Fear of hate crimes well-founded

submitted by Diedra M. Knox

December 10, 2007 —

Mr. Westendorf, a hate crime is always prosecuted because the belief of the accused resulted in an act of violence. Yes, I agree that if an attacker is a member of the KKK, I can just allege that the attack was because I'm black, but to no avail. It is the onus of the prosecution to show that he or she attacked me because I'm black.

So what would be the special circumstances if a hate crime bill was established to protect GLBT individuals? If a person spews out vicious epithets against a gay man or lesbian as he was pummeling him or her, wouldn't the prosecution have a similar burden?

A person is allowed to hate and believe that black folk are less than them. We just don't want them using that as an excuse to beat us or even pretend that we'll be lynched. So when that happens as a result of a fervent belief, the law says that the attacker should be held accountable for going outside the arena of free speech. I just fail to see the difference if that happened to GLBT or any group.

I'm afraid of any crime, but particularly one that would be committed against me on the basis of hate. So my last question is a simple one. Can fear of hate crimes really go too far?

Diedra M. Knox Associate Professor, Biology Delta College