Why is there an increase in the number of hate crimes in the U.S.?

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   lrc7815posted 12 years ago

   Why is there an increase in the number of hate crimes in the U.S.?
   
   Are hate crimes increasing becuase of the U.S. military involvement in the world?  Is it the effect of multiple tours of duty?  Or is it more about race, religion, economic conditions, etc.?

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   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   I really think it is a combination of all that you have mentioned. And the media isn't helping matters at all.

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      lrc7815posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi JThom42 !  I forgot about the medias role and agree with you.  Their contribution cannot be ignored.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely not. Thank you.

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   Matthew Weeseposted 12 years ago

   Crime has actually been declining in the past 15 years. Hate crimes in general believe it or not have fallen a great deal since the election of President Obama. it also depends on the state you live in. the state I reside in New York, hate crimes have fallen drastically since the Bushes equaled 9/11. However since the recession/ job decline, domestic crimes have risen, easily confused for hate crimes. since the recession mental illness, substance abuse, and poverty play a leading factor in a lot of the crime that evolves from this faulty system.

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      lrc7815posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You make some great points Matthew.  Thanks for joining the discussion and contributing another viewpoint that I had not considered.

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      Garifaliaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Very well informed and enlightening.

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   KK Trainorposted 12 years ago

   There isn't an increase. 'Hate crime' is a relatively new term in law enforcement and those crimes were being comitted long before we started calling them hate crimes. People have always hated and crime has always happened. If anything there are fewer now than ever, they are just being classified differently to make it seem otherwise.

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      Matthew Weeseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well put Amigo!!!! I do agree.

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      lrc7815posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Great point KK Trainer.  I suppose I have been brainwashed my the media into believing there had been an increase.  Thanks for bringing additional clarity to the discussion.

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   Admiral Murrahposted 12 years ago

   'Hate Crime' is a catch all phrase used when lawyers or judges want to heap on the penalties.  Many crimes are driven by hate in the first place. The hate crime status allows greater prosecution on some acts. The 'hate crime' category is often used when it is not appropriate and avoided when it was needed. The selective political use of it, indicates that it has become nothing more than a political football.
   
   It is also unfortunate that some hate crimes have been found to be self-induced in order to garner attention. Such acts make the 'hate crime' designation just another ploy.
   
   It is further unfortunate when organizations like the SPLC create hype about 'hate' crimes as a ploy to ask for more money. They often exaggerate the term 'hate' in order to create fear in the populous and make it look like hate is on the rise.

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      KK Trainorposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely put, more coherent than me I think. I don't know what SPLC is, but you're right about the hyping and the random usage, which makes no sense legally. Hate has been and always will be around; mitigate, don't legislate, I say.

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   mintinfoposted 12 years ago

   It is a combination of all the above as well as politics. I dont think that there is enogh education so some people are easily manipulated by ideology. Although, some might say, you dont need education to know who you are and what you stand for.
   
   Some Whites feel threatened by what they see as the erosion of the principles that America was founded on, White Christian self determinatoion. Now you have mosques popping up everywhere, the president is "colored", and the economy is ruined by all the social hand outs. Hold on to your seats, its going to be a rough ride.

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   Garifaliaposted 12 years ago

   I am no expert but from all the reading I've been doing on psychology, I have to say once again (I keep repeating this) that it has to do with family: both one's immediate family and that of the nation. Psychologists say that families function according to the way a country's government functions. It seems people continiue to act upon examples. The American government does not look after its citizens as they do in Canada, Finland or in Britain. Parents are obliged to stay away from their children due to long hours at work or having to travel long distances to work. And although I've been working since I was 16 and have gone through depression when I wasn't, the fact that the mother is away from the children long hours creates for chasms in children's upbringing. That's the general view I have as far as I've been able to understand it.

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