In 2006 I moved back to the continental United States (Kansas City) from 20 years of living in the Caribbean. In 2007 a trio of young white men were drinking at a bar in a Northeast section of the city. After a while they got into their car circled the neighborhood until they found a early 30's year old Black man coming home from work, lunch pail in his hand. They jump out of their car pushed him into an ally and beat him to death. When asked why they did it they said they just wanted to kill a black man.
In Chapt. 7 on pg 189 in the THINKING ABOUT DIVERSITY article, the subject is Hate Crime Laws. Here are my answers to the questions at the bottom of the article.
1. Do you think crimes motivated by hate are more harmful than those by, say, greed?
Yes I do. Hate crimes are more brutal. The dragging of a man tied with a chain behind a pick up truck. Tying a person to a tree and beating them to death. A beating by someone for robbery is quick and usually doesn't result in death or crippling. The opposite is usually true with hate crimes. Why? It is perpetrated to have an impact on the community that is the intended receiver of the message. "Stay in your place!" "Leave!"
2. Do you think minorities such as African Americans should be subject to the same hate crime laws as white people?
Yes. However it is very rare for such occurrence. Crimes of Black people beating/killing whites almost always fall into 4 categories: greed (robbery), drugs, perceived disrespect, and rape.
3. On balance, do you favor or oppose hate crime laws?
I favor them. Why? While hate crime laws will not change attitudes (only time will change that) it will make those who contemplate doing them (since that are always premeditated over a period of time) think of the consequences if they know that they (the laws) are rigorously enforced.
No comments:
Post a Comment