This Crazy Little Thing Called Hate
Hate is a very scary thing and there is much too much of it in the world. I am an object of hate because I am a lesbian. I had a very scary incident a year ago that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
I had a girlfriend and we were openly together at school, so most students and teachers knew of our sexuality. We were the objects of a lot of hate but I had no idea how powerful that hate was until one horrible day.
My girlfriend, two guy friends, and I were doing what we did every day after school - walking to our cars to go home. The two guys we were with also happened to be gay, and you'll know why that is important in a moment. We were just about at the parking lot when all of a sudden five or six guys surrounded us and began to hit us. As they were hitting and kicking they continuously yelled "F*g." That is one word I will never be able to hear again without shaking. We tried to fight back in the beginning, without success, then we just tried to huddle together to protect each other.
All I remember thinking was how scared I was for my life and my friends' lives. The boys were beaten much worse than we were. I guess that is one time I was really glad to be a girl.
I don't think there has ever been a time when I was more afraid; I was truly afraid for my life. Those kids who beat us never got into any trouble, even though there were many people around when it happened. No one tried to stop them. It was considered okay because we were gay. They physically beat the four of us because of who we are. It's no wonder so many people are afraid to be themselves, especially in high school.
I walked away from that fight, or whatever you want to call it, with a few cuts and bruises, and a lot of pain, but nothing I couldn't deal with, physically. Mentally, however, they hurt me pretty bad. Every time I see the small scar on my wrist, or hear someone say that word, I cringe and feel like I'm getting beaten all over again.
practice of active euthanasia in order for an argument to be formed in favor of the
We survived. And since that day, our voices have only grown louder. I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls.”
In this essay, I will explore the concept of free will by drawing a correlation to determinism and analyse if free will is dictated for us. I will argue that the future is
Many people claim that the violence happenes not because of sexual orientation, but because it is just an act to be committed. According to the Human Rights Campaign, crimes against homosexual people resulted in four deaths in 1998 alone. James Ward, a thirty-seven year old male from Arkansas, was stabbed to death in his own home by eighteen year old Jeremy Legit. Legit claimed that Ward made two sexual advances toward him. He was sentenced to twenty years. In Honolulu, a man was beaten to death by a group of teenagers in a public shower because they believed he was gay. They were sentenced to five years in custody. In September, a transgender female was stabbed repeatedly with a broken beer bottle and set on fire. Christopher Lopez and Christopher Chavez spent five months in jail before all charges were dropped by the Fresno Police Department. On October 12, 1998 Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming was beaten, tormented, tied to a fence, and left to die in freezing temperatures. The two men were sentenced to life in jail, only after the media had covered the trial and the whole world knew of the att...
There are several reasons why offenders commit hate crimes, they vary from case to case, however, one key element is fear which is caused by ignorance. The offenders fear the unknown and the competition they feel that exists, them vs. the ‘others’. When fear is accompanied by other factors it could potentially lead to a violent crime. “The
In the same way as love, hatred requires a certain intimacy between two people. A relationship cannot consist of either love or hate without there first being a close relationship between two individuals. Hawthorne explains that for these emotions to exist, “each, in its utmost development, requires a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge” (Hawthorne 246). In order for either of these emotions to be conceived within an individual, the person must first make an effort to acquire a deep understanding of the other person. It is necessary to have a familiarity with someone else’s character in order to either love or hate them, and it is impossible to become close to som...
As some believe that we humans have free will, they believe that we have the freedom of choice and the freedom of action. But, if all of our actions have a reason behind them, or if there is a causal explanation behind each of our choices, it is difficult to say that we actually have the freedom of will. For this reason, determinism challenges free will, as the determinist believes that all of our decisions are governed by some form of natural law, and that all of our behaviors are explainable by this law.
According to a study done by National Youth Association in 2010, 9 out of 10 students in the LGBT community have experienced harassment in school, and over ⅓ of LGBT youth have attempted suicide. More recently, statistics by the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org) claim that 4 in 10 LGBT youth say that their community is not accepting of LGBT people. In 1998 the Westboro Baptist Church was brought into America’s spotlight when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man in the LGBT community who had been beaten to death because of his sexuality. Since then, the cruelty of WBC hasn’t ceased to leave many in sickening shock. Bullying, throughout time, has evolved. It’s not just Little Timmy being beaten up for his lunch money anymore. Now, parents are involved. Many religious households raise their children on the beliefs that bullying is A-OK if Little Timmy is a homosexual. Parents ar...
The problem of free will and determinism is a mystery about what human beings are able to do. The best way to describe it is to think of the alternatives taken into consideration when someone is deciding what to do, as being parts of various “alternative features” (Van-Inwagen). Robert Kane argues for a new version of libertarianism with an indeterminist element. He believes that deeper freedom is not an illusion. Derk Pereboom takes an agnostic approach about causal determinism and sees himself as a hard incompatibilist. I will argue against Kane and for Pereboom, because I believe that Kane struggles to present an argument that is compatible with the latest scientific views of the world.
In was late July of 1999, five of my buddies and I had just graduated from high school and we were enjoying one of the greatest summers of our lives in Ocean City, Maryland. We were renting out what we thought was the best bachelor pad in all of O.C. on 139th street. Even friends of ours that we graduated with and had known for several years were living at the beach as well. Life was good. But two girls in particular that all of our friends knew from Paint Branch H.S. would, throughout the remainder of the summer, indirectly change and redefine the way in which most of us thought about homosexual relationships.
Huebner, D. M., Rebchook, G. M., & Kegeles, S. M. (2004). Experiences of harassment, discrimination, and physical violence among young gay and bisexual men. American Journal Of Public Health, 94(7), 1200-1203.
Various views on free will have been developed since then. The three that I will mention in this essay are Libertarianism, Hard Determinism and Compatibilism. Libertarians believe each individual should look to enhance their lives through the use of free will or the freedom of choice. On the contrary, Hard determinism argues that free will is impossible. Proponents of this ideology
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender, etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
Within and beyond philosophy, lies the tension between the universal concept of free will and determinism. From a general standpoint, individuals are convinced that they rule and govern their own lives. Free will embodies that individuals have the freedom to dictate their own future. It asserts that our minds and essence have the capacity to choose our own actions and direction, whilst also choose alternative paths. Determinism on the other hand, suggests that life is a product of necessity and causation, built upon the foundations of the past and laws of nature. It threatens the thesis of free will by positing that the world and everything in it is knowable through strict cause and effect relationships - eliminating the possibility of freedom
Are our lives only a set out plan controlled by fate? Do our choices and our actions determine our futures? What is the defining factors that affect the course of our existence on Earth? These are all questions that have afflicted society for centuries. As actor William Shatner once said, “The conundrum of free will and destiny has always kept me dangling.” Previously, this debate has been present mainly in the theological world between different religious denominations. However, recently this examination has moved to the secular universe. I am of the belief that we can live our lives with free will over our actions because of my ideas on humanity, my views on life, my understanding of reason, and my belief that there is a Creator.