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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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View Poll Results: Do You Support Bishop Martino's Political Stances?
Yes (Why?) 6 26.09%
No (Why?) 17 73.91%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 02-13-2009, 07:34 AM
 
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Government "signs of the times".....are you ready???

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Old 02-13-2009, 08:02 AM
 
996 posts, read 3,278,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScranBarre View Post
Sigh. Getting back to my particular sub-topic, it looks as if the folks in NYC aren't even as "inclusive" as many like to proclaim they are either.

Jose Oswaldo Sucuzhanay, a 31-year-old real estate agent, was walking arm in arm with his brother in Brooklyn in December when he was beaten to death in an apparent hate crime by assailants who shouted anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs.

What a shame. What would possess a group of morons to beat to death a man because they presumed he was gay and/or Hispanic? We need TOUGHER hate crime laws in this country! Hopefully President Obama will deliver that!
What I find appalling is that this crime was committed by a gang of black men. I thought they were the ones that wanted everyone to be equal and included and to end racism? This is the reason why I stay far away from urban areas. The presence of gangs that will attack just for the thrill of it because they have nothing else to do is a great motivator for many people to move out of cities, especially NYC.

I'm sure the Savior will end all hate crimes. It's on his to-do list, as soon as he finds a few more tax evaders to round out his cabinet, finishes destroying what's left of the economy and get done setting our country up for the next terrorist attack. Remember, it's change you can believe in!
 
Old 02-13-2009, 08:12 AM
 
Location: NE PA
7,931 posts, read 15,816,671 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greentown View Post
What I find appalling is that this crime was committed by a gang of black men. I thought they were the ones that wanted everyone to be equal and included and to end racism? This is the reason why I stay far away from urban areas. The presence of gangs that will attack just for the thrill of it because they have nothing else to do is a great motivator for many people to move out of cities, especially NYC.

I'm sure the Savior will end all hate crimes. It's on his to-do list, as soon as he finds a few more tax evaders to round out his cabinet, finishes destroying what's left of the economy and get done setting our country up for the next terrorist attack. Remember, it's change you can believe in!
The problem is that I'll bet they don't consider this particular crime a hate crime, because the attackers are black. Now, if the attackers were white, it absolutely would be called a hate crime. Isn't political correctness great?
 
Old 02-13-2009, 08:38 AM
 
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Originally Posted by go phillies View Post
The problem is that I'll bet they don't consider this particular crime a hate crime, because the attackers are black. Now, if the attackers were white, it absolutely would be called a hate crime. Isn't political correctness great?
No, PC is just plain ridiculous most of the time. Sometimes my husband and I have to turn off the TV because the absurdity of some of the reporting causes us to feel angry for much of the day. Much better to just not watch.
 
Old 02-13-2009, 08:53 AM
 
703 posts, read 1,546,331 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by go phillies View Post
The problem is that I'll bet they don't consider this particular crime a hate crime, because the attackers are black. Now, if the attackers were white, it absolutely would be called a hate crime. Isn't political correctness great?
Incorrect.

It's not a hate crime no matter who did the attacking because sexual orientation isn't included in hate crime laws. "Political correctness" (whatever that means) isn't good, but certainly reactionary opinions that are ignorant of the law aren't good either.

Now you do allude to what I think is a good point. Hate crimes protect everyone against crimes committed because of a person's race (among other things). Whether prosecutors unequally apply the law there is a really good question, and it would be a shame if that were true.
 
Old 02-13-2009, 09:19 AM
 
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Originally Posted by The Commish View Post
Incorrect.

It's not a hate crime no matter who did the attacking because sexual orientation isn't included in hate crime laws. "Political correctness" (whatever that means) isn't good, but certainly reactionary opinions that are ignorant of the law aren't good either.

Now you do allude to what I think is a good point. Hate crimes protect everyone against crimes committed because of a person's race (among other things). Whether prosecutors unequally apply the law there is a really good question, and it would be a shame if that were true.
If sexual orientation was to be included in a definition of a "hate crime", then pretty much EVERY crime could also be classified as a "hate" crime. Rape technically is a hate crime against women, child abuse is a hate crime against children, the list goes on and on. There are many reasons why people hate another person enough to hurt or murder them, ranging from a nagging wife, a whining baby, a cheating husband or a noisy neighbor. The whole "hate crime" laws are just a PC way of making racial crimes more special and newsworthy than other crimes, because the media has made it job #1 to make sure that all Americans feel guilty about the "huge epidemic of racism" in this country. As far as I'm concerned, hate is hate, murder is murder. If a person dies because someone hated them enough to murder them and it is proven beyond a doubt, the punishment should be the same for all.
 
Old 02-13-2009, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Lake Ariel
936 posts, read 2,397,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greentown View Post
I'm sure the Savior will end all hate crimes. It's on his to-do list, as soon as he finds a few more tax evaders to round out his cabinet, finishes destroying what's left of the economy and get done setting our country up for the next terrorist attack. Remember, it's change you can believe in!

Wow you are very optimistic . I hope all of the doubters are proven wrong. Geez President Obama didnt put us in this mess.
 
Old 02-13-2009, 09:45 AM
 
2,473 posts, read 5,452,799 times
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Originally Posted by greentown View Post
I'm sure the Savior will end all hate crimes. It's on his to-do list, as soon as he finds a few more tax evaders to round out his cabinet, finishes destroying what's left of the economy and get done setting our country up for the next terrorist attack. Remember, it's change you can believe in!
I do SO love a positive outlook!! (Jungle George searches for that half glass of water....)

Oh wait....I think I read that's akin to pipe dreaming..... Never mind....
 
Old 02-13-2009, 10:07 AM
 
703 posts, read 1,546,331 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greentown View Post
If sexual orientation was to be included in a definition of a "hate crime", then pretty much EVERY crime could also be classified as a "hate" crime. Rape technically is a hate crime against women, child abuse is a hate crime against children, the list goes on and on. There are many reasons why people hate another person enough to hurt or murder them, ranging from a nagging wife, a whining baby, a cheating husband or a noisy neighbor.
I haven't studied hate crimes in any great detail, so I can't tell you what the elements are for proving a hate crimes charge. And I can't tell you what the arguments are all that precisely. But it's not accurate to say that making sexual orientation a hate crime class would mean that every crime like rape is also a hate crime. Prosecutors would have to prove some "because of sexual orientation" type requirement, and it's not automatic at all that someone who rapes a woman did it because she was a straight woman in the same sense that someone who pours bleach over a black man did it because he was black.

It's a bit of a difficult thing to prove, actually!

Quote:
Originally Posted by greentown View Post
The whole "hate crime" laws are just a PC way of making racial crimes more special and newsworthy than other crimes, because the media has made it job #1 to make sure that all Americans feel guilty about the "huge epidemic of racism" in this country.
I agree that we highlight certain crimes committed with certain motives as "hate crimes" because we as a society feel crimes of that nature deserve extra condemnation. I think reasonable people can disagree over the merits of doing this. I happen to agree that we should.

Remember, hate crime laws protect you, too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by greentown View Post
As far as I'm concerned, hate is hate, murder is murder. If a person dies because someone hated them enough to murder them and it is proven beyond a doubt, the punishment should be the same for all.
You know, this is really complicated. I've studied criminal law in great detail and it's not all that clear that what you posted above is the right thing to do in all cases. Let me explain:

There are many kinds of "murder:"
  • murder 1,
  • murder 2,
  • depraved heart/extreme indifference murder
  • involuntary manslaughter,
  • voluntary manslaughter,
  • negligent homicide,
  • felony murder

People murder for different reasons (sometimes they don't mean to at all), in different contexts, and things like that. I agree with you that anyone who intentionally murders anyone else deserves the same penalty. But murder isn't always intentionally committed. Especially in this case, it remains to be seen whether those gang members intentionally murdered the gay guy, or they just intended to severely beat him and he died. If the prosecutor can't prove they intentionally murdered him, then their prison sentence will be a lot lighter; probably less than life in prison without the possibility of parole. A hate crime law in this context would increase the penalty.
 
Old 02-13-2009, 10:36 AM
 
996 posts, read 3,278,008 times
Reputation: 730
"You know, this is really complicated. I've studied criminal law in great detail and it's not all that clear that what you posted above is the right thing to do in all cases. Let me explain:

There are many kinds of "murder:"
  • murder 1,
  • murder 2,
  • depraved heart/extreme indifference murder
  • involuntary manslaughter,
  • voluntary manslaughter,
  • negligent homicide,
  • felony murder

People murder for different reasons (sometimes they don't mean to at all), in different contexts, and things like that. I agree with you that anyone who intentionally murders anyone else deserves the same penalty. But murder isn't always intentionally committed. Especially in this case, it remains to be seen whether those gang members intentionally murdered the gay guy, or they just intended to severely beat him and he died. If the prosecutor can't prove they intentionally murdered him, then their prison sentence will be a lot lighter; probably less than life in prison without the possibility of parole. A hate crime law in this context would increase the penalty."

Yes, thanks, I'm well aware that there are stages of penalty for murder (I watch Law and Order, too). The point is, by increasing that penalty because a "hate crime" law is in place, the court would be placing more value on the life of that person than on the lives of other people. That is the part that I don't agree with. I guess all of us straight, white people would be easy targets since we aren't worth as much.
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