Racist Crimes in the United States - Essay Example

Running head: Racist Crime in the United s Racist Crime in the United s Insert Insert Affiliation: Racist Crime in the United States has been an issue of major concern for quite a number of decades now. Especially hate crimes that are associated with the youth. Many criminologists theorize that what a young adolescent grows up around is what he is going to associate with what is right and correct even though it might not be so. Another way of looking at it, that this research will present, is how the adverse social conditions of some disadvantaged youth directly impact their psychological way of thinking. Juvenile crime, and crime associated with race is astounding in numbers around the youth. There are kids out there getting physically hurt and killed everyday simply because of the color of their skin, or their hair is not right, or they speak a foreign language, etc. Basically only one criminological theory is required here to investigate what this research is trying to present but it is planned by the author to implement two since it will give a better understanding and perception into how criminology utilizes theories to decipher why crime occurs. This literature will look at the Socialist theory, include hints into the General Dynamic Theory and also include the Lombroso's Theory and Individualistic Choice theories more than others because they are both implicitly intertwined in explaining this specific issue of youth crime relative to racial hate crimes. Racist Crime in the United States The extent to which life circumstances have an effect on adolescents and the percentage of criminal activity has been debated for decades now. Criminologists have applied various theories to the common occurrences of youth race crimes and other juvenile crimes to try and deter the adverse behaviors of young people. Theoretically, criminologists are actually searching for a logical explanation as to whether or not the social environment of which disadvantaged youths are growing up in really does play a significant role in the amount of juvenile crime that is evident in this current century. "The extent to which a common explanation of crime applies to all members of the offending population is a contentious issue within criminological circles" ( Piquero, et,al; 2000). There are a multitude of scholars in the criminology field that claim it is a undeniable fact that the social aspects of young teens environments, such as in areas of: family, school, employment, and social circles, all have a tremendous influence on the life experiences that juveniles will endure. Those from lower class neighborhoods, where poverty, lack of employment, lack of education, domestic violence, and other negative activities are transpiring, have a psychological effect on the youth and how they perceive their quality of life. Two criminology experts, 'Sampson' and 'Laubs' claim that although there is always a reason behind any act of crime, the events that take place in life carry the strongest dynamics in characterizations of delinquent activities and race crimes committed by the youth. The theory that they utilize is the General Dynamic view point. One of the theorizations that this particular theory focuses on is one that takes into consideration the variables of time and how individuals perceive time and change in regards to committing acts of racist crime and other criminal acts. Theorists that studied this criminological idea are focused on whether or not the individual criminal behavior of adolescents deviates over time, as they develop (Piquero, et,al; 2000). This is especially emphasized in the study of youth crime due to the fact that adolescents who are exposed to racial hatred and other adverse life elements, over a period of time, during the developmental years, often mimic the lifestyle habits that they have grown up around. For instance, there is a large percentage of below poverty level Hispanic neighborhoods in New York City who are involved in hate crimes within gang related activities. Many youths who grow up in an atmosphere such as this stand a higher chance of getting pulled into criminal acts relative to gangs because, following the socialist theory, they are living around it everyday. Furthermore there are quite a high amount of racial hate crimes within lower income neighborhoods or inner cities. Racial crimes in the United States, with regard to the youth has dropped from what it use to be but it still poses a grave concern for theorists who are involved with studying the impact it plays in adolescence life. When criminological theories, such as the ones aforementioned are implemented in the study of racial hate crimes among the youth they are done so in a very systematic and logical process. It is through these theories that a more concise picture is drawn in order to better comprehend why they occur and why there is "breaking of those set laws" (Demelo, 2005). One of the main American founding fathers of criminology studies was, 'Edwin H. Sutherland'. His idea of criminological research characterized it as a unity of knowledge in which any crime was looked upon as 'a social phenomenon'. Sutherlands theory was based on differential association but he also pondered the realms of the Socioeconomic theory of Socialists being that his own theory was closely similar to the preceding one stated. He expressed that criminal behavior (especially racial hate crimes) was not an attitude or a behavior your are born with, such as with the Lombroso's theory, but rather it is irrevocably learned. "One engages in crime because of an excess of definitions favorable to law violation over definitions un-favorable to law-breaking" (Using: Differential Association Theory, 2005). Even amongst our American youth, racial hate crimes are penalized severely within American Society. In fact, there have been specific legislative guidelines set up in order to promote more avenues to deal with racially aggravated crimes. Young teens who have been raised in families where racism is prevalent often adapt to the same behavior. The Socioeconomic theory of criminologists has identified many causations within American high schools and society in regards to beatings in school bathrooms, aggressive and malicious fighting on the playgrounds and in the classrooms and other areas within a social environment among our youth, as well. There has even been premeditation by youth, within the public school systems to intentionally cause severe bodily harm to those of other races or religious backgrounds besides white culture ones. The rationalization of these issues all point back to the environment that young teens are being raised in. The parents and other family members play a crucial role in how young teens accept other races around them. If they are constantly seeing their parents uphold violent acts against African Americans, Hispanics, Indians, etc then they will learn to have the same type of mentality and sooner or later accept it wholeheartedly in order to fit into their family structure and avoid isolation or ridicule. Quite often these types of racial hate beliefs are accepted by the youths of our society simply because they fear being hurt themselves, especially by their parents. Other teens simply never have learned any better other than what they have known their whole life so of course they are going to copycat that lifestyle. In American Society, when horrendous acts of racial hate crime occur it affects not only the individual of the victimization but society as a whole unit structure. This is evidenced in the case of James Byrd, when he was murdered due to actions of racial hatred. After this occurrence the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1997" came into being and with it new Legislative laws were implemented. In regards to prosecuting a hate crime, it has to be proven that the perpetrators intention to commit the crime was indeed motivated by racial hatred and also was intended to violate the fundamental rights of the victim. This could be something like severely beating an African American so that they would not be able to go to the public school that had a higher percentage of white kids, etc (Using: Hate Crimes Prevention Act 1997). However, racial hate crime is so distinct in America and takes place so regularly that legislature is working to further integrate more substantial changes so that charges against these heinous acts can be properly charged and proceed much more smoothly in the court systems. To substantiate how racial crime is distinguished in America, and to clarify how some of these crimes occur, there is a small outline below of two racially motivated criminal acts. James Byrd, of Jasper Texas was an African American male who was grabbed and chained to a pickup truck and dragged for almost three miles until his body was torn to pieces. The three white men found to be the offenders were known to have roots with the white supremacist groups (Using: Hate Crimes Prevention Act 1997). In March of 1997, Lenard Clark, a 13 year old African American male was riding his bicycle home one day when he was brutally beaten by three white teenagers. The perpetrators were charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes under Illinois State Law (Using: Hate Crimes Prevention Act 1997). Criminology greatly utilizes the Lombroso's theory simply because it so vividly coincides with crimes in relation to race. Prejudice is something that a person is raised in. It is found to be something almost born into, more than anything else. Imagine being a baby, and your first type of communication being one where you hear racial slurs and depictions of violence on different ethnic groups, day after day. Gradually, as that baby grows and develops they become more and more aware of the social structure that they are a part of and slowly begin adapting to those same structures. They simply do not know any better, if the Lombroso's theory is followed upon. It is plausible to consider this theory as having a substantial reasoning in racial crime but how accurate is it really and can any of these criminological theories really pinpoint actually why racial hate crimes take place It is highly doubtable since, even the individualistic theory dignifies that society views things in different ways and not all white youth are going to be motivated to commit a racial hate crime in the same way as someone else would, it is more of a matter of an inner decision to commit acts such as these. It has been previously discussed how white teenage youth or African American for that matter, associate their existence with what they have been saturated with all their lives, to believe in. Racial hate crime, among teenagers seems to be something that they have been associated with since their birth. Furthermore, the statistics in America go along with this when research shows that nearly 70% of racial hate crimes are committed by the youth in the age range of 14- 23, here in America (Darr 2004). However, the statistics do not really provide a concise correlation since over half of racially motivated crimes go unreported. Within the Individualistic theory, the differences among people are dignified and stipulate what incites an individual to commit a crime in the first place. Often it is due to ignorance on a cultural background, in relation to racial hate crimes, others it is just total dislike for that persons specific race, either way it comes down to being an individual choice and position of belief. Many criminological scholars debate this theory in that it depicts an individual personal sense of what is right and wrong but quite often it does not deter them from committing the crime in the first place. There is no logical explanation as to why other teenage ethnic groups would attack another person of a different ethnicity simply due to their skin color or other unique features. Simply put, what would be the rationalization in behind beating someone of a different color to death just because they are not accepted, due to the color of their skin Individualism involves personal choice and if someone chooses to murder another person because of their ethnic background, then they utilized the idea that they had personally chosen due to their life experiences. This is more leaning towards the Realization theory of study in criminology than simply Individualism only. Facts dictate that 99% of the time racial hate crimes take place basically because of lack of acceptance of another race. It is one area of criminal activity that can be traced back in history for decades and perhaps has a good amount to do with there is so much violence between different races. All the untold violence that takes place within racial crime would probably stagger the American mind if the statistical figures could prove to be totally accurate. There is just as much black on white crime as there is white on black. Again, maybe this is because the violence and atrocities that have been committed between these two races, down through the centuries, has carried an adverse reaction among these two ethnic groups to the point where there will always be racially motivated criminal activities. Another theorist who has studied the social dynamic aspects and how they affect the American youth crime rate is, 'Albert Cohen'. He is best known for his theory on delinquent gangs and received the Edwin H. Sutherland award from the American Society of Criminology for his contributions into criminological research and theorizations (Encyclopedia Britannica 2005). His theory is based on t he idea that young people seek those out who have the same similar beliefs as they do. As a result this can many times form youth gangs, depending on what social background the teenagers are growing up in. This theory especially holds true for big inner cities, such as in New York. When this happens, of course society sees more racially motivated crime among the adolescent population who converge into gangs. This type of social behavior is also another reason that violence escalates among the races. They all hold different social beliefs and do not normally integrate and also it is well known that youth gangs of differing ethnicities are not very tolerable of each other. They promote more racism, more adversely than any other type of social factor. In concluding this research, it has been established how beneficial multi-theoretical approaches in criminology can be. The compiled practical values of these theories can give judges, prosecutors, lawyers, probation officers, and prison officials a more accurate interpretation of crime and those who are the offenders. It is hoped that eventually, criminological research will impose more effective judicial punishments and methods of treatment to assist the youth in America that are associated with racially motivated crimes. References Dara, Bev (2004). 'Hate Crime Laws Outlined' Hannibal Courier Post, 1 Demelo (2005). 'Criminological Theories' Retrieved 2 December 2005 http://www.home.comcast.net/ddemelo/crime/differ.html Encyclopedia Britannica (2005). 'Cohen, Albert' Retrieved 3 December 2005 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9343996 Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1997 Retrieved 3 December 2005 http://www.commdocs.house.gov/committes/judiciary/hju57839_O.htm Piquero, Alex & Bram, Robert & Mazerolle, Paul & Haapanen, Rudy (2000). 'Crime in Emerging Adulthood' Criminology, Vol. 40, No.1 137 Sutherland, Edwin (2005). 'Differential Association Theory' Retrieved 3 December 2005 http://www.indiana.edu/theory/kip/Edwin.htm Read More