Five Percent Of Hate Crimes example essay topic

Hate crimes are "illegal acts directed at someone because of his or her ethnic group, gender, disability, or sexual orientation" Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 453). "The government defines a hate crime as a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, ethnic / national origin group, or sexual orientation group" (Schaefer, 2000, p. 43). It affects a society, which is so adamant about equality to all. Those who commit hat crimes impeach on the civil right of pursuit of happiness granted to every citizen of the United States in the Constitution of America. The feminist perspective advocates for gay rights, which include gays and lesbians. The "liberal feminists also call for changes in the family, the school, and the mass media so that people will no longer be socialized into rigid gender roles and narrow expectation about proper sexual orientation, but will be allowed the freedom to follow their own unique individual paths" (Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 281).

The interaction ist perspective "see gender roles, sexual orientation, and the sense of identity we derived from them" (Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 282). They believe that "both sexes are often taught to see females as inferior and gays and lesbians as deviant" (Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 282). They advocate that men accept the so-called 'feminine's ide of themselves, whereas women should accept the 'masculine's ide of themselves. Many women are still seen today as objects to be won then seen as human beings equal to all. Those who label themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are also seen as breaking the norms of society. They are not acting within what mainstream society believes to be 'normal'.

This will help society be accepting of human differences. The "conflict theorists see the oppression of gays and lesbians as a kind of cultural conflict" (Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 281). They would like to see all oppresses groups to sand up for themselves, say enough is enough, and fight for their right to live without judgment in a society that will accept their individual choices. Functionalists state an "idea that is homosexual behavior is dysfunctional because unlike heterosexuality it does not lead to reproduction" (Coleman & Kerbo, 2003, p. 280). This boils down to because when men and women have sex, it can lead to reproducing young so therefore it has a function other than for fun or enjoyment. Functionalists try not saying much about the discrimination against those individuals who label themselves as gay or lesbian.

Society today is more open about their discriminatory ideas and beliefs. An individual hears it on the radio, reads about it in books or a newspaper, or even says it in a joke. It seems all innocent and fun but groups of people are discriminated against because of his or her ethnic group, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. The joke is told to one person, and then that one person maybe tells it to two people, and then the joke may be told many times before it dies, if it ever does. The discrimination voice is behind the joke's every punch line (Levin & McDevitt, 1993).

Hate crimes are also occurring at the school level. For example, Columbine High School in 1999 when a shooting occurred on Hitler's birthday by two high school students (Levin, 2003). Another instance was an individual named Mark Lapin e. In 1988, he walked into an engineering classroom with an AK-47. He told them men to leave. He shot and killed fourteen women.

He blamed the feminists for his failure to be accepted in to the school (Levin, 2003). There are many different hat crimes. The Oklahoma City bombing committed by Timothy McVeigh, who was a member of a white supremacy group, killed 168 people (Levin, 2003). Also suspected in this crime were Islamic fundamentalists and Arab terrorists.

There was a Jordanian American arrested in London but was cleared. "In the first three days after the bombing, there were at least two hundred and twenty two attacks against Muslims in the Untied States" (Schaefer, 2000, p. 63). In October of 2002, the Tarot Card Killer shot ten people in Washington DC. In 1996, Eric Rudolph placed a bomb in Olympic Park in Atlanta.

In 200, Richard Don ham killed five people. Each one was of a different race or ethnicity: Jewish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Latino and African American (Levin, 2003). There is an example of a country that did not allow a hate crime to occur. During WWII in 1943, Bulgaria, who was an ally of the Nazi's, refused to allow the Jews to go to the concentration or death camps. They did not allow the yellow stars and tore down the flag. They just did not let it happen (Levin, 2003).

There is also no clear line between hate crimes and terrorism. Hate crimes are vastly under reported and under estimated. Some states even claim to not have hate crimes. There are characteristics of hate crimes.

They are violent, random, and perpetrated by multiple offenders. There are dabblers that exist. Only five percent of hate crimes are committed by organized hate groups. Dabblers commit all of the other hate crimes. Those who are defending their turf: neighborhoods, work or school.

For example, a Latino family who currently move into a previously white neighborhood may be stared at, ridiculed or threatened with violence directed at the family members (Levin, 2003). Eighty five percent of offenders are strangers to the victim. The haters do not specialize. Two or more individuals perpetuate sixty four percent of the hate crimes. The crimes are committed for the thrill.

They do it to impress friends and to feel like big shots (Levin, 2003). There are about twenty thousand to fifty thousand individuals that are members of organized hate groups in the United States today. They have a talent for reaching youth. It is mainly junior high or middle school students. They have a harder time reaching college students. Two examples or organized hate groups are the or the Ku Klux Klan and the White Aryan Resistance (WAR).

They get kids to be skinheads and to be foot soldiers. The number tends to be shrinking (Levin, 2003). The began in the 1860's and stemmed from he ideas of the Know-Nothings (Schaefer, 2000, p. 109). "Ethnocentrism is the tendency to assume that one's culture and way of life are superior to all others" (Schaefer, 2000, p. 40). "Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category or people" (Schaefer, 2003, p. 44). In 1990, the Hate Crime Statistics Act became enacted.

It "directs the Department of Justice to gather data on hate or bias crimes" (Schaefer, 2000, p. 43). The act was amended in 1994. It then included physical and mental disabilities. In 1997, there were 8,400 hate crimes reported. There are also watchdog groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the national Institute Against Prejudice and Violence, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. There are many reported and documented cases of hate crimes in the United States today.

Hopefully one day, individual can live in a society that accept people for who the are and the decisions regarding their lifestyles, beliefs, and origin. Until then, groups like the watchdog groups will have to work to find away around those individuals who try to impress their ideas upon others.