Hate Crime Essay - 816 Words

Introduction The term hate crime became part of the American lexicon in 1985 when it was coined by United States Representatives John Conyers and Mario Biaggi. Although the term hate crime and societal interest in it are relatively recent developments, hate crime has deep historical roots. Throughout U.S. history, a significant proportion of all murders, assaults, and acts of vandalism and desecration have been fueled by hatred. As Native Americans have been described as the first hate crime victims, hate crimes have existed since the United States’ inception. Since then, members of all immigrant groups have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, and violence. Although there are variations in definition, and certainly variations†¦show more content†¦In addition, these laws are important in order to deter potential hate crime offenders who intentionally target members of subordinate groups. Hate crime laws are also symbolic and promote social cohesion by officially stating that victimization of people who are â€Å"different† is not accepted or tolerated in a modern society. There have also been arguments against the formation of hate crime laws. Not all believe that hate crimes have been a significant problem in society; rather, some see it as a media-exaggerated issue—a product of a society that is highly sensitive to prejudice and discrimination. Thus, a special set of criminal laws that include hate is not warranted, and the generic criminal laws will suffice. Those who oppose hate crime laws also argue that attempting to determine motivation for an already criminal act is difficult and may pose moral problems in that the offender is being punished for a criminal act and for his or her motivation. It has also been argued that hate crime laws do not deter people from engaging in these crimes. Others argue that the disagreement over which subordinate groups to include in the hate crime laws actually causes added discrimination and marginalization. Critics state that what these laws effectively are saying is that one group is more worthy of prote ction and care than another. Critics also wonder why anger/hate is more punishable than other motives such as greed. Although there has been (and still is) debateShow MoreRelatedHate Crimes Essay936 Words   |  4 PagesEssay #2: What are the roots of the violence/hate crimes today in our contemporary society? What can we do to reduce them? Explain. The world is full of HATE. What is this word? What makes someone HATE someone else enough to kill or harm another human being? Hate crimes are criminal actions intended to harm or intimidate people because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or other minority group status. They are also referred to as bias crimes. Hate crimes have been goingRead MoreHate Crimes Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesCrimes I. Intro-What is a hate crime . A hate crime is when a person intentionally selects a victim because of the race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. A person who commits a hate crime can come from any background and be any race. The term hate crime is meant to differentiate criminal behavior that is caused by prejudice from behavior that is motivated by greed jealously, anger, politics and like. Hate groups differ from one another in terms of membershipRead MoreEssay on hate crimes661 Words   |  3 Pages Defining 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 â€Å"hate crimes† was first used No matterRead More Hate Crimes Essay902 Words   |  4 Pages Hate Crimes I. What are Hate Crimes A. Definitions for Hate Crimes B. Counting Hate Crimes 1. White Power 2. Black Power II. Examples of Hate Crimes A. Hate Crime penalties III. Reasons for Hate Crimes Even though Hate Crimes have been around in the past, and have been most certainly been more violent in the past. Hate Crimes are most certainly still a problem in todays society, but it is not dealt with the same violent manner as previously performed in the past. There are still violent actsRead MoreEssay on Hate Crime Analysis1420 Words   |  6 PagesHate Crime Analysis Kim Hull CJA/540 Criminological Theory October 13, 2011 Facilitator David Mailloux CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I  certify that  the attached  paper is my original work. I am familiar with, and acknowledge my responsibilities which are part of, the University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity. I affirm that any section of the paper which has been submitted previously is attributed and cited as such, and that this paper has not been submitted by anyone else.  I haveRead MoreReligion and Hate Crimes Essay2507 Words   |  11 PagesIn 2007, according to the Federal Bureau Investigation of the Nation’s law enforcement agencies â€Å"there were 9,535 victims of hate crimes; of these victims17.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief which totaled to be 1,628 victims of an anti-religious hate crime† (1). Almost ten thousand people were victims of hate crimes alone in 2007. That is something to be alarmed about because part of living in the U.S.A as minority is to have freedom to do and be anything youRead MoreReligion and Hate Crimes Essay2520 Words   |  11 PagesIn 2008, the Uniform Crime Reporting program of the U.S. Department of Justice — Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that â€Å"13,690 law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data to the UCR Program. Of these agencies, 2,145 reported 7,783 hate crime incidents involving 9,168 offenses and of the 7,780 single-bias incidents reported in 2008, 19.5 percent were motivated by religious bias† (1). The statistics of 2008 are alarming to look at because the numbers of hate crimes committed in that yearRead MoreThe Many Forms of Hate Crimes Essay687 Words   |  3 PagesThe 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 ones 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 AfricanRead MoreEssay about Hate Crime Victimization1642 Words   |  7 Pagesof murders, assaults, and acts of vandalism and desecration were fueled by bigotry† (Karmen, 2013, p. 350). Hate crime victimization is a very prevalent and serious issue that exists amongst our society today that is often used to demonstrate a form of hate towards a particular group of people; primarily minority groups. â€Å"Although each state employs a different definition of hate crime, most statutes include groups singled out on the basi s of race (such as African Americans or Asian Americans)Read MoreEssay on Hate Crime1498 Words   |  6 PagesHate Crime   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Violence motivated by a bias against victims’ characteristics which include race, religion, ethnic background, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation, represents a serious threat to all communities. Experts estimate that a bias-related crime is committed every 14 minutes. Criminal justice officials and state policy makers need to realize that it is key to make or adjust hate crime legislation. This has been a heated debate for centuries