Hate Crimes…

Today, I received the following comment from my blog post: 2005 Hate Crime Statistics -

I still dont get the hate crime thing. If you take away the violence/crime part you end up with thought crime. do we really want to go there? a crime is a crime.did someone intend to kill you.. that is a crime..
WHY they wanted to? who cares.. if they DO kill you.. you are dead… and all murdered people should be avenged EQUALLY. gays do not get MORE rights. I rarely hear about gay on gay crime but from what i have read its even MORE heinous crime than straight on gay. why is that?have a nice day go straights! Comment by kent j — December 11, 2006 @ 9:49 am

Hate crimes are about more than just someone beating someone else up, or someone killing another person. Hate Crimes, by their very nature, effect more than just the victims - they effect entire groups of people. The physical and emotional damage caused by hate crimes impacts entire communities, races, genders, or ethnic groups (or whatever group to which the victim(s) belong. Hate crimes are about more than just interpersonal violence - they are about intimidation - they’re about power - and they’re about disrupting communities and violating civility.

As to the notion of “thought crimes” … yes, I do want to go there. If you take the violence and crime away from a thought - you’re left with just a thought. (Not a thought crime.) Nobody is talking about getting arrested because they thought something. That’s just downright silly.

The reasoning (or, the motives) behind crimes has always been an important factor to consider:

Suppose Person A has just killed Person B - Person A is guilty of first degree murder, right? Well … no. In order to figure out the answer to that question, other factors need to be taken into consideration. What if Person B was trying to kill Person A and was killed in self-defense? That’s not even a crime. What if Person A killed Person B accidentally? That might be a manslaughter charge, or in some cases, a crime-less accidental death.

The degree of violence has so little to do with it - it is barely worth mentioning. Does a person who stabs someone five times get a lesser sentence than someone who stabs someone ten times, under the same circumstances? Nope. It doesn’t work that way.

What none of this, so far, has taken into consideration is the impact hate crimes have on society in general or the group to which the victim(s) belonged. If someone’s actions terrorizes a group of people, why should that not be taken into consideration? More social resources (provided by politicians, law enforcement agencies, social service agencies, etc) are needed to deal with the aftermath and implications of hate crimes - why should these issues not be taken into consideration either?

Another silly notion if you really think about it is the comment about how gays shouldn’t have any more rights than anyone else. First off, homosexuals aren’t the only victims of hate crimes. Hate Crimes also effect people of various nationalities, genders, races, and religions. I have a feeling people would look at you funny if you said, “No special rights for blacks!” hunh? Or, “Jewish people don’t deserve more legal protection than gentiles.” So, why does it make it ok to say that about homosexuals?

Secondly - nobody is saying that anyone has any more rights than anyone else. It’s about saying what’s right or wrong in the eyes of the law - and victimizing someone solely because of certain factors (such as sexual orientation) is wrong. Trust me, it’s just as much of a hate crime if a heterosexual was assaulted because he was straight than a homosexual who was beaten up because he was gay. They’re both the same.  Nobody has any more or less rights than anyone else.

Anyway, kent - I hope you have a great day too. Not sure what to make of that “go straights!” comment, but … that’s ok. I don’t have to know where you want to go, but if you need help setting up a car-pool, just let me know - ok?

2005 Hate Crime Statistics

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has recently released the 2005 Hate Crimes Statistics. Already, there have been quite a few blog posts stating things like how gays are the third largest hate crime group. I have also seen a few posts which question that finding.

One important thing to keep in mind is that these statistics include the number of reported hate crimes. The statistic that gays are the third largest hate crime group sounds like an impressive statistic. But, how accurate is this? There may be much room for potential errors.

One important fact to keep in mind is that many states do not allow crimes based on sexual orientation to be legally considered (or reported as) hate crimes. If identical crimes were perpetrated in two locations where one was allowed to be considered a hate crime while the other legally can’t - how will this effect the statistics?

A similar thing to keep in mind is that gays and lesbians often do not report crimes against them out of fear from being outed, facing rejection from friends, family, or co-workers, amongst a number of other reasons as well. If many gays and lesbians try to suppress knowledge of their crimes, how will this effect the statistics?

In some ways, there are a lot of similarities between hate crimes based on sexual orientation and hate crimes based on other factors, such as religion, race, or national origin. However, in a lot of ways they are very different. For example, hate crimes are often so emotionally charged, the degree of violence involved with assaults is often much greater than that of a simple assault. Race, National Origin, or Sexual Orientation tends to have little impact on the degree of violence.

Gays and lesbians are sometimes referred to as an invisible minority group because unlike groups of people that can be identified by the color of their skin or other racial features, it’s often less obvious who is gay or who is not. There have also been a number of reported crimes against heterosexuals who were victimized because someone perceived them to be gay - and often these crimes go unreported or downplayed.

There are also differences in the way society, in general, tends to respond to crimes against various different groups. When one encounters anti-Jewish graffiti, the response tends to often be outrage. Anti-gay graffiti, if it gets a reaction, is likely to be much different.  Let me ask you? How would you respond if you saw the word “nigger” spray-painted on the back of someone’s car? How would you respond if you saw the word “faggot” spray painted on the back of someone’s car? Any difference? (I hope I did not offend anyone by my use of the “n” and “f” words.)
Another interesting factor deals with the number of agencies that report data. For example, the State of Alabama (a state with 32 agencies that report hate crimes) did not report a single hate crime. Why? Are we supposed to believe that a state with a history of racial tension did not have a single hate crime in all of 2005? Alabama reported 19,678 cases of violent crime, 374 murders or non-negligent manslaughters, 1,564 rapes, and 11,293 aggravated assaults. But, not a single hate crime?

Still, this does not undermine the importance of finding these statistics. That was not my intention. It is my firm belief that it doesn’t matter which group comes in first, second, or third place … hate crimes - no matter who commits them against whom - are completely and totally unacceptable. Does it really matter all that much which group got hit hardest?

Law And Disorder: The Murder of Kevin Hale…

There are many different stories, excuses, and theories about what happened on July 30, 2005 - it's hard to know exactly what happened. The official version of the events make no sense and has more holes than Swiss cheese. There are only a few facts that everyone seems to agree on.

What we do know is this: 36 year old Kevin Hale met two men in Durango, Colorado's Buckley Park. He did not leave the park alive. The two men were 21 year old Adam Hernandez and 24 year old Jason "Todd" Fiske.

Hernandez claimed he bore a grudge against Hale because he (Hale) had made a sexual advance earlier that evening. According to the police, Hernandez and Hale had long history of ill will. Fiske's confession claims that he broke up a fight between Hale and Hernandez by grabbing Hale in a choke-hold, but released him as soon as he went limp.

The Coroner eventually released his report saying that Hale's death was caused by cerebral anoxia - a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by compression of his neck. In other words, he was strangled.

If Jessica Fletcher or Perry Mason were investigating this crime, the show would be over. If this were an episode of Law and Order, this would be the point in the show where the police hand the case over to the District Attourney's Office. We know who did it. We know (kinda) how it happened. But, unfortunately this story is just beginning.

One of the first Law & Order twists involves the use of medical and psychological treatment records. Under normal circumstances, anyone's psychiatric and medical records (just like anything you tell your lawyer or priest) are considered off limits. But not in this case. Because the coroner used those records to help him determine the cause of death, the defense felt they should be entitled to that information as well. Those documents were delivered to the judge who ultimately determined that any information they contained had no bearing and no impact on the case at hand.

Part of the dramatic element would come from those who knew the people involved, or from the residents of Durango. "This sort of thing doesn't happen here," several of the townsfolk are quoted saying in the Colorado newspapers, often making a parallel to the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

The families of both parties have gone on the record through the local newspapers saying that they couldn't believe that Hernandez or Fiske could have done such a thing. Tamara Hernandez told the Rocky Mountain News that the idea her son could be involved in a hate crime was tearing apart her family, and saying that her son always told her not to "be a hater".

Yet those who knew Hale paint a slightly different picture. Larry DeVinny, Hale's uncle, strongly believes the crime was hate-related, saying that Hale had been "very openly gay" and had "endured a great deal of anti-gay harassment". DeVinny also related how Hale had expressed a lot of concern over one person in particular: Todd Fiske. Hale's mother also went on the record saying that Kevin had even approached the police eight months before his murder, complaining about Fiske (who he worked with at the time.)

The Colorado Anti-Violence Project and the Western Equality Organization released a statement about these events reminding us that when it comes to perpetrators of anti-gay hate violence, they will often claim that the victim had made a sexual advance at them, thus prompting the violent attack. It is "the oldest one in the book," they say. They also remind us that this is nothing more than an excuse for bad behavior, preying on the empathy of straight men who might panic were they hit on by a gay guy.

Both Fiske and Hernandez have also stated that drugs and alcohol played a part in that evening's events, which Hernandez's mother claims was "out of character" for him.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to manslaughter and theft charges in April and was sentenced to eight years in prison. He also broke down, pleading with the judge because he felt he "couldn't make it in prison", and apologizing for what he had done. The judge recommended him for a prison "boot camp" program, which could enable them to reevaluate his sentence in two years.

Fiske, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty, and waived his right to a speedy trial. A status hearing will be set for July 25th, 2006. Hale's uncle, Larry DeVinny is pleased that there will be a trial (even though a plea bargain is still on the table and the investigation is still ongoing) because he wants the truth of what happened that night to come out. He is certain by the end, everyone will know this was hate crime.

SOURCES

• The Rocky Mountain News
• The Denver Post
• CBS News (Denver)
• Colorado Anti-Violence Program