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History Of Hate Crimes: Illegal Persecution

By October 4, 2008

The history of hate crimes against gays is staggering. Thousands of people are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation. While the nation itself has hate crime laws, many people who commit these crimes do not care. They see what they are doing as a higher calling or even the right thing to do. What they are really doing is hurting another human being.

Statistics are showing that recent hate crimes are declining, but various experts believe that this is simply because most hate crimes against gays are not identified as hate crimes. There are lengthy discussions going on today that ask if crimes against gays should even be called hate crimes.

But that is what they are. In the history of hate crimes, thousands of people have been terrorized, stalked, or killed. In a country built on principles of freedom of religion and thought, people are getting killed over thinking or acting outside the norm. In fact, the perpetrators are usually the ones with the problems, having some kind of homophobia and acting on it.

The history of hate crimes tells us that we will always have to deal with the. However, they do decrease as people become educated on the issues. If the civil rights movement of the sixties has taught us anything, we must realize that there will be hate crimes for centuries to come.

An alternative possibility for the apparent decrease in recent hate crimes is the fact that individuals are frightened. The fear may be from an individual “in the closet”, or of the law enforcement community. However, such results are only giving the perpetrators what they desire. The public must know about hate crime before they can do something about it.

People will give a multitude of excuses for the existence of “hate crimes”. All of these listings boil down to intolerance. These could be disapproval of an alternate belief system, or distaste for the sexual and personal identity of others. Regardless of the stated reasons, both the source and the resulting violence are wrong. Rational individuals must be willing to do whatever is necessary to bring such hatred to a close.

The history of hate crimes against gays is staggering. Thousands of people are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation. While the nation itself has hate crime laws, many people who commit these crimes do not care. They see what they are doing as a higher calling or even the right thing to do. What they are really doing is hurting another human being. Statistics are showing that recent hate crimes are declining, but various experts believe that this is simply because most hate crimes against gays are not identified as hate crimes.

- Jayson Johnson

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