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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
This is why I object to it. You're stating that it's degrees of wrong doing. It's already wrong. There's already an intention or unintentional, such as murder versus manslaughter.
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It's not just about being wrong or right; there are degrees of wrongdoing. If I stole a car, why would I be treated differently than if I stole a pair of shoes? I could be sentenced for a decade or so compared to a few months, if at all. Why not just charge me for being wrong? Why would it matter if it were a car? All I did was steal something. Why not have some generic "stealing stuff" law that applies to anyone who steals anything? Maybe set every type of stealing crime at three months or something.
The same thing applies to hate crimes. It's not just an assault if I go after a gay man because he's gay. It's assault and a hate crime. I targeted a specific group. It's not random. It's more wrong than a random thing. I have purposely assaulted him because of what he is.
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But really, no one knows for sure that hate is the motivator, it isn't easily detected 100% of the time. It's easy to pick out from a white to black, straight to gay, but what about El Salvadorian to Mexican, Indian to Pakistani? Can you tell when the offended and the offender are both the same color?
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Well, of course, for it to be charged as a hate crime, there needs to be evidence.
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Did you know that most of the time, those are hate crimes too? Iraqi Sunni to Iraqi Shiite and Serbian to Croat, we're accustomed to those in some degree because we are media induced to see them as such. But in our courts will we be fair and even handed to deciding which is and what is a hate crime?
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I imagine it would have to be a clear case of intent. We hear the cases where gay men are lured to someone's home where they are beaten or killed. With enough evidence based on past and current factors, it may be deemed a hate crime. If a Sunni Iraqi-Canadian attacked a Shiite Iraqi-Canadian because they were Shiite, there would be a very good chance they would be charged for a hate crime in Canada if there were enough evidence.