The police investigate this as a possible “hate crime”. The story gets to the media that a Latino killed a black guy and called him a monkey in the process.
When they hear about this story the media will kick the Iguana story to the curb! They will be all over this “hate crime” story, they will play up the racial slur, they will say that it was a race based attack, they will quote civil rights leaders and they will completely downplay and ignore the part about him being a psychotic, jealous ex- boyfriend.
Summary: Roberto killed Deshaun with a knife for dating his ex girlfriend. In the process he called Deshaun a “monkey”.
What’s the difference?
Now these stories are more or less exactly the same, except that Roberto didn’t like Deshaun for multiple reasons, the major reason is that he was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend. Now the law and the media would have you believe that because Roberto used the word “monkey” when addressing Deshaun, that this was a hate crime while the other was not.
Based on this comparison, can you see why I find this term ridiculous? Papo reacted the same way as Roberto and they both ended up killing someone. In fact, Papo used a gun to kill Juan, which in theory should carry more prison time based on gun laws.
I have never subscribed to the term “hate crime”, I think all crime is a “hate crime”, or all crime is not a “hate crime”. You cannot prioritize any one group over another because you think they are at a higher risk. If that were the case with all the rapists and child molesters, then pedophiles should be serving stiffer sentences because they actually target a specific group. One of the most defenseless and vulnerable groups, young children. The logic behind the term and it’s use is not acceptable by me. I have never bought it and I never will. Crime is crime and should be punished at the highest level regardless of the “cause” behind it.
My two fictitious scenarios above ended up with young men dead in both instances. Why is one more important than the other based on the fact that one of the killers happens to be racist? If the racist will get 20 years for using the word “monkey”, then the first guy should also get 20 years. The maximum time should be given to both, regardless of their personal beliefs.
I do not approve of the term “hate crime”. Crime is crime. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/81043308@N00/7300866082/; author: Takver; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
