HATE CRIMES AND VICTIMS

Hate Crimes and Victims

Hate Crimes and Victims

Introduction

Racism is an ideology that defines a hierarchy of “races,” posits the inherent superiority of some groups over others, and justifies actions that benefit “advanced” races and disadvantages “backward” ones. Race is a socially constructed category used to classify individuals by characteristics deemed immutable, which over time have included elements such as lineage, skin color, and even customs. Hate Crimes are thus a violent manifestation of racism in which perpetrators act out of racial animus to physically harm their victims. This paper discusses Hate Crimes and Victims of it.

Discussion

In lobbying for the passage of hate crime laws, proponents have used alarmist language to suggest that intergroup violence is increasing, indeed to “epidemic” proportions. However, due to both the recency of data collection and reporting and to confusion over what constitutes a hate crime, the true severity of the problem remains unknown. Recent increases in intergroup violence, where they have reported, have been in regions with the most comprehensive criminalization efforts, such as in California, suggesting they are a consequence of improved reporting and enforcement practices rather than increases in the crimes themselves. (Levin, 2006)

Indeed, the frequency of hate crimes may never be truly knowable, due to the notorious unreliability of crime data and the complexities of determining prejudice or bias as a primary motivation in individual cases. This is a topic of considerable controversy among legal scholars. For example, legal scholar James Jacobs suggested that the magnitude of the hate crimes problem can be inflated or deflated at will base on how narrowly the underlying prejudice is defined. In other words, if only the activities of organized hate crimes ideologues are counted, there will be very little hate crime; if, however, prejudice is defined quite broadly, most intergroup crimes will fall within the hate crime rubric. (Bell, 2002)

Due to the vagaries of reporting, it is similarly difficult to identify specific patterns that distinguish hate crimes from other types of crimes. From what information is known, hate crimes offenders are primarily distinguishable from law breakers overall by their relatively younger age (a high proportion are juveniles) and their lack of serious criminal records. They are typically not members of extremist groups, although the rhetoric of such groups obviously may influence them.

Overall, hate crimes appear to be disproportionately committed by young men in groups, and to target lone individuals who are strangers to the offenders. Group motivations that have been identified by researchers include peer group bonding, displays of toughness and masculinity, the desire to strengthen one's group or territory against outsiders, and the goal of seeking excitement or thrills. (Jacobs, 2008)

At the macro level, sociologists remain uncertain about the societal factors that contribute to inter-group violence, or hate crimes. Upsurges in such violence have been documented in White urban enclaves following in-migration by minorities. Additionally, economic and social disenfranchisement and idleness have been implicated by some researchers, especially when political leaders scapegoat specific groups as responsible for economic ...