Why I'm against hate crimes legislation . . .
Law and Order: SVU summed it up with the final line of an episode that involved a couple who adopted a black son, insured his life for lots of money, and then paid someone from a racist hate group to kill the boy (I know, I know, but for the life of me I can't stop watching this stuff, especially when I happen upon it late at night. Somehow the formula itself mesmerizes me.) Anyway, when the couple's complicity in the murder is finally revealed and Detective Benson accuses them of racism, the wife replies, "We're not racists. We just needed the money."
In the context of hate crimes legislation, that's a semi-exculpatory statement. Call me crazy, but I'm just not comfortable with that.
In the context of hate crimes legislation, that's a semi-exculpatory statement. Call me crazy, but I'm just not comfortable with that.
posted by Kate Marie | 6:28 AM | Permalink
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1 comments
1 Comments:
I hate hate crimes. But, I also dislike the 'hate crimes legislation.' Let's say I don't like two people, one is white and one isn't. I hit them both. I have assulted the white one, but I am also potentially liable for prosecution as a hate crime (not to mention a civil rights act violation) for hitting the second. Shouldn't we be punishing the act and not the motivation, real or perceived?
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