Anti Nazi, Black Separatist, And White Nationalist

Hate Crimes: crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or religion(Federal officials, 2011). Hate crimes have been around for centuries. A hate crime is considered any malicious crime that is derived from hatred towards a certain group of people. African Americans are still victim to hate crimes, even after the Civil Rights movement. James Byrd Jr. suffered a prime example of a gruesome hate crime in 1998, because of his African American descent. Three white men, allegedly, chained Byrd to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him down a gravel road, leaving his body parts severed and bloody (Marty,1998). Recently, a new group of people has been targeted by the hateful view

A 2005 study conducted by National Institute of Justice, found that the Federal Government and all but one state, Wyoming, have laws related to hate crimes. A consistent problem identified by this study is there in no consistency in defining what constitutes a hate crime. (Carrie F. Mulford, Ph.D., & Michael Shively, Ph.D., Hate Crime in America: The Debate Continues, 257, Nat’l Inst Just., (2007). “The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines hate crime—also called bias crime—as “a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin.” ld.

The phrase “Hate Crime” rose to prominence in the 1980s, in an attempt to describe crimes against someone based on their race or religion. These crimes were motivated, at least in part and sometimes in entirety, by bias against African Americans and Jews. Since that time, the term has expanded to include illegal acts against a person, organization, and their property based on the criminal’s bias against the victim’s minority class. These minority classes include race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or gender reassignment. These are specific crimes because not only are they crimes against someone, they are committed based on who someone is (Martin 1996). This paper will discuss the history of hate crimes and the response of law enforcement officers to hate crimes.

The Klu Klux Klan, one of the most recognised hate groups in US history, was founded in 1865. They were under the impression that people of color were less valuable than white people, some even believing that they weren't human. Something people don’t realize is that groups like that are still around today, and just as active as ever. Hate groups, and just random unorganised hate crimes are just as real as me and you, and they are still an active threat. Hate Crime is relevant, and as a society, we should be doing our best to snuff out the flames of prejudice and resentment that burn in the hearts of anyone willing to participate in such unjust behavior. This kind of activity is not only hurtful emotionally, but sometimes, it turns to violence. Innocent people getting picked off the street simply because of their beliefs, who they love, or the color of their skin. This is something that nobody should stand for, especially now, in this constantly progressing world. All in all, Hate Crimes are a real problem, and in order to stop injustice such as this, we need to work together as human beings to accept people, regardless of who they are.

A hate crime is a crime of prejudice. The commitment of hate crimes is motivated by racial, sexual and even religious differences that often result to violence and death. America today is besieged by hate crimes. It seems that everywhere we turn, in the newspapers, on television and on social media, hate crimes are not only reported but are actually supported. It is unprecedented in American history how much bigotry is thrown out in our faces from the news and in social media. (Patillo, 2017) Behind every hate crime is a message. This is why the mainstream media and social media have become platforms for various groups to brag about their religious and racial biases and what they intend to do about those who against their beliefs. Hate crimes are espoused by religious and racial bigots to sow hate and dissension in order to convince people that their religious and racial prejudices are correct. Politicians, law enforcement units and the local community have to take firm steps to prevent such acts of violence from occurring in their locality.

In 2009, 6,604 hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI, 48.8% of which were motivated by race, 19.7% by religious prejudice, 18.5%by sexual orientation, 11.8% by ethnicity, and 1.5% by disability bias (Hate Crime Statistics, 2009). Recently, the FBI released the 2010 statistics that unfortunately reveal a slight increase in the number of hate crime incidents: 6,628 incidents were reported in 2010, 47.3% of which were motivated by race, 20% by religious prejudice, 19.3% by sexual orientation, 12.8% by ethnicity, and .6% by disability bias (Hate Crime Statistics, 2010). While racially-motivated and disability-motivated crimes appear to have decreased, hate crime motivated by religion, sexual orientation, and ethnicity has risen in the last year. Improvements in hate crime laws and punishments are necessary in order for these statistics to decrease.

The United States FBI defines hate crimes as “a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias.” This type of bigotry-driven crime has been a huge issue in the area of politics and justice ever since history began. Such crimes have become increasingly visible over the years due to the advances in technology, and social networking sites that have given a new platform to these issues. As the visibility of hate crime conditions become commonplace, they also become easily identifiable in everyday life. The issue that then arises is that these conditions have not yet become illegal to the degree that they should be held to. Hate crimes should be held at a higher penalty, at the federal level, due to the nature and intent of the crime at hand.

The first federal initiative to combat hate crimes was the Hate Crime Statistics Act (“HCSA”), passed in 1990. The purpose of this act was to “let Congress and law enforcement officials know whether hate crimes are in fact on the rise” and aid in the process of developing

Hate crimes are difficult to fathom, primarily because they involve the unprovoked physical attacking and, sometimes, murder of people based on race and ethnicity. A more formal definition of hate crimes is presented by Shepard (2017, p. 285). As he writes, “a hate crime is a criminal act that is motivated by extreme prejudice,” This is a very good, concise and accurate definition, nevertheless, hate crimes are not the outcome of unimaginable heights of discrimination. Most people have prejudices and many have stereotypes regarding others, whether it be racial or class stereotypes. Nobody is completely lacking in any form, shape or type of prejudice but, the much greater percentage does not physically attack, beat or murder those whom they

UCR. The difference and changing definitions of hate crime across states is yet to be researched to determine any effects on the rates of reporting and unreporting. However, according to the FBI, the congress, for the purpose of national statistical collection, has decided to define hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation” (FBI.gov). It is suggested by a recent study (Harlow, 2005), that the criteria of a hate crime be uniform across the states. “Due to the difficulty of ascertaining the offender’s subjective motivation, bias is to reported only if investigation reveals sufficient objective facts to lead a reasonable and prudent person to conclude that the offender’s actions were motivated, in whole or in part, by bias” (Harlow, 2005). The two definitions should be similar if not uniform in order for an accurate data.

Everyone worldwide has experienced discrimination because of their race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. People who shows hate against another person's race, sexuality, and other prejudice are called bigots. Some bigots tend to take their hate to another level causing their temper and animosity to lead to violence. When a bigot uses violence to hate upon other individuals is known as a hate crime. According to Mark Potok, from the Southern Poverty Law Center, studies show that about 250,000 biased crimes happen yearly, and most of them are unreported. Hate crimes is a serious issue that seeks and demands more recognition from not only society, but from federal and state authority.

¨A hate crimes in any crime committed which is motivated by bias or based on the victim’s perceived membership in a specific group.¨(“Hate Crimes”). Hate crimes are the outcome when someone targets a victim based on their race, sexual orientation, religion, and etc… The question that should be asked is why people support it. Hate crimes are inhumane. Even the constitution states that all men are created equal, so what steps have we taken to stop hate crimes and how do we show everyone why it’s wrong. “The FBI investigated what are now called hate crimes

Hate crime generally refers to a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation”, (Hall, 2013).

This paper will explore the long-term effects a hate crime has on the victim and his or her community. The victims and communities are directly and indirectly affected by the crime. Victims suffered long term effects such as negative mental and physical health, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD. The affected communities were victimized solely for sharing the same characteristics and beliefs of the victim. The long lasting effects of the hate crime influence every aspect of the victim’s life and those communities involved. Coping mechanisms such as support groups helped the victim and the communities regain some normality in their lives.

According to The First Amendment of The U.S Constitution, it allows citizens to have freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly & petition. The First Amendment protects speech no matter how offensive its content. The Supreme Court has said that there is no ‘hate speech’ exception to the First Amendment. For example, if a white student confronts a black student on campus and starts shouting racial slurs in a one-on-one confrontation, that student may be subject to discipline. Instead, the First Amendment requires the government to protect all speakers, no matter how provocative their speech might be. This connects to hate groups being allowed in the U.S, because why should freedom of speech be allowed but hate groups shouldn’t? ‘hate speech’ can provoke someone to get violent.