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ilustatrion short essay on hate crime
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The History Behind Hate Crime and the Existing Legislation
Many political scientists and researchers to a number of policy arenas in the United States ranging from corporal punishment to the quality of urban life have applied Daniel Elazar’s concept of political cultures. For a vast majority of these policy programs, a considerable correlation has been found to exist between the region examined and its approach to a specific policy. Elazar focused on three primary political cultures: the Moralist political culture (MPC), the Individual political culture (IPC), and the Traditional political culture (TPC). These cultures have served as a basis for explaining the difference that exist in the political, social, and personal facets of each respective region. These ideas have been consistent throughout the course of this nation’s history, existing even in present times. I have chosen to focus on a policy program that has demanded a great deal of attention in more recent times, namely in the past few years: hate crime policy. With more widespread media coverage, hate crimes have become more prevalent and more publicized than ever before. The Benjamin Smith shootings and the murder of Matthew Shepard are only two examples of recent crimes, which have been considered hate crimes that have promoted politicians and legislators to address this ever-growing problem and formulate a solution. This paper will attempt to define and uncover the history behind hate crime and the existing legislation. Furthermore, I will explain my own hypothesis then examine regional difference in the approaches to hate crimes and compare and contrast them to Daniel Elazar’s idea of political cultures. My own hypothesis is that moralist cultures will have been the first to initiate hate crime policy and be most likely to have such policies followed by individualist, then traditionalist political cultures.
Hate Crime: Definition and History
Every since the body of James Byrd was found in pieces on a road in east Texas, the authorities have been struggling to bring charges to reflect the horror of the crime. “Murder seems too pat: Mr. Byrd was chained to a truck and dragged for almost three miles”. In Texas, simple murder does not carry the death penalty. But Mr. Byrd was black, apparently murdered by racists, so there is a call for this killing to be labeled a “hate crime”, for whi...
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...tiation of Hate Crime Law in the United States, 1978 to 1995: Innovation and Diffusion in the Criminalization of Bigotry.” American Sociological Review. April, 1998: 286-307.
4. Haider-Markel, Donald P. “The Politics of Social Regulatory Policy: State and Federal Hate Crime Policy and Implementation Effort.” Political Research Quarterly. March, 1998: 69-88.
5. “An Unwise Road in Texas.” The Economist. 20 June, 1998: 17.
6. “The Hate Debate.” The New Republic. 2 November, 1998: 7-8.
7. “1999 Hate Crime Laws: Anti-Defamation League.” URL: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/constitutionality.html
8. “The White House Conference On Hate Crimes.” URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica/whc.html
9. Elazar article
10. U.S. Census Bureau Statistical Abstracts of the United States: 1998. “No. 344- Hate Crimes- Number of Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Offenders by Bias Motivation: 1996.” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1998. 21 September, 1998: 215.
11. Wirt Lecture
12. Sharkansky article.
13. “Map of State Statutes: 1999 Hate Crime Laws.” URL: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/provisions.html
Despite the passing of the Civil Rights Act and Affirmative Action, racism evolved from the blatant discrimination of the 1960s like segregation, to the slightly more passive racism of the 1990s such as unfair arrests/jail time (Taylor). Curtis’ writes three decades after the aforementioned progress and yet, looking back on the 90s, there is an alarming amount of similarities between the two.
“The New Jim Crow” is an article by Michelle Alexander, published by the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Michelle is a professor at the Ohio State Moritz college of criminal law as well as a civil rights advocate. Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law is part of the world’s top education system, is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a long-time member of the American Law association. The goal of “The New Jim Crow” is to inform the public about the issues of race in our country, especially our legal system. The article is written in plain English, so the common person can fully understand it, but it also remains very professional. Throughout the article, Alexander provides factual information about racial issues in our country. She relates them back to the Jim Crow era and explains how the large social problem affects individual lives of people of color all over the country. By doing this, Alexander appeals to the reader’s ethos, logos, and pathos, forming a persuasive essay that shifts the understanding and opinions of all readers.
Hurwitz, J., Peffley, M., & Sniderman, P. (1997). Racial stereotypes and whites' political views of blacks in the context of welfare and crime. American Journal of Political Science. 41, 30-60.
The dualistic cultural tendency to condemn hate crimes while ignoring these crimes' social and historical imbrications indicates that the ideological pattern termed "new racism" has come to characterize, not only racial thinking, but also other forms of identity-based difference and even mainstream efforts to combat bigotry. The result being that the bigotry manifest in hate crimes is unequivocally defined as criminal, while the differences that initiated these crimes in the first place are rendered moot. Bigotry appears deviant, while the status of being in a minority group is viewed as either neutral or irrelevant. The myth of the color-blind society transmogrifies within these narratives into the myth of the post-difference society. ( LEWIS
"Hate-Crime Laws." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News
The fact that hate crimes still occur in America is another signpost that tolerance is still an unheard of notion to a lot of people. In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics showing that 2,105 law enforcement agencies reported 9,080 offences of hate crime. This includes vandalism, intimidation, simple and aggravated assault, and murder. This also includes not only race statistics, but religious, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability motivated crimes. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released statistics of discrimination charges for the same year with all ...
The American Heritage Dictionary defines hate as intense dislike or animosity. However, defining hate as the basis for a crime is not as easy without possibly jeopardizing constitutional rights in the process. Hate crime laws generally add enhanced punishments to existing statues. A hate crime law seeks to treat a crime, if it can be demonstrated that the offense was a hate crime differently from the way it would be treated under ordinary criminal law. Since the 1980s, the problem of hate crimes has attracted increasing research attention, especially from criminologists and law enforcement personnel who have focused primarily on documenting the prevalence of the problem and formulation criminal justice responses to it. Lawmakers have passed legislation to encourage data collection and attach enhanced penalties to hate crimes at both state and federal levels.
The reason why hate crimes and types of bias motivated violence continued to go unnoticed is because, the crime needed to be reported. If it is not reported, then no action will be taken. The Justice Department study finds that 2 of 3
...se them to geographic targeting, police brutality, disproportionate incarceration and sentencing rates. Get tough on crime ideologies as well as mass incarceration practices encouraged by mainstream American citizens and policy makers alike, result in further oppression and complicate individual’s abilities to achieve social and economic success. In order for the United States to attain a “post-racial status,” biases in society should be eliminated therefore encouraging police bias’ to be removed, additional concern should be had for individuals in low-income, urban areas, and sentencing and arrest practices should be equalized across all races. Many sociological issues have a role in how the criminal justice system operates and until further notice, it remains unequal and supportive of racist policies that keep this country from attaining a “post racial status”.
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
As argued, exactly what is considered as hate crime is dependent on the time, the place and the people thus making it impossible to appease everyone with one single interpretation of ‘hate crime’. One thing that is clear is that the hate crime phenomenon has emerged out of a diversifying multicultural Britain, indirectly influencing groups into adopting them and us attitudes resulting in segregating communities and influencing higher levels of conflict and hate crime. Racism and its manifestation in hate crime have been a topic of sociological research and debate of great significance in the modern world. Undoubtedly, the Stephen Lawrence case and subsequent inquiry have led to profound cultural changes firmly putting society on a path progressing towards diversity acceptance. In comparison sexual orientation related hate crime is in its infancy stage in terms of research, public attitudes, and legislative changes. Since the first prosecution of a homophobic murder in the 2006 Jody Dowbrowski case, culturally we have begun to view such issues with greater importance. Commonly however, victims of both racist and homophobic hate crime must be understood as a compilation of the social and cultural context in which they have become targets. This demonstrates the acknowledgement of a holistic approach to
... Social Policy, and Violence, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 5, 1996.
Grattet R, Jenness V. “Transforming Symbolic Law into Organizational Action: Hate Crime Policy and Law Enforcement Practice”. Social Forces. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. September 2008;87(1):501-527. Accessed April 1, 2014.
The last figures of studies show a reported 17, 876 hate crimes. While these statistics are alarming, they are only a numerical representation and cannot ever convey the fear, sorrow, and torment suffered by the human beings and communities against whom the crimes were committed.
In America, hate crimes are a rising problem. Statistics show that a hate crime is committed every hour. A cross is burned every week. Eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews, and one Latino become victims every day. Today, America prides itself on being a tolerant country. Through legislation including affirmative action and movements against racism, we see ourselves as a country offering equal opportunities to all. This statement, however, is slightly biased. Contrary to popular belief, everything is not wonderful in the land of the free and home of the brave. Many live in fear of being persecuted because of who they are naturally. The United States needs to find a way to combat these crimes, mainly through introducing tougher laws regarding hate crimes.