Hate Crime

[Jered]

Wonder what's gonna happen with this?

SEATTLE - A 16-year-old boy from West Seattle says he was held hostage and beaten for hours, all because of the color of his skin.

[mekender]

I hear complaints of racism here in the south all the time but the fact is, there are not many if any places where a black man is in physical danger for walking down the street. There are however thousands of places across the nation where a white man is in physical danger for walking down the street.

[Fivetoes]

It is obvious he doesn't have enough melanin pigment for that to be considered a hate crime.

[308Mike]

They'll probably charge anyone arrested with a hate crime just because of the press, but they're probably not going to pursue it too hard 'cause they're going to blame him for the crime since he was out by himself so late. You know, blame the victim.

[Catbird]

Hate crime laws piss me off, regardless of who was hating who. Extra punishment for a crime should be based on two things: the ammount of damage done and the level of trust that was violated. A torched house should receive greater punishment than a stolen car. A stolen car is worse than a stolen ipod. Also, you should be punished more severely if the person you victimized had reason to trust you, if he knew you to be a policeman, clergy, or schooteacher for example.

Anyway, the place where this happened is not far from where I live. It's a well-kept middle class neighborhood on a busy, well-lit street. There is a 7-11 and a fire station about a block and a half down the hill. I took some pictures:

looking south.JPG

The thugs waited at the top of those stairs for a victim to walk by. It is at the end of a long, dead-end street.

looking down stairs.JPG

This is a view from the top of the stairs.

at 2am.JPG

This is what it looks like at 2 am.

[Kommander]

Good ambush spot.

[Nicodemus]

I hear complaints of racism here in the south all the time but the fact is, there are not many if any places where a black man is in physical danger for walking down the street. There are however thousands of places across the nation where a white man is in physical danger for walking down the street.

True that. I would have a lot less a complaint regarding hate crimes if they weren't used as a political tool to target one group over another. It is a prime example of hypocracy and irony.

[Denis]

Hate crime? Of course I hate crime.

However, I don't hate it more just because the criminal was thinking impure thoughts.

[Bob K]

Sorry,

Hate crimes to me fall into the same abyss as "no tolerance" policies.

It's politics, it's not law.

I'm 63, white, Jewish, and I walk with a cane. You think if I'm mugged in (thankfully) "gun-free" Chicago, it would be be a hate crime if the perpetrators were another race?

Some laws are just stupid.

The perpetrators of this crime are at least guilty of kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, battery, and perhaps, attempted murder. Regardless of the races in question.

They should be hanged.

[Aglifter]

+1. I don't believe in "degrees" of crimes - nor do criminals. A thief is a thief, and what he stole is just a matter of opportunity. To a large extent, short of serial killers, etc, a criminal is a criminal.