Hate crimes jump nearly 8 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hate crime incidents in the United States rose last year by nearly 8 percent, the FBI reported Monday, as racial prejudice continued to account for more than half the reported instances.


Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a result of bias against a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or physical or mental disability.

That was up 7.8 percent from the 7,163 incidents reported in 2005.

Although the noose incidents and beatings among students at Jena, Louisiana, high school occurred in the last half of 2006, they were not included in the report.

Only 12,600 of the nation's more than 17,000 local, county, state and federal police agencies participated in the hate crime reporting program in 2006 and neither Jena nor LaSalle Parish, in which the town is located, were among the agencies reporting. justice protest

Nevertheless, the Jena incidents, and a rash of subsequent noose incidents around the country, have spawned civil rights protests in Louisiana and last week at Justice Department headquarters here. The department said it investigated the incident but decided not to prosecute because the federal government does not typically bring hate crime charges against juveniles.


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FBI: Hate crimes jump nearly 8 percent - CNN.com

I believe many of these incidents are simple copycat crimes that are in poor taste but not always motivated by hate!

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

I'll go a step further...

Many of these crimes are determined "hate crimes" because of the oversensitive nature of the politically correct...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

the only thing "politically correct" means is not going out of your way to offend others and hate their feelings.

I don't know why it's suddenly become a negative thing.

It's like we now don't want presidents who are "too smart" (like Kerry was accused of being) - or "too powerful" (as Hillary is said of being).

Topsy turvy world.

But - please explain to us why you believe being non-politically correct (i.e. intentionally offensive to others to hurt their feelings) is such a positive thing and why it's something we as Americans should aspire.

Whoever said it was a positive?...I know I didn't...

But I do know that things happen where words incriminate instead of just the actions...

The Puerto Rican standing next to you in a crowded pub tries to steal your money from the bar or is simply being a drunk idiot and starts pushing you around...

You punch him in the face and say "FU a-hole, mf-er, dick, ass, douche, p-ssy!", you go to jail for assault...Pay a fine, spend a couple of days in jail...by the weekend everything's back to normal...

You punch him in the face and say "FU spic!", you go to jail for assault with a hate crime attached...The local hispanic groups cry racism, you lose your job, the news sends Geraldo Rivera, and now you're known as "that guy"...

The actions were the same...The REASONS for the action were the same...

But words, unlike what you were told when you were young, do a helluva lot more damage to the PC crowd than sticks and stones ever will...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Words have always done a great deal of damage. Let's not kid ourselves. You make a reasonable point that the person may not have INTENDED to commit a hate crime, but when that person is dumb enough to put themselves in a position to be accused of a hate crime I don't know how sorry we can feel for them.

We know that words like fagot have severe psychological repercussions to many people. When we use hateful words we are committing a form of psychological assault, mental abuse if you will. If we make the choice to use those words then we should be prepared to deal with the consequences of using those words.

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that is NOT TRUE.

unless I assault him BECAUSE he's hispanic, it's not a hate crime. Self defense is NOT a hate crime, I don't care WHAT you call him.

That's why discussing this issue with people gets so heated - people don't even know what the fuck a bias crime IS.

Once again, that's something I've never said...

And you blame the person who says it and not the person who hears it?...

I'll remember that the next time I hear "Polack" or "fat"...I should fall on the floor and start whimpering so I can get the most out of my over-emotional sensativities...

Ladies and gentlemen...The oversensitive politically correct spokesperson...

Only dependant upon the RECIPIENT and the not person saying it...

I can go up to 5 Puerto Ricans and call them a "spic" and nothing happens...Then I say it to a 6th and get punched...

It wasn't ME that changed...It was the recipient...So the reactions aren't dependant of what I say...the reaction is dependant upon the person who hears it...

And some people who hear certain words spend their life all day continually trying to keep their panties bunched...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

The difference is you should know not to say words that entice violence. You want to hold other people accountable for your actions/words. If you know that 'spic' can be an offensive word then don't use it. If you use it, you know that you take the risk of being accused of being hateful and thus committing a hate crime.

Just because some people are more likely to resist than others doesn't mean that your actions are justified.

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exactly

I have never read a more mean-spirited validation of blaming the victim!

well, there was that rape victim in Iraq who got 200 lashes...but ... still

Apparently you two haven't grasped the difference between MORALLY wrong and LEGALLY wrong...

If someone says "spic", "kyke", or whatever, they did NOTHING legally wrong...

They may be an asshole, an igoramus, and a bigot...But they are not a criminal because of it...

Here's the quandry you two won't be ablw to explain...

If I walk up and call tristan a "fag", I have committed NO crime against the law...

But if I walk up and call tristan a "fag" and then hit him, I have now commited TWO crimes against the law!!!! (assault & hate)...What once was NOT a crime(saying a WORD) has now become one simply because of other actions...

And you legally justify that?!?!?!...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd