Hate Crimes

Hate crimes, two small words with a very big meaning. Hate crimes are happening everywhere, some hit the news, some go into newspapers and others don’t even make it to the point of any social awareness at all. Hate crimes are a targeted attack, one that should not be taken lightly. While hate crime laws infringe on free speech rights, acts of hate should be criminalized because groups of hate crimes have had a huge impact on social behavior for a long period of time, hate crimes victimize the entire community causing public damage, and the overall threat hate crimes pose on society without the repeated use of penalties.

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.

Many issues impacted by hate crimes can be informed by psychological research. For example, are hate crimes more harmful than other kinds of crime? Why do people commit hate crimes? What can be done to prevent or lessen the impact of hate and bias-motivated crimes? Social scientific research is beginning to yield information on the nature of crimes committed because of real or perceived differences in race, religion, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Current federal law defines hate crimes as any felony or crime of violence that manifests prejudice based on “race, color, religion, or national origin”. Hate crimes can be understood as criminal conduct motivated in whole or in part by a negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons. Hate crimes involve a specific aspect of the victim’s identity. Hate crimes are not simply biases, they are dangerous actions motivated by biases.

Modern day racism and hatred against African-Americans can be traced back to slavery in the Colonial Americas. Over 10 million slaves were taken and brought into the New World. These slaves if they were to survive the way would face a harsh life of servitude to their white masters. Africans slaves were and plentiful and cheap labor source in the 1700’s. Slavery was very controversial in the colonies. The practice had many believers and critics. Slavery was a brutal but big part of American history.

After the Civil War, slavery was deemed illegal, giving any native born African-American freedom and citizenship. Alas, the mindset of an American ideology viewed African-Americans as inferior. Why was that? Well, for over 200 years, slavery was legal in the United States. In other words, Black people were viewed as inferior to the Whites for over 200 years in the U.S. That mindset stuck around for many decades after the Civil War and still exists today, unfortunately. This negative ideology towards African Americans was greatly influenced across the country. Many Anglos did not agree with the idea of free African Americans, so they let their disagreements stir up wild accusations and assumptions about Africans. With their new established freedom, African-Americans went to live amongst White settlers. This caused racial issues to arise amongst light skins and dark skinned citizens. Anglo settlers viewed Blacks as inferior to them despite slavery being deemed illegal. Well, their pessimism was what helped guide them in their attempt to create an Anglo America, even if it meant attacking whoever they view as

There are situations where the state is unable or unwilling to proceed with certain cases involving hate motivated crimes, prejudice, or bias crimes. In addition, the difference between hate crime definition or factors determining a hate crime in federal and state levels causes limitations on both levels as well. In such situations, the federal government only has, the federal government has limited jurisdiction to charge or consider some cases as federal criminal civil rights violations. On the federal level, these cases are difficult to charge because the government must “prove that the crime against the prevented from engaging in some type of constitutionally protected

On August 12, 2017, a “Unite the Right” rally was held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in

The focus on the South Region is taken from the studies coincide with Tolnay, Beck and Massey’s 1989 investigation of the Deep South and the positive relationship between increases in the black population and the increases in the amount of anti- black violence. Beck’s 2000 study on the Ku Klux Klan reports that states in the South (North Carolina,

According to the 2011 Census, there are 1,054,945 Muslims and 468,670 Sikhs that live in Canada. The number of Muslims and Sikhs that live in Canada are rising every year and as the number rises so does the number of hate crimes, especially against people that represent their faith through articles of clothing. The views on these articles of clothing are split between every individual, everyone has different opinions about them. There is a lack of knowledge from the general population about why people choose to represent their faith. But whose voice has the authority on this matter of the situation? Which matters more public opinion or legislation? I argue that there is a disconnect between public actions and the legal sphere and

Given that our society has such a dense population of different races, ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations, it is important to understand both the goals and challenges of policing and dealing with hate and bias crimes. Considering that since the beginning stages of immigration we have tried to support successful assimilation, hate and bias crimes create a huge barrier. Hate and bias crimes “occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation” (en.wikipedia.org). Not only is it difficult for our society to identify this sort of crime,

Recent data has shown an increase in the number of hate crimes being committed within the United States. Hate groups also are mobilizing. This poses a problem for Americans. The Southern Poverty Law Center provides a solution for this by monitoring hate groups and gathering information about them. To continue doing this, they need donations to keep operating but multiple barriers exist for individuals to contribute funds.

Tammy Thompson, I agree that it is the duty of a jury to present during trials. In 2006, the FBI reported 7,722 incidents of hate crimes. Fifty two percent were because of a person race, nineteen percent were because of the persons religion, sixteen percent because of sexual orientation, and thirteen percent because of their ethnicity (Hate Crime, n.d.). Hate crimes are committed for several different reasons some because they are ignorant about people who are different while others feel the need to look down on others to compensate for their own low self-esteem. Others may commit hate crimes because they have been victim themselves and see treating others the same way is all right to do (Hate Crime, 2017).

Discriminating behaviors can affect every single race. However, African Americans have been the targeted group for generations, from slavery to segregation, hatred to racism, and so much more. It all started in 1619, when the first African slaves arrived in Virginia and lived in slavery for over 200 years. In 1865 the 13th Amendment to the constitution was ratified, which prohibited slavery in United States (African-American History Timeline). A great example of

The U.S. House of Representatives said that hate crimes are classified by what motivated the defendants behavior. Whether this be by hatred or prejudice based on actual or perceived race, nationality, or ethnicity of another person or group of people. Hate crimes can range from vandalism to homicide. These attacks are not always meant to harm the victim, sometimes they are carried out to instill fear into the targeted person or group of people. Therefore the victims of hate crimes are selected because of the aggressors prejudice against the group that the victim belongs to and not because the victim had provoked the aggressor in some way. In result hate crimes end up spreading fear through not only the victim, but also through people who identify

When someone hears the words “hate crime” they get a goosebumps type of feeling. Reason because the thought of committing a crime based on certain aspects that one might not agree with is seen as absurd. In the dictionary the word hate crime is defined as “a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence.” This definition makes us think that why would anyone commit a crime based on those matter? Do they bother someone that much that someone is a different race, a different sexuality or even a different religion?