Hate Crimes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hate Crimes - Research Paper Example It should be noted that 9/11 incident itself can be labelled as a hate crime. In short, hate crimes are happening at all parts of the world in different forms. According to Lieberman (2010), â€Å"In 2008, 13,690 police agencies reported 7,783 hate crimes—almost one hate crime for every hour of every day† (Lieberman, 2010, p.82). In other words, the incidents of hate crimes are growing day by day not only in America, but also in all parts of the world. It should be noted that the major reasons behind majority of the wars in the past and at present are attributed to hate crimes. The war on terror, First and Second World Wars, Gulf war, conflicts between Israel and Palestine etc are some of the examples of hate crimes. This paper analyses the history of hate crimes, the development of laws against hate crimes, pros and cons of hate crimes, examples of hate crimes etc. History of hate crimes The first recorded "hate crime" occurred in 1922 in America. The Federal Bureau of Investigation encountered a rising Ku Klux Klan, white supremacist movement in Louisiana. Two people were kidnapped, tortured and murdered while thousands more received threats to their person. The KKK and other racist organizations committed thousands between 1922-2006. In July 1946, two black couples were pulled from a car, lined up and shot by 20 white men. In 1954, one of America's most horrible, hate crimes occurred in Money, Mississippi. The crime, itself, was bestial. As many as 20 men took turns beating and torturing 14 year-old Emmett until his death (Brookes, 2012). The history of hate crimes started along with the evolution of humans in this world. However, the term hate crimes started to get more popularity only during the Second World War. The modern day history of hate crimes started during the Nazi regime in Germany. Nazis started a massive operation against the Jews community and millions of Jews forced to sacrifice their lives because of it. Germans had a perceptio n that they were the superior race in this world and all the other religions and communities should obeys the laws formulated by the Germans. In fact the major reasons for the two world wars were the superiority complexes of Germans. In recent times, ethnic conflicts were reported from countries such as Bosnia, Herzegovina, Rwanda, Serbia etc. The development of laws against hate crimes â€Å"It makes better sense, legally and morally, to prosecute someone for harassment, trespassing, or disturbing the peace without judging the content of their expression than it does to proscribe certain forms of expression† (Breaking The Codes,1991, p.8). Hate crime prevention laws are in place in America after the abolitions of slavery and racial discrimination. In fact normal laws are enough to punish hate crimes since majority of the hate crimes involve real crimes or normal crimes. The First Amendment does not protect violence, nor does it prevent the government from imposing criminal p enalties for violent discriminatory conduct directed against victims on the basis of their personal characteristics. Americans are free to think, preach, and believe whatever they want. It is only when an individual commits a crime based on those biased beliefs and intentionally targets another for violence or vandalism that a hate crime statute can be triggered (Lieberman, 2010, p.83)