LOL, not exactly a fark round up, but I couldn't let this stupidity go unmocked.


2005-02-19 02:41:02 PM
uatuba

spelunking_defenestrator, PEOPLE need to be protected. "Groups" are my main problem. There are things that make us like each other, and there are things that makes us very different. You see that in ALL communities, and it is unfair to group individuals who have one thing in common in an effort to give them more rights. It is unfair to give groups who are not part of the mainstream more protection than those who are a part of it. If the hate crime legislation continues to grow, it will come down to a point that a straight Christian is afraid to kill a homosexual, even if the situation warrants the death of the homosexual. Let's say a gay man attacks me with a weapon, and I kill him. Normally, that would be self defense. However, we're heading toward a day when it could be argued that I was attacked because of my "hatred" for homosexuals and that I would not have been as likely to actually kill a straight person who attacked me in the same way. That's scary.

Thanks for revealing the true reason you hear whining about hate crimes laws. Seriously, we prosecute based on thoughts all the time. If I accidently shoot Bob, I'll get a different sentence from if I with malice afore thought tortured and murdered Bob. Bob is still just as dead. For hicks, just think of it as anti terror. Whites used to rely on hate crimes to keep blacks in their place. Nowadays, we actually try to adress problems. I mean, yea, you can still kill a black guy while calling him a n word, but don't cry when you're hauled off to jail.



2005-02-19 10:54:42 PM
xxysyndrome

I know I'm really late in this discussion, but I'd like to point out (if someone hasn't already) the logic behind "hate-crime legislation". There was a time, not too many years ago, where a member or members of one ethnic group (for example) could persecute members of other ethnic groups through fear, intimidation and violence, and fully expect to get off scott-free or with a slap on the wrist because of the ethnic makeup of power of the town, region or state they lived in. Hate crime legislation was designed as a way for federal prosecutors to enter a case and exact justice where none was to be found initially. Yes, it is at odds with The First Amendment. Yes, it is in contradiction with a free, open and thoughful society. Yes, it is tatmount to "thought police". But unfortunately is sometimes the only way to ensure that justice will be served.


And logic is restored. The person who posted a lynching photo on the thread will be banned, but it brought up something important to me. The thing is that for white privilege you have to give up some of your humanity. Once you start excluding people from all possible empathy who have done nothing to you, well, it's not a easy path to go back on. I understand now that whites are lying when they say stupid stuff like all crimes are caused by hate, (because to think that they weren't would mean that whites need to be barred from high office if they can't understand what mens rea is. I'm partially joking but...) but still, to lie all the time like that, it can't be good for you.