RUNNINGHEAD: Hate Crimes

[Date of Submission]

Hate Crimes

Introduction

Hate crimes, also known under the jurisdiction of law and order as biased crimes, are usually criminal offenses that are committed against individuals based on cultural, social or physical biases. The unfortunate victim is often chosen due to his individuality or his allegiance towards a particular social grouping, race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, class, disability, nationality, class, sex, age or any other distinguishing factor. The crimes are also known as bias-motivated violence. They might include injury, assault or murder against another individual because of certain differences he might exhibit from the norm or specifically, the differences from the perpetrator.

They don't always include bodily harm; they might include damage done to property, harassment, bullying, insults or abuse, graffiti or hate mail against the victim.

Discussion

The hate crime law has been passed in order to suppress the increasing hate crime or the bias motivated violence. Hate Crimes over the centuries have been committed against certain races based on their skin color or on their religious differences. The records of history of such crimes are older than the history of the USA itself. During the 16th and the 17th century, when the Europeans following the footsteps of the Great Christopher Columbus started colonizing the 'New World', the natives of that world, later known as the Native Americans became victims of such biased motivated crimes like violence and intimidation. The two major such examples of hate crime from that centuries were the cross burnings to drive the dark sinned people from the white predominant neighborhoods and the lynching of the African Americans. The Nazis in their time were also responsible for hate crime. They waged a fiercely savage war against the Jews, a fact which Hitler is famous for.

The riots in the Herzegovina and Bosnia are based on ethnic conflicts ...