Hate Crimes in America essays

Hate Crimes in America essays Hate Crimes In America Did you know that people with blonde hair have low I.Q.s? Or that people less than five feet tall are more likely to spread a disease? How about that people with brown eyes are really worshipers of Satan? That did not sound very logical, did it? No, you know that people with blonde hair can be as smart or as unintelligent as the next person, that short people are not necessarily better hosts to disease, and that people with brown eyes can believe in whatever they want. Some people, on the other hand, would say these things made perfect sense when applied to a different race, religion, ethnic background, gender or sexual orientation. The idea of prejudice is as old as Mans time on Earth, that someone who is different just is not as good. When a person thinks like this, it can clutter their judgement. They start to see others, different from themselves, as not even human let alone equal. Violence often ensues. When that happens, we have a hate crime. A hate crime does not necessarily have to be a physical violent act. Words and threats can be just as damaging on an emotional level as a physical blow is to the head. Laws have been passed to prevent these actions, however, year in and year out there are hate crimes against different groups running into the thousands...and those are just the reported incidents. The most common variety of hate crimes is committed against the African American community. Acts of violence and hatred against Blacks have been seen throughout history. The earliest forms of hate groups often led these attacks, and groups of old are still present today, such as, the Aryan Nations, and the Ku Klux Klan (http://sociology.ucdavis.edu/classes/grattetHate_Crimes_Class_Site/Hate_Groups.html). Although not thriving as they had in olden times, these groups still exist and have strong followings in many different places. Today, because of their lack of pop...