[Arnold Zephel]

I have had the "hate-crimes" argument countless times with a lefty friend of mine. According to my friend, and most leftists, it is only a hate crime when the victim is a "minority", and the perpetrator's motive is the victim's "minority" status.

What they fail to acknowledge is the that the definition of "minority" is very subjective. Who decides which groups are considered "minorities"?

Most importantly, why are "minorities" more valuable than "non-minorities"?

[jecIIny]

I am not a big believer in the whole concept of hate crimes. Assaulting someone or killing someone is a crime period. So is arson. The person or persons responsible need to be found and locked up. This is not a complicated issue.

[kb2614]

Most importantly, why are "minorities" more valuable than "non-minorities"?

Let me slip into DU/KosKidz mode........DUH!!! BECAUSE THEY ARE, YOU RACIST EEEEEEEVIL KKKONSERVITE YOU!!!!!

Hope that clears things up. :-)

[Chunga]

In this country and throughout the world Baptists are a minority. Everywhere you go there are more non-Baptists than there are Baptists.

[FearlessEddie]

Your lefty friend sounds pretty dumb, and in fact he's wrong.

But there *is* such a thing as a hate crime, and it *is* more significant than other types. Not flaming massively send-in-the-Guard more, but more.

A hate crime is not only an action against an individual but against a group of people (it does not have to be a minority.) It has as its purpose not only the actual crime part but a chilling or threatening effect against a lot of people. It's that public threat which adds significance.

There aren't special classes of victims, no. But that's a red herring. There are special classes of perpetrators.

[YOUGOTIT]

"I have had the "hate-crimes" argument countless times with a lefty friend of mine."

All crimes are hate crimes. I do not subscribe to a law that says someone else has more expensive that me or my family. What a "Hate Crime" says is that some people are better than others and thus a crime against them is a worse that a crime against me or my family. Stupid!!!!!

[The Duke]

How is a "hate crime" anything other than a special case of the "thought crime" forseen by George Orwell?

How could America subject itself to this crap? (What's next, "Benny Hill"?)

[Always Right]

What they fail to acknowledge is the that the definition of "minority" is very subjective.

Baptists are a minority by any standard.

[Fido969]

According to my friend, and most leftists, it is only a hate crime when the victim is a "minority",

Aren't Baptists a minority?

[Psycho_Bunny]

The only thing more ridiculous than the concept of a "hate crime" is watching a troll squirm to defend the idea.

[commish]

But real progress will come only when we abandon the whole misguided notion of ''hate crimes," which deems certain crimes more deserving of outrage and punishment not because of what the criminal did, but because of the group to which the victim belonged. The burning of a church is a hateful act regardless of the congregants' skin color. That some people bend over backward not to say so is a disgrace.

Jacoby really nails it in this article. Thanks for posting this.

I have one small nitpik though. The 10th fire was already solved and was not connected to the other 9 -- it was a copycat fire set by a mentally disturbed young man with a firefighter brother. He said he wanted to watch his brother put out the fire.