Hate Crimes: Crimes against People based on Ignorance - Essay Example

CRIM 101 Online Assignment Hate Crimes: Crimes against People based on Ignorance Introduction As an international student of Asian descent, the idea of hate crimes has had personal consequences. Having experienced the hate that can come merely from the perception of national origin, the idea of having laws that specify harsher punishments when the crime is committed because of hate is appealing. Hate crimes can come from many different types of prejudice including gender, the color of skin, sexual orientation, and political differences. One of the greatest influences over the development of hate for people with differences from one’s self is through family built hatreds that sometimes go back for many generations. Although hate crimes have declined in the last few decades, there are still an alarming number in the United States. Decreasing the number of hate crimes happens over generations of decreasing the amount of prejudice in families, but other ways of stopping them can help to provide a quicker end to the problems. One of the ways in which the American government has approached hate crimes is through making the criminal offense carry a deeper sentence when it is associated or caused by hatred that is based on social ideas about classifying others. Teaching students about the differences of other cultures also helps to deter them from having prejudicial ideas that might lead to violence later in life. Abolishing ignorance about other cultures is a powerful way in which to approach the issue of hate crimes. An examination of hate crimes can help to understand why they are still occurring and to develop strategies through which a lower number of them will occur within the United States. I. To understand what a hate crime is first must be done through defining the topic. A hate crime is a crime that is committed because one individual hates something that another individual represents to them. A. The statistics at the FBI show that in 2009 there were 6,604 incidents of hate crime, with 8,336 victims and 6,225 known offenders of the crimes (About hate crime statistics, 2009, 2009). B. The FBI refers to hate crimes as crimes of bias, meaning that it is done because the offender holds bias against the victim in relationship to prejudices that they hold (About hate crime statistics, 2009, 2009). II. It is also very important to understand the idea of victim in relationship to a hate crime.. A. According to Altheide and Coyle (2006) “Victims are but the personal side of crisis; a crisis is where victims reside. A personal crisis may affect ‘one victim’, but more generally ‘crisis’ refers to ‘social crisis’, involving numerous people. All take place in a time of fear. All of this requires that citizens have information and constant reminders of the pitfalls and hazards of life, whether potential or realized” (p. 289). B. The Anti-Hate Crime Movement began in the 1960s, but it has taken decades to make it a relevant social issue (Jenness & Grattet, 2004). III. As well, education about other cultures has allowed children to start seeing the beauty in difference rather than fearing it. A. Perry, Levin, Iganski, Blazak, and Lawrence (2009) discuss education of children in a globalized world in order to end prejudices as an investment into the future. B. The problem is continued as teachers are not prepared to understand or handle the problems that come from biased bullying and they do not know how to react when they see it or are told about it (Perry, Levin, Iganski, Blazak and Lawrence, 2010). Conclusion Hate crimes are often first developed because a family has some deep seeded fears associated with specific social groups. Laws that approach the issue of hate crimes have helped in deterring those kinds of actions, but it is through education that true change will come. As the beauty and wonder of different cultures begin to be understood as students are taught about all the wonderful things in the world, it is likely that hate crimes will diminish. In addition, as people begin to understand more about world cultures, they will begin to appreciate differences rather than be afraid of them. It is clear that it is important for people to know how other cultures express themselves in order to lower the number of hate crimes. For those who refuse to learn what it means to appreciate other cultures and continue to act out of fear, they will find themselves in a jail with long terms of incarceration. The government has specifically stated through the enactment of law that hate filled crimes will not be tolerated.    Hate Crimes: Crimes against People based on Ignorance As an international student of Asian descent, the idea of hate crimes has had personal consequences. Having experienced the hate that can come merely from the perception of national origin, the idea of having laws that specify harsher punishments when the crime is committed because of hate is appealing. Hate crimes can come from many different types of prejudice including gender, the color of skin, sexual orientation, and political differences. One of the greatest influences over the development of hate for people with differences from one’s self is through family built hatreds that sometimes go back for many generations. Although hate crimes have declined in the last few decades, there are still an alarming number in the United States. Decreasing the number of hate crimes happens over generations of decreasing the amount of prejudice in families, but other ways of stopping them can help to provide a quicker end to the problems. One of the ways in which the American government has approached hate crimes is through making the criminal offense carry a deeper sentence when it is associated or caused by hatred that is based on social ideas about classifying others. Teaching students about the differences of other cultures also helps to deter them from having prejudicial ideas that might lead to violence later in life. Abolishing ignorance about other cultures is a powerful way in which to approach the issue of hate crimes. An examination of hate crimes can help to understand why they are still occurring and to develop strategies through which a lower number of them will occur within the United States. To understand what a hate crime is first must be done through defining the topic. A hate crime is a crime that is committed because one individual hates something that another individual represents to them. As an example, the ideas that someone has about the Asian culture might provoke them to commit a crime against someone who is Asian. Stereotypes and profiling are two of the ways in which people evaluate others in order to find reasons to be hateful. The statistics at the FBI show that in 2009 there were 6,604 incidents of hate crime, with 8,336 victims and 6,225 known offenders of the crimes. The FBI refers to hate crimes as crimes of bias, meaning that it is done because the offender holds bias against the victim in relationship to prejudices that they hold (About hate crime statistics, 2009, 2009). It is also very important to understand the idea of victim in relationship to a hate crime. The victim is terrorized because of something that they usually have no control over, such as country of origin or their gender. Having no control over why they are victimized means that once they have an understanding of this prejudice, they are in a state of fear and readiness at all times as they are afraid that they will be once again a victim if they do not watch for that hate in the eyes of others. According to Altheide and Coyle (2006) “Victims are but the personal side of crisis; a crisis is where victims reside. A personal crisis may affect ‘one victim’, but more generally ‘crisis’ refers to ‘social crisis’, involving numerous people. All take place in a time of fear. All of this requires that citizens have information and constant reminders of the pitfalls and hazards of life, whether potential or realized” (p. 289). Family prejudices are likely the most difficult types to abolish. Family prejudices come when members of a family create a negative stereotype about a social group which creates anger and violent reactions to them. As an example, there are those who believe that Jewish people, because they have a history of being money lenders within their ethnographic background, will try to cheat others. This belief is not based on knowing individuals, but on creating a negative idea about a group. Through developing this type of prejudicial profile about a people, horrible backlash happens. As grandparents who grew up in a world that held wrong or biased beliefs pass them to their children, it perpetuates the hatred (Marger, 2012). The world is experiencing change, but the rate of change is slow and painful as generations must pass in order to shift public opinion. Stopping this type of crime has been approached from a number of different ways. The first is through laws that create stiffer penalties for those who commit a crime through hatred. The Anti-Hate Crime Movement began in the 1960s, but it has taken decades to make it a relevant social issue (Jenness & Grattet, 2004). Laws that were inspired by victims such as Mathew Shepard have helped to frame the issue so that it could be more easily addressed. Mathew Shepard was killed in 1998 because he was gay. As a result of the media frenzy that occurred about the incidents of his murder, hate laws were developed to ensure that anyone who lashed out against another because of biased reasons would be punished more severely (Loffreda, 2000). Long incarceration creates a deterrent for those who are inclined towards hate filled violence. Losing one’s freedom because of hatred is a foolish and wasteful action, thus it is law that punishes those who act in ignorance that works to better society and its reactions to others within it (Seiter, 2008). As well, education about other cultures has allowed children to start seeing the beauty in difference rather than fearing it. The progress has been slow, but it is becoming a better world because the movement has raised awareness. In contemporary society, the idea of committing such a crime is associated with ignorance, which also helps to deter those who would not want to seem ignorant even if they have had certain prejudices put into their belief systems. One can only hope that the end to this type of crime is near. Perry, Levin, Iganski, Blazak, and Lawrence (2009) discuss education of children in a globalized world in order to end prejudices as an investment into the future. Through education, there is an end in sight to the long held prejudices that have slowed the progress of human development. Statistics about how children are still exposed to hatred are startling. Children in the age of 12-18 have seen hate related messages by a rate of about a third, while one in nine has experienced hate words against them. Derogatory gay references are heard by 90% of all school aged children. Bullying often includes using hate based words and violence that is associated with socially relevant classification. The problem is continued as teachers are not prepared to understand or handle the problems that come from biased bullying and they do not know how to react when they see it or are told about it (Perry, Levin, Iganski, Blazak and Lawrence, 2010). The issue of cultural understanding and how to teach and discipline the matter should become a part of the curriculum of teachers as they learn the various aspects of their career. In a world that is coming closer together through the power of the information age, it is essential that cultural groups begin to learn about one another and end the fear and ignorance that inspires hate between them. Hate crimes are often first developed because a family has some deep seeded fears associated with specific social groups. Laws that approach the issue of hate crimes have helped in deterring those kinds of actions, but it is through education that true change will come. As the beauty and wonder of different cultures begin to be understood as students are taught about all the wonderful things in the world, it is likely that hate crimes will diminish. In addition, as people begin to understand more about world cultures, they will begin to appreciate differences rather than be afraid of them. It is clear that it is important for people to know how other cultures express themselves in order to lower the number of hate crimes. For those who refuse to learn what it means to appreciate other cultures and continue to act out of fear, they will find themselves in a jail with long terms of incarceration. The government has specifically stated through the enactment of law that hate filled crimes will not be tolerated. References About hate crime statistics, 2009. (2009). FBI. Retrieved from http://www2.f bi.gov/ucr/hc2009/index.html Altheide, D. L., & Coyle, M. J., (2006). Smart on crime: The new language for prisoner release. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, 2(3), 286-303. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from Academic Search Premier. Jenness, V., & Grattet, R. (2004). Making hate a crime: From social movement to law enforcement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Loffreda, B. (2000). Losing Matt Shepard: Life and politics in the aftermath of anti-gay murder. New York: Columbia University Press. Marger, Martin. (2012). Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Perry, B., Levin, B., Iganski, P., Blazak, R., & Lawrence, F. M. (2009). Hate crimes. Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers. Seiter, R. P. (2008). Corrections: An introduction (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More