History Of Hate Crimes: Abolishing Violence
The history of hate crimes against gays is staggering. Thousands of people are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation. While the nation itself has hate crime laws, many people who commit these crimes do not care. They see what they are doing as a higher calling or even the right thing to do. What they are really doing is hurting another human being.
Statistics are showing that recent hate crimes are declining, but various experts believe that this is simply because most hate crimes against gays are not identified as hate crimes. There are lengthy discussions going on today that ask if crimes against gays should even be called hate crimes.
But that is what they are. In the history of hate crimes, thousands of people have been terrorized, stalked, or killed. In a country built on principles of freedom of religion and thought, people are getting killed over thinking or acting outside the norm. In fact, the perpetrators are usually the ones with the problems, having some kind of homophobia and acting on it.
If we listen to the history of hate crimes, we will realize that they never actually go away. Education is a big help to bring the number of hate crimes down, but we know they never totally cease. America's past is a lesson in this, and the sixties civil rights battle shows us that hate crimes will continue far into the future.
Recent hate crimes against gays appear to be declining. This can be deceptive. Most victims do not trust their local law enforcement to act in their best interest so they do not report it when the crime occurs. These gays are afraid, hiding away in the shadows and unintentionally creating more problems for future victims.
There are numerous rationales behind hate crimes. The foundations for hate crimes range from religion, fear or even cultural reasons. But whatever the rationale behind a hate crime, hate crimes are intrinsically wrong. Hate crimes are not new to this era. They have a long and sordid past and only with diligent and constant effort will they be eliminated completely.
The history of hate crimes against gays is staggering. Thousands of people are victimized because of their sexual orientation. While the nation itself has hate crime laws, many people do not care. They see what they are doing as a higher calling. What they are really doing is hurting another human being. Statistics are showing that recent hate crimes are declining, but this may simply be an artifact of classification. A lot of people don't think that the police will act for the good of the gays, and so many people who have been victimized go into hiding. This makes the whole problem worse.
Published March 11th, 2008
Filed in Politics
