Hate Crimes

577 Words2 Pages

Revel and Riot confirmed that, “In law, [a hate crime is] a crime directed at a person on the basis of characteristics such as race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” The notion of hate crimes, unfolded in the U.S. around the late 1970s. Ever since then, numerous laws continue to pass simply to maintain these violent crimes, motivated by bias groups of people. Many citizens call for stricter laws, and harsher punishments. Some, debate that hate crimes only benefit certain groups of people, who do not belong to the group that are heavily attacked. Based on a world full of differences, those differences are what makes us a nation.
In the Declaration of Independence, it is said that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” This means that every person is born with equal rights to their own freedoms. Everyone is born free, but many cannot act free, due to their race, religions, and sexual orientations. One hate crime is that of one’s race. In the American Heritage College Dictionary, racism is, “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” This type of discrimination in history, revolved around slavery in the United States of America, when the black race were considered inferior to the white population. Regarded as properties instead of individuals. “I had long dreamed of entering Central High. I could not have imagined what that privilege could cost me” (Beals. ii). This shows how back then, what people would do to keep everything segregated. Even though segregation is illegal now, discrimination against race is not. All men, no matter their skin tone, white, black, Asian, should be treated equally.
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Beals, Melba. Warriors don't cry: a searing memoir of the battle to integrate Little Rock's Central High. New York: Pocket Books, 1994. Print.

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