Sunday, May 13, 2007

Hate Crimes

http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2007/05/13/hate_crime_laws
What the hell is a "hate crime?" We used to ask that question when I was a cop. What was the difference if a crime was done to a man, woman, or child. A crime is a crime. It is disturbing when the government gets into the business of determining which crimes enjoy special status. Anytime the government assigns a special status to any crime it immediately diminishes all other crimes. They take a lower status. As Will says, hate crime legislation is feel good law. And that is dangerous. Who is to say which groups should be protected? I've seen my fair share of crimes and each and every one was the product of hate.

How can this be, you say? Anytime someone commits a crime they convey their hate of society's laws. Now some of our friends on the left would have you believe that societal factors cause crime. That's crap! I dealt with many people with very little means who were law-abiding citizens and taught their children to be the same. Maybe these people should pull their head out of Les Miserables and get in the real world. What causes crime is the disregard of laws and the morally bankrupt behavior of people. Many, many poor people are law-abiding, upstanding citizens who respect the law. Don't give me the jazz that poverty causes crime. That is a crutch for society to excuse behavior that we would not otherwise excuse. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton make a living from this guilt trip.

We are trodding on dangerous ground when we give government the power to decide which part of society should be protected. I give two examples: the Japanese in WWII and the African-Americans throughout our history. The outrageous conduct towards both was at one time legal.

We need to speak up as a society and denounce moral relativism. At no time in our history did we explain away behavior that is clearly illegal. When we make excuses for criminals we end up with full jails and a lawless and dangerous society. Shockingly, we have that now.

We must stop tolerating bad behavior. I know it is easy to ignore the bad things that go on in our society, (nearly 20,000 murders a year) but what happens when the victim is you?

1 comment:

CaliforniaTeacherGuy said...

Why, when the victim is you it's a hate crime!