Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetclimber
From what it looks like, alot of hate crimes in California too per capita. I thought California was all surfs up and chilled!  |
Sadly no. Hate crimes comparisons are inherently some of the most poorly defined/define-able, mainly because it's not often clear what constitutes a hate crime (as opposed to a regular crime). California is one of, if not the, most ethnically/religiously diverse states in the Union, and most of this diversity is centered in low income, high crime urban areas. Naturally, many crimes will be committed against various races, by various races in these places, and so the conditions to charge individuals with hate crimes are much more favorable. Unfortunately, the statistics of 'hate crimes' are probably underreported, since many ethnicities refuse to report certain crimes to the police, and California isn't known for having the best police forces. I have no use for hate crime laws, as in my mind, a crime is a crime, and nobody commits a crime out of good tidings and cheer, but unfortunately our legislators don't see it that way.
Interestingly enough, I was surprised to find that California had as many lynchings as it did, though less then Texas and the other Southern States, it is surprisingly high. Though, besides climate, rural California is probably fairly similar to the rural South. In my 22 years in my town, I've seen at least one KKK rally at the courthouse, and several other displays of supremacy (be it racial, religion, etc.) Hell, up until a few months ago, at least once a week there'd be a sign hanging from a bridge over the highway saying (pardon my language) "God Hates ****."
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