Editorial: Hate Crime Law Necessary Evil

“Tolerance is not only expected but necessary, especially in one like ours that professes to respect the rights of individuals to be who they are as long as they don’t hurt anyone else.”


I have mixed feelings about hate crimes, and it's hard for me to put my foot down and make up my mind about whether or not I agree with them. First, and most importantly, if there is a way to stop, or lessen the number of crimes committed purely because of a personal aversion to a certain group of people, I feel that we, as a nation, should accept what limitations come along. A hate crime is an offense that is often far more hurtful and detrimental than other crimes against people. This is because it leaves people living in fear, which is not okay.

On the other hand, I also believe very strongly that we live in a country where we deserve the freedom to believe whatever we want. People should be allowed to be prejudice. Maybe I hate every girl that walks around wearing shirts that say "Abercrombie" across the chest. Or maybe I was traumatized as a child and as a result am fearful and resentful of priests. Shouldn't I be allowed to feel that way? I think that we deserve the right to be prejudice if we want to be. That's what living "freely" is.

These conflicting views make it difficult to make up my mind as to the way I feel about hate crimes. The problem comes into play when it comes time for discretion. Was that a hate crime? or was that a just a white man beating up a black man who used pejoratives during the incident? I think that it is all to easy to make a common crime a hate crime. When correctly enforced, however, I think that it is crucial to do what we can to deter random acts of violence due to hatred.

I believe that people have feelings which will never change, many people hate black people or homosexuals, that will never change, but I think that there should be tolerance for people different than yourself and with that our world could be a much better place. :-)