Hate Crimes in America
explanatory Essay
3640 words
Hate Crimes in America
Hate crime is not a new phenomenon. Hate crimes have been prevalent in society for as far back as one can document it. In the United States alone, racial and religious biases have persisted for centuries. Even from the time that the first settlers landed in America, hate crimes have existed. The westward-moving English settlers were perpetrators of hate crime against the Native Americans. The Know Nothing Party in the 1850s held extreme anti-Catholic sentiments. Some whites, later in history, took part in bloody dealings and lynching of African Americans. The Ku Klux Klan performed cross burnings to intimidate the African Americans and other religious affiliations that it had biases of hatred towards. In 1968, Congress first passed a hate crime statute during a time a frightening racial violence. This was the first step toward the hate crime statutes that our law holds today (Wessler v-3 May 2000).
This paper is intended to give a clear definition of a hate crime, according to the United States government, to provide examples and statistics of hate crime, and insight into state and federal laws pertaining to the enforcement or documentation of hate crime in America.
Hate crime is defined in the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 as “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including where appropriate the crimes of murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation, arson, and destruction, damage, or vandalism of property.” The 106th Congress also stated that the “prominent characteristic of hate crime is that it devastates not just the actual victim and that victim’s famil...
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...mes Under American Law. Harvard
University Press: Cambridge, 1999
National Center for Victims of Crime. “Hate Crime.” Online. http://www.ncvc.org
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. “Hate Crimes Unit.” Online.
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us.
Wessler, Stephen. “Promising Practices Against Hate Crimes: Five State and Local
Demonstration Projects.” Hate Crimes Series #2. Center for the Study and
Prevention of Hate Violence. May 2000.
Wessler, Stephen. “Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing the d
Efforts of Criminal Justice Practitioners.” Hate Crimes Series. Center for the
Study and Prevention of Hate Violence. February 2000.
Wisconsin v. Mitchell. 113 USPQ 2194. U.S. Super. Ct, 1993.
42 US Code. Sec. 13981.
18 US Code. Sec. 245-47.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how rodney king, an african-american man, was viciously beaten in the middle of a city street in broad daylight by three los angeles police officers.
- Describes how james byrd, jr. was brutally beaten, tied to a truck, and dragged three miles to his death. the perpetrators were all members of white supremacy.
- Explains that the attorney general shall acquire data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
- Explains the violence against women act, which states that all persons within the united states shall have the right to be free from crimes of violence motivated by gender.
- Explains that 18 u.s.c. 245 has instilled prosecution of a hate crime if the crime was motivated by race, religion, national origin, color and the perpetrator willfully injures, intimidates, or interferes with.
- Explains that hate crimes have been prevalent in society since the first settlers landed in america.
- Explains that matthew shepard, 21, was abducted by two young men, tied to a fence, and beaten to death. his homosexuality was the motivation for crime.
- Explains that hate crime activists were happy with the hate crimes statistics act of 1990 even though the law gave no legal action for hate crimes, because of several factors.
- Explains the catch in the law is that the two restrictions must be a pair. one cannot use this law to enforce hate crime even if purposely singled out because of race, religion, national origin, or color.
- Explains that the campus hate crimes right to know act raises awareness of hate crimes on university campuses by requiring campus security to collect and report hate crime according to categories of prejudice, including sexual orientation.
- Reports that 537 active hate groups were identified in the united states by the southern poverty law center.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- hate crimesexplanatory essayDefining Hate Crimes Hate crimes has become an increasing problem here in the united states ranging from racial hatred to gender discrimination but what are hate crimes? According to Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston Hate crimes are message crimes, Hate crimes are defined as crimes that are violent act against people, property, or organizations because of the group to which they belong or identify with. The coined term “hate crimes” was first used No matter how many different definitions there are for hate crimes but we all can agree that hate crimes are wrong and immoral. But within hate crimes they are many different types of hate crimes. One of the main reasons that people commit hate crimes would have to be because of racial hatred.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that hate crimes have become an increasing problem here in the united states ranging from racial hatred to gender discrimination.
- Explains that african americans are the most targeted race, but other races are also targeted, such as hispanics, chinese, and after the recent september 11 attacks on the world trade center arab americans have become an increasingly alarming target in the united states.
- Explains that most religiously motivated hate crimes are acts of vandalism, although personal attacks against jews are not uncommon.
- Explains that gender discrimination is a constant problem in america, and that hate crimes are committed by people like you and me.
- Explains that most hate crimes are carried out by law-abiding people like you and me who see nothing wrong with their actions. personal prejudice colors people's judgment, blinding aggressors to immorality.
662 wordsRead More - The Problems with Hate Crime Legislationanalytical essayIntroduction 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how heidi m. hurd's article, "why liberals should hate 'hate crime legislation," discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes should be more severely punished.
- Explains that hate motivated crimes are more brutal because of the hatred that the defendants expressed for their victim. the motivation behind the crime is taken into consideration when thinking about the final outcome of a criminal act.
- Explains that the harm principle can be taken into consideration when discussing this side of hate and bias crimes.
- Analyzes how hurd uses an example to prove that a victim's race or gender does not reflect hatred and prejudice.
- Argues that the courts should not impose more vicious punishments on an individual based on their character. hate crime laws unintentionally claim that unchangeable character traits are unacceptable in today's society.
- Argues that hate crimes are no more harmful than ordinary crimes. hate crime laws punish the act itself and go on further to punish thoughts and beliefs.
- Opines that heidi hurd's argument that hate crimes laws should merit less punishment than the ordinary is because the criminal act is already illegal and the fines have already been established.
- Argues that hate crimes should have equal punishments to ordinary crimes with similar actions.
- Concludes that heidi hurd explained both parts of the discussion. discrimination, hate, and prejudice is a topic discussed for many years.
- Argues that hate crimes cause a greater harm than others. hate crimes affect the entire targeted groups by inflicting fear and making the member vulnerable.
- Explains that culver, keith charles, and hurd, heidi m., "why liberals should hate hate crime legislation''.
1649 wordsRead More - Extra Penalties for Hate Crimes are Justifiedanalytical essayAny crime motivated by a bias against a person or group based on their ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religion or another characteristic is a hate crime. These crimes can either be committed against the people themselves or their property. When someone commits a hate crime they are targeting a group of people not just one individual. That’s why hate crimes have extra punishment. The punishment for hate crimes are very insignificant considering the deviant who committed a hate crime targeted an entire group of people. Hate crimes are very serious offensive but determining where to draw the line can be difficult. Hate crimes are very serious and can have lasting effects on victims.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that hate crimes are motivated by bias against a person or group based on their ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religion or another characteristic.
- Explains that hate crimes are punishable by fines, prison stays, and felonies, but proving that an assailant committed a crime in prejudice is difficult.
- Argues that hate crimes are serious offensive but determining where to draw the line can be difficult. hate crime laws create inequality by choosing special groups of people who are more worthy of protection.
- Opines that a policy might sensitize officers to the problem of bias motivated violence and result in increased reporting of hate crime.
- Explains that hate crimes can have lasting effects on victims, including losing their sense of safety, depression, and anxiety. hate crimes are different from other crimes in that the offender is sending a message to members of the community.
- Explains that hate crimes target people for the sole purpose of hatred of those people's characteristics. extra penalties are justified because they target an entire community.
- Explains that lieberman m, larner j, grattet r, jenness v. transforming symbolic law into organizational action: hate crime policy.
1101 wordsRead More - Determining Hate Crimesanalytical essayExposition: Determining Hate Crimes?Hate based on race, religion and sexual orientation exist within any cultural rich societies. When this type of hate fuels a person into taking violent actions upon those they hate, it is called a hate crime; a topic which the American public is seriously concerned about. It has been a widely discussed subject on the media, and often debates of whether or not a crime should be attributed with hate are the center for discussion.Does hate crime imply on any case when a person is convicted for inflicting damage on someone "different"? It is often difficult to set a benchmark for measuring sufficiency of hate as a cause to label it in front of crime. The term can be conveniently stretched and squeezed by people with different ideas and biases.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that hate based on race, religion, and sexual orientation exists within any cultural rich societies.
- Explains that the four white policemen who brutally beat rodney king jr., a black man, were determined by the court's judgment, as officers performing their duty.
- Opines that the savage beating was unnecessary and hate was the factor which induced the four cops to perform such a nasty feat.
- Explains that in order to picture the virtual scenario, we need to think critically and be able to delineate out hate, and understand why people hate.
- Analyzes how society tries to undo prejudice through education, but prejudice is brought back when we meet students who are prejudice, whether we become their friends or their victims of discrimination.
- Argues that the american people do not see the bombing of iraq and yugoslavia as a hate crime, because they are told what they want to believe.
706 wordsRead More - Essay On Hate Crimesanalytical essaySociety consists of many different sociological groups. These groups involve people of diverse races, religions, and more. Unfortunately, hate crimes happen when groups become angry or frustrated towards each other. These groups are formed mostly during times of economic struggle or even social change. Hate groups continue to be a problem in our society. A group believes that the reason for a specific problem is only the fault of another racial, religious, or other group. The most common forms of crime in our society are due to hatred. Hate crimes are defined as a crime motivated by hatred, prejudice, or intolerance of somebody’s race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, disability, and/or sexual orientation. Plenty of hate crimes happen due to the fact that someone is different from someone else.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the mass shooting in oak creek, wisconsin, on august 5, 2012 is just one of suburban u.s. gun frenzies. the justice department investigated more than 800 incidents involving violence, threats, vandalism and arson against persons perceived to be muslim or sikh.
- Explains that sikhs face discrimination because they make up about 99 percent of the people who wear turbans in the united states.
- Explains that sikhs are indians, and there are many others who have endured and suffered from osama and september 11.
- Explains that hate crimes occur when groups become angry or frustrated towards each other, especially during times of economic struggle or social change.
- Analyzes how harbinder singh expressed distress for the killings of six individuals in oak creek, wisconsin. sikhs are bullied by comments from americans, such as "it's not your country" and "go back to where you belong."
1127 wordsRead More - We Need Hate Crime Legislationanalytical essayHate crime is one of the biggest issues many people face today. Whether or not they should be legislated against has been highly debated and continues to be a hot topic. This essay will explain the ideas and opinions of several authors including Charley Reese, Michael Lieberman, Helen Dodge, Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones and Samuel Francis. It will also elaborate on the topic of why hate crimes should be legislated against, with supporting information.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the ideas and opinions of several authors including charley reese, michael lieberman, helen dodge, gregory s. parks, shayne e. jones, and samuel francis.
- Explains that hate crime is a criminal act against one's race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. the motive behind the crime should be taken into consideration when the punishment is issued.
- Analyzes how charley reese's article "hate crime laws are a bad idea" states that hate crime laws would allow the government to begin making strides toward no individual freedom.
- Analyzes how lieberman's article, "hate crime laws: punishment to fit the crime", discusses that violence is intentionally targeted at individuals because of their personal, and immutable characteristics.
- Analyzes the emotional and psychological impact of hate crimes on the victim and community. matthew shephard's murder left the community feeling terrorized and vulnerable.
- Analyzes how helen dodge's article "special crimes need special laws" states that hate crimes strike at the heart of the american dream.
- Analyzes how racial hate crimes are not taken seriously in today's world. in 'nigger', an attorney argued that saying the "n"-word was not committing a hate crime.
- Analyzes how samuel francis' article "hate crime laws change the law" discusses a specific murder in jasper.
- Explains that hate crime legislation is about recognizing that a certain type of crime is more severe, more harmful to society, and giving judges and prosecutors another tool to utilize when addressing the severity of these crimes.
- Opines that hate crime legislation should be implemented to protect society from criminals who target humanity based on religion, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
- Opines that hate crime laws are a bad idea by charley reese.
- Explains lieberman, michael. hate crime laws: punishment to fit the crime.
- Explains that hate crime laws: punishment to fit the crime.
- Cites parks, gregory s., and shayne e. jones' "ssrn-'nigger': a critical race realist analysis of then-word within hate crimes law."
- Narrates how jere keyes, "hate crime legislation: an essay | blind prophecy."
- Explains that "about hate crimes." homepage. web. 26 apr. 2011.
1836 wordsRead More - The Many Forms of Hate Crimesanalytical essayThe Many Forms of Hate Crimes The issue of hate crimes has greatly affected the way in which people interact. A hate crime is defined as any act of violence or verbal slashing of a person based upon race, religious belief, or one's sexuality. There are several other grounds for determining a hate crime depending upon guidelines in written laws. Hate crimes are said to have originally derived from the unjust treatment of Jewish cultures during the Holocaust in World War II. Slavery of African Americans in the early to mid 1900s has also been deemed a cause of hate crimes.
In this essay, the author
- Defines hate crimes as any act of violence or verbal slashing of a person based upon race, religious belief, or one's sexuality. hate crimes originated from the unjust treatment of jewish cultures during the holocaust.
- Analyzes how the issue of hate has engulfed the media with questions and proposed answers on how and why some ungodly acts could have taken place.
- Analyzes how chancellor gerhard schroeder led a 200,000-person march in memory of victims of concentration camps. paul spiegel, head of germany's jewish community, spoke out against conservative politicians that suggested minorities adapt to culture.
- Explains that the ku klux klan is a basis for the ideology of white supremacy and anti-semitism.
- Explains that the national gay and lesbian task force declared october 19th "national hate crimes call-in day." the focus is to lobby the leaders of the house of representatives to enact the hcpa.
- Explains that al gore and george w. bush have different ideas on the topic of hate crimes and legislation to counteract it.
- Explains that hate crimes have become an extremely controversial topic in today's society. hate has become a major detriment to civilization from historical roots brought forth by nazis, slave owners, and ku klux klan.
- Opines that when and how will the hate stop? czuckza, tony, graham, stephen, meek, james, and jerusalem post.
690 wordsRead More - Hate Crimesexplanatory essayHate crimes are not a new concept for society, because hate crimes have always been around. While the study of hate crimes and the laws that have been passed because of hate crimes is relatively new, hate crimes have always been around. Hate crimes were committed as far back as the 1800’s and even back to The Civil War. Hate crimes are prevalent in society today just like they were in the past; because whether the crimes are aimed towards Muslims, the gay community, or any other minority group; they are fueled by something that every person has come into contact with- prejudice. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived thought or opinion about someone. While prejudice can be positive, in the concept of hate crimes they are negative feelings, thoughts, or opinions that are aimed towards a certain religious, ethnic, race, or even sexual orientation group. The typical definition of hate crime is that a crime has been committed by a majority member against a minority member simply because the victim was a minority. However, as of recent the definition has been expanded to allow for any crime committed by bias towards the victim’s social group such as anti-gay or anti-lesbian. Hate crimes are an extreme, potential effect due to prejudice and discrimination towards someone based on ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. These crimes are committed against an individual or a group of individuals based solely on the fact that they are part of a group that the offender doesn’t approve of whether it is because they are a different race or following an alternative lifestyle. While the hate crimes are not something that is new in society because prejudice has always been around, the concept of a bias-crime and the legal precedent that it ha...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that hate crimes are not a new concept for society, because they are fueled by prejudice and discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation
- States that the hate crime statistics act, introduced in 1985, was the first piece of federal legislation to bring attention to hate-motivated violence.
- Explains that homosexuality has an interesting aspect when it comes to hate crimes because of the debate over whether or not it is an ascribed status or an achieved status.
- Explains that respondents were more certain of the offenders' guilt when the offender was white rather than black, and the victim is black (rather than white).
- Explains that hate crimes are important to study in sociology because they are based solely upon prejudice and biases which have always been around.
- Explains that non-white racial groups (particularly blacks) are statistically most likely to be victims of hate crimes. their status as a minority is often used to say that they deserved what happened to them.
- Cites disha, cavendish, king, grattet, mcfalls, and wong for their work on "hate crime: an emerging research agenda."
1799 wordsRead More - The History Behind Hate Crime and the Existing Legislationanalytical essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how daniel elazar's concept of political cultures has been applied to a number of policy arenas in the united states, from corporal punishment to the quality of urban life.
- Argues that james byrd's body was found in pieces on a road in east texas, and ities have been struggling to bring charges to reflect the horror of the crime.
- Explains the rise in the number of "bias" or "hate" crimes since 1985.
- Explains that there are three distinct political cultures in the united states: moralist, individualist and traditionalist.
- Explains that elazar's political cultures have been used to explain policy variations among states even today.
- Argues that the commonwealth idea influences the politics and way of life in the mpc.
- Opines that the tpc has a long history of heterogeneity and is devoted to maintaining the status quo.
- Explains that every state in the union, with the exception of wyoming, has enacted some type of hate crime provision.
- Explains that california, a moralist state, began the modern campaign to criminalize hate-motivated behavior. washington, oregon, and seven other states followed suit by adopting their first hate crime laws between 1981 and 1983.
- Explains that the importance states give to different types of hate crime policies reflect the history of various post-1960s civil rights movements in the united states.
- Analyzes donald haider-markel's argument that the media helps to make issues more salient and when salience is high, it is likely that issues will gain priority on the political agenda.
- Explains that political culture makes a difference in what individual states choose to prioritize and how they go about taking action on such issues as bias-motivated behavior.
- Explains the u.s. census bureau's statistical abstracts of the united states: 1998.
- Explains that the first hate crime law was passed in california in 1978, and since then hate crimes statues have taken many forms.
- Explains the federal government's response to hate crimes, including the hate crime statistic act, the violence against women act and the church arsons prevention act.
- Compares the structural and political influences on the passage of 'bias-crime' legislation in the united states.
4215 wordsRead More - Race, Ethnicity, and Hate Crimesexplanatory essay1. Define the following terms in one to two sentences each? Ethnocentrism, hate crime, stereotype. Ethnocentrism can be defined as an individual’s belief that the ethnic group or cultural they identify with is superior to all others. “The ethnocentric person judges other groups and other cultures by the standards of his or her own group” (Schaefer 34).
In this essay, the author
- Describes d’angelo, raymond, and douglas, herbert. taking sides: clashing views in race and ethnicity.
- Defines ethnocentricity as an individual's belief that the ethnic group or cultural they identify with is superior to all others. a hate crime involves violence or intimidation committed against others based partially or entirely on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or membership in another social group.
- Explains that prejudice and discrimination are closely related, but the terms are not interchangeable. prejudice is a negative attitude, feelings, thoughts or beliefs toward an entire category of people.
- Explains that scapegoating is when a person irrationally blames their failures on others, thus not taking responsibility themselves.
- Explains that prejudice is the primary contributor to intergroup hostility. prejudice can be directed at racial and ethnic minorities by people in dominant positions. competition is a source of race prejudice.
- Opines that education can reduce prejudice by educating people about discrimination and how it affects them.
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