arrive? But say they didn't... they make this man their bitch.
The real deal to chew on is that this would not be considered a hate crime, even if they know this guy, and have in fact hated the man's guts since the day they met him. Why? Because they are ALL White. If a man brutally rapes a woman, screaming "Bitch! Bitch! Whore! Slut!"... wouldn't you consider that an act of hatred? Communities should shun and fear this type of violent activity regardless of demographics... and I am not totally sure that crimes against a certain demographic instill greater fear than the examples of crimes I just described above. Bottom line... part of me believes that all violent crimes should receive the highest echelon of punishment possible.
Anyone have any thoughts about whether or not hate crimes deserve a higher level of punishment?
I think hate crimes deserve a special level of punishment.
ReplyDeleteWho knew?
I see it like this: there was a story in the paper about an old woman attacked in the elevator of her building in NYC....beaten robbed.
Then the story of the two Hispanic brothers beaten because it was assumed they were gay. One died of his wounds.
The first crime is hateFUL, because the thugs robbed an old woman for her money, credit cards, etc.
The second crime is hate, because the men were beaten, and one murdered, because they were thought ot be gate.
Hateful is beating someone for a wallet.
Hate is beating someone because you don't like who you think they are.