Blog Post #3 – What’s So Bad About Hate?

Question #1: Where is the line between a hate crime and a non-hate crime?

Question #2: Why do some “races” feel more superior over others?

Question #3: What kind of extra penalties should be imposed for hate crimes?

            I thought this article was interesting.  Expressing negative thoughts or anger towards a group of people doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  A lot of the “hate” simply comes from a person of a particular race usually doing something to leave a negative impression on you.  An example of this would be a trip to a store such as the Home Depot.  You need help lifting a heavy pot into your car and Jose significantly scratches your bumper with the pot on accident.  You shouldn't get mad at Hispanics in general, just Jose (the individual, not every Hispanic named Jose).  Thanks to the help of stereotypes and cultural stigmas, that isn't usually the case.  Having one bad experience with a member of a particular “race” isn't a good reason to judge a group of people in my opinion.  I honestly think that “hate” is more of a cultural construct than anything else.  If you tell someone it is ok to make fun of another individual or group for being different, that is wrong and it also happens more commonly than you might think.  Intolerance has been a driving factor to do some really stupid things in the history of the United States.  The biggest one in my opinion not mentioned in the article is prior to the Civil Rights movement.  There was a period where people thought it was ok to literally buy, sell and trade other humans as slaves simply because of their dark skin tone.  One good example from this article I think is worth mentioning is the two neighbors in California.  After reading it, I noticed it was two neighbors in a scuffle and one person involved just happened to be homosexual.  I thought it was completely wrong to charge heterosexual neighbors son for a hate crime.  The homosexual neighbor provoked the actions which ultimately led to the police being called and he wasn't faulted which I think is a good example of how messed up the legal system can be.   As much as I don’t like to admit it, I partially agree with Sullivan’s conclusion in which he said: “For all our rhetoric, hate will never be destroyed.  Hate, as our predecessors knew better, can merely be overcome”. (Sullivan 11)  Hopefully he is right and it can be overcome.  A good real world example of this change occurring is the more liberal views taken towards controversial topics such as gay marriage.  Not only that, hopefully people in general can get along, try to think more positively towards others, try to avoid anger and other negative hateful thoughts towards an individual or a group.