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The Hamilton Case Study

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On September 15th, 2001 four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, a lawless arson of a Hindu temple and vandalism of a Mosque took place in Hamilton (The Hamilton Spectator 2014). According to The Hamilton Spectator (2014), it was during the early hours of September 15th, 2001 when three men, Christopher Pollard, Scott Ryan, and Damien Marsh drove to a Muslim mosque than a Hindu temple in Hamilton where they destroyed both places of worship (The Hamilton Spectator 2014). It was Pollard’s 21st birthday as the men were reported celebrating at various bars and were seemingly intoxicated (The Hamilton Spectator 2014). The three men drove to the Hamilton Mountain Mosque on Stone Church where they continued to drink (The Hamilton …show more content…

The first aspect, is that the Mosque vandalism and temple fire occurred four days after the 9/11 attack in the United States. The attack in the United States was an act of terrorism and many pinned the blame on the Muslim community for the many lives that were lost. Therefore, given the fact that Hamilton has the second highest rate of hate crimes against minority groups, it is likely that the fire and vandalism were a response to the 9/11 attack as both places that were targeted were sacred to minority groups. In addition, the perpetrators actions along with the places they targeted conveys the message of “you do not belong here”, as the literal burning of the temple eradicates its existence within society. The second aspect that plays a vital role in this case, is that two places of worship were targeted. The first being a Muslim Mosque and than a Hindu Temple. The fact that the perpetrators could have confused the temple to be a mosque illustrates that the three men were trying to target a specific group. Additionally, it is important to note that the men had to drive from the mosque to the temple, thus indicating that they had a certain motive in mind. Furthermore, the fact that the men targeted two religious institutions illustrates that they were trying to hurt minority groups where they are the most vulnerable the most, a place that is sacred to them. The third aspect that is vital to this case is that the perpetrators left beer bottles behind. It is because of these beer bottles that helped the police capture the correct culprits. If the DNA on the beer bottles were not present these three men would have never been captured. The fourth aspect of this case that I believe is important, is that the Hindu community forgave the three men. The fact that the Hindu community could forgive the men that destroyed their place of worship illustrates the

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