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Originally Posted by Ustwo
And as a rational person I think the punishment for a crime should be the same reguardless of the motivation. If I kill you because you were (insert victim designation) or I kill you for your wallet you are still dead and both should be punished equally harshly.
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Hate to break it to you, but that's not rational. Do you seriously think a lady who intentionally kills her husband because he was emotionally abusive should receive an equally harsh sentence as a guy in a white robe who intentionally kills a random black person on the street for fun?
The motivation for a crime can make a difference in terms of predicting whether or not that person will commit the crime again. The criminal justice system isn't just responsible for punishment for the sake of punishment, it's responsible for the prevention of crime as well. Hate-crime laws help to do just that.
Finally, this is not thought crime. You're free to be a racist/supremacist if you want. Just don't go around hurting people in the name of that belief and you'll be ok.