Hate Crimes
The rise in the instances of hate crimes in liberal democracies is disturbing and it cries out for a better understanding as to why it occurs -- and what to do about it. What are the potential solutions to the ugly specter of hateful acts against people because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, nationality, the color of their skin or their gender? This paper reviews the literature relative to the best ideas and proposals for identifying the root causes that produce hate crimes. Argument: hate crimes can be reduced through education, by paying close attention to bigoted conspiracy theories, and by infiltrating extremist / hate groups.
Original Issue -- Initial Solutions
Erik Bleich writes in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies that in order to try and stem the tide of racist and other hateful public pronouncements against individuals or groups, several European countries passed laws "…against racial incitement" (Bleich, 2011, 919). The House of Commons passed the 1965 Race Relations Act, making it illegal to "intentionally use threatening, abusive or insulting language" which is used in order to "stir up hatred against" people on the grounds of "…colour, race, or ethnic/national origins" (Bleich, 919).
After WWII Germany created Article 86 of the criminal code that makes it illegal to use Nazi symbols (swastikas and Nazi flags) (Bleich, 920). In 1960, the German Parliament voted "unanimously" to make it illegal to "…incite hatred, to provoke violence, or to insult, ridicule or defame 'parts of the population' in a manner apt to breach the public peace" (Bleich, 920).
France passed an anti-racism law in 1972 that banned "defamation"...
Hate Crimes in the United States Despite the fact that the United States has grown generally more tolerant and more accepting, hate crimes have been on the rise in many cities in the United States, particularly in California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Massachusetts (Partners against Hate, 2003). This does not necessarily reflect an overall increase in crime. In fact, it may not even reflect an increase in actual hate
Hate crimes incidents occur nationally between 6,000 and 8,000 times annually, and many be increased by traumatic national events. Hate crime rates spiked in 2001, but have steadily decreased since then, though hate crimes between religious groups have increased slightly. Most offenders are young and act more out of personal sentiment than organizational strategy, which may be why hate crimes in Pennsylvania are mainly centered around the two big cities
Hate crimes are crimes involving a person targeted because of their disability, belief/religion, transgender identity, sexual orientation, or race/ethnicity. Hate crimes can also be committed against property. A good example of this is a burning cross on a front lawn. The reality is hate crimes can be committed against anyone and although hate incidents are not crimes, they can easily escalate into crimes. By working with law enforcement and collecting
C. By Michael Shively (June, 2005), the first hate crime laws were enacted during the sixties, seventies, and eighties. The first states to pass hate crime legislation were Oregon and Washington in 1981. The first federal hate crime legislation, Shively explains, was debated in 1985, and the first federal statute related to hate crimes was the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, passed in 1990. Subsequent to that Act, other pieces of
Hate Crime Analysis Select group population target a hate crime ( selection start paper) Write a word analysis: • Provide a description specific factors serve basis victimization;, race, religion, sexual orientation • Identify applicable specific case examples. When considering hate in general, it appears that human beings are vulnerable to being influenced to discriminate others. Even though many have little to no reasons to discriminate against other groups, these people feel
hate crime theories and address how the theories can account for aspects pertaining to hate crimes. Why Do People Do Hate Crime A majority of sociological hate crime accounts are aimed at one out of two points: "socially disintegrated people's anomic outburst" or, alternately, "the solidaristic response of a group or community that feels, or is, threatened." As sociologists deal with social structure, hate crime accounts typically indicate transformations in societal
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now