Supple Cow

I don't see how what I wrote is a good reason to discontinue hate crime legislation, but I'll be the first to admit that it may be because I don't know the full extent of hate crime laws. When I think of the hate crime designation being taken away, I think of a person sitting in court testifying that they committed such and such crime "because s/he's a fag/nigger/etc." and then getting the same sentence as somebody who commited the crime for a reason that has nothing to do with the victim's identity. And then I get really angry because I think they deserve different degrees of punishment.

It seems to me that this is in line with death penalty debates in that the main problem is not necessarily whether it should ever be applied. Although I recognize that some people would say that this is the main issue, for me it's about how and when it should be applied. I guess I'm one of those people who would rather see it go on than end, and I remain hopeful for improvements.

I also never would have dreamed up the 40 girls beating up 4 boys scenario. This is just how I feel about this particular issue, and it happens to be one of the opinions I hold that is based mostly on a feeling in my gut - the feeling that people who commit what I consider to be hate crimes deserve a greater punishment. Maybe when I learn more about the way hate crime legislation is applied, I will feel differently. If/when that day comes, I will happily come back to this thread to take my foot out of my mouth.

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"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)