Sorry to hear what you and your brother went through.
Thinking of you and hope those guys are found.
purps
Hate crime affects everyone...
by avishai 24 Replies latest jw friends
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Rabbit
Avi, thanks for linking this...I missed it the first time around.
This was horrible, I hope you and your brother are better now with no permanent scars. After all these months, have the cops caught these guys ?
Rabbit
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Forscher
Sorry to hear about what happened to you and your brother
Now. What happened was not simple assault, it was battery. Traditionally battery carries a heavier penalty since it usually involves actually harming someone physically instead of putting them in fear of harm. Unfortunately, current practices in the criminal justice system generally allows perpetrators to plea to a lesser charge in order to avoid taking the chance that a jury might acquit. Simply put, prosecutors go for the sure thing in order to drive up their conviction stats.
My problem with hate crime laws is that they create certain privileged classes whom the law tends to consider more worthy of avenging than regular folks, the very antithesis of our cultural foundation that all are equally worthy of protection. Now just why should somebody of a different skin color than mine, or engaging in a lifestyle I object to no moral grounds be considered more meritous than I to have his or her grievance addressed by the government? And just why should their injuries carry a greater penalty than equal injuries of my person? I see no rational reason why that should be so.
Added to that, hate crime laws are a step towards censorship since they penalize personal opinions, something the government has no right to do under our Constitution. Once we head down that road, the slope gets mighty slippery as evidenced by prosecutions both in the U.S. and other countries abundantly demonstrate.
I hope the perpetrators of that cowardly act get caught and penalized to the fullest extent of the law.
Forscher
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R.Crusoe
It is sad when people hate other people. It is the way with this world. Millions now living have perpetrated crimes or hurt of one sort or another whether legal or illegal and it is this which fuels many of the crimes of tomorrow. Absorbing pain and crime with love, education and respect is difficult if not impossible but how else to stop the cycle I cannot tell.
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saywhat29
My problem with hate crime laws is that they create certain privileged classes whom the law tends to consider more worthy of avenging than regular folks, the very antithesis of our cultural foundation that all are equally worthy of protection. Now just why should somebody of a different skin color than mine, or engaging in a lifestyle I object to no moral grounds be considered more meritous than I to have his or her grievance addressed by the government? And just why should their injuries carry a greater penalty than equal injuries of my person? I see no rational reason why that should be so.
That's understandable, but hate crime laws were made or designed to protect or help persecute those attacked since it is not just seen as an attack on *just* that person but on an entire group. You being attacked in the middle of the night and robbed and beaten is messed up but when one is attacked for being a part of a marginalized group then it is a little different because it is not just about that one person or beating, but about them all.
However, I agree with you to an extent in that it does police thought and opinion which is dangerous, and I personally wonder if hate crime laws should carry *more* weight than assault or battery, but I *do* feel to say that there is a big difference in you being beaten just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time (or why even say that, but people suck these days and are assholes) is different then what avishai and his brother went through as being perceived as being gay and being beaten for it. It's not that his life or my life is more valuable than yours- its just that it is more likely to be attacked and if so and not handled appropriately by athorities (which also has something to do with it because attacks on minorities aren't at times handled appropriate by the folks who are suppose to take care of the situation) and may need a special category.
I agree that its not an easy situation, and yes Hate crimes laws don't really address many issues or take care of them altogether but it attempts to and that's enough and I'd rather have them than not. Plus, how do you feel you are losing out by having them? I mean avishai is straight and if this can happen to him, then isn't it possible that under some situation it could happen to you as well?