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Dr. Carol Swain, author of several books on race relations in America wrote an article, Black on White Violence: Is there a racial double standard for hate crimes. She notes that there is a sense of unfairness and injustice that many White Americans feel when crimes against them, that seem to be racially motivated, are dismissed by law officials. More and more this argument is being made. I am curious what others think about this. Do you believe that there are racial double standards in regards to hate crime? And if there is, is it that there is an injustice against White Americans or Black Americans?
I don't believe that "hate crimes" should be labeled as such. Any violent act, or act of harassment, or killing, or whatever, is inherently hateful. There should not be a special category for such things, but if they really want to make people feel like something is being done, they could make the penalties for such things stiffer.
Point being that it shouldn't matter if it's black-on-white, white-on-black, black-on-Hispanic, straight-on-gay "hate." Crime is crime.
Point being that it shouldn't matter if it's black-on-white, white-on-black, black-on-Hispanic, straight-on-gay "hate." Crime is crime.
You raise a good point. It shouldn't matter. Nevertheless, the US is a very racialized nation. Anecdotally, we know that race plays a role in how people perceive violence. Thus, race matters. I am just wondering if race plays a differential role in shaping how we perceive (and discuss) hate crimes against Black Americans, and against White Americans. More to the point, is Swain correct when she asserts that White Americans are unfairly treated in such situations?
If you think there's a double standard about a hate crime based on race you need only to watch this case.
It has not come to trial yet. But it may be the first such case where it will be proven that race was the motivating factor for 4 "black" marines to brutally murder a "white" marine and his "black" wife.
I do believe that there is somewhat of a double standard. I think that if it happens to a white person, it is more easily written off as just violence rather than a hate crime. However, if it is a homosexual or another ethnicity other than white, it is almost automatically a hate crime.
No doubt that there is a double standard. If you follow black on white crimes you notice that it is rarely treated as a racist crime. But white on black crimes are always treated as racially motivated crimes and usually get national attention. The horrendous tortures and murder of several young whites by blacks in Witchta Kansas didn't even get national coverage even though is was as grusome a crime as you can imagine. If it would have been whites who did that to blacks it would have gotten daily national coverage until it was coming out of your ears. Thats just one example but there are many and black on white crimes are almost a daily experience now in this country. The black attacks on whites at the Wisconsin State Fair were not covered as racial attacks until weeks after the attacks happened and then because a few prominant people decided to speek up about it as being racial. Reverse it once and imagine if it was whites pulling blacks out of cars and beating them and pulling people of motorcycles at stop signs and beating them so bad that they ended up in the hospital how do you think the media would have reacted. It would have been national news of racist whites attacking peaceful blacks.
There is absolutely nothing to support this at all.
White victims of all kinds of crimes get far more publicity than black victims. There are shootings with black victims on an hourly basis in most major cities in the U.S. But when a white woman in Aruba goes missing, Nancy Grace clears out her schedule for 6 months.
More disturbing, sentencing and conviction statistics indicate that blacks are imprisoned for longer periods than whites for the same crime. It's an offense against truth and honesty to argue the opposite. Black defendants get inferior representation due to blacks typically coming from lower economic strata, and they are far more often put to death than are whites.
As for hate crimes, I'm of the opinion that they do serve a valid purpose in making a statement that we, as a society, have less tolerance for crime that is perpetrated over skin color and culture differences than for crime that is perpetrated for reasons that do not have this insidious import. That said, the standard of proof for determining whether something is a hate crime or not should be more difficult to achieve. It must be explicit.
So, does that mean the beating of Reginald Denny needs more, explicit proof or, is the standard for determining whether or not this was a hate crime easy to achieve in this particular case?
Let's keep it simple. It happens to all races and sometimes it is brutally apparent? The man that was dragged behind a truck in Texas needs no mor proof, the gay man killed in Wyoming needs no more proof. Say it like it is.
Ironically, whites are attacked routinely but, seldom, if ever, found receiving of hateful intent. Why is that? Crime, after all, is crime and that applies to white victims too you know. I just wish folks would clearly admit it and not push the spotlight away on the salient points no matter their outcome.
Last edited by TheViking85; 10-06-2011 at 07:36 AM..
Reason: Discuss the post, not poster.
Big deal. I hate criminals of any color, but this is nothing new. Blacks dealt and endured this for decades, at the hands of vigilantes, hate groups and even law enforcement. Now the shoe ends up on the other foot and t becomes such an injustice?? Sorry but it iust shows that like always, two wrongs never add up to right.
I don't believe that "hate crimes" should be labeled as such. Any violent act, or act of harassment, or killing, or whatever, is inherently hateful. There should not be a special category for such things, but if they really want to make people feel like something is being done, they could make the penalties for such things stiffer.
Point being that it shouldn't matter if it's black-on-white, white-on-black, black-on-Hispanic, straight-on-gay "hate." Crime is crime.
I agree with you that any violent act is inherently hateful, but when a crime is perpetrated simply because of the race of the victim would that not be a crime of racial hate? When a child is molested or a women is raped do we not make that place special emphasis on that crime and punish the offenders for life requiring them to notify law enforcement where they are residing, as well as registering as an offender? I am not saying I do not agree with the process, I am just mentioning other violent crimes that are placed in specific categories and giving specfic convictions and specifications for the perpetrator of those crimes. I believe the intent behind the crimes merits certain crimes to deserve specific labels that carry more severe punishments.
If you think there's a double standard about a hate crime based on race you need only to watch this case.
It has not come to trial yet. But it may be the first such case where it will be proven that race was the motivating factor for 4 "black" marines to brutally murder a "white" marine and his "black" wife.
I read the article you posted and found it horrific. I also believe it was racially motivated but against who? Could it be that these 4 "Black" marines were more enraged at the wife for marrying someone white or more angry that the slain "White" marine married a black women? You may ask what does it matter and in the scheme of this it does not. Murder is murder. But if we are to declare it as a racial hate crime, who specifically was the main target? The husband or the wife? I am trying to think of how the Defense will fight the charge of race as a motivator. Because of the violence of the crime they may say that the enlisted men may have had disagreements that had nothing to do with race and that the racial slurs left at the scene were just mindless gibberish from individuals who were out of control. When ever murders are very violent prosecutors often say that the murder was personal due to the violence of the crime. I only hope that the truth comes out in the trial and that all are punished to the max for their crime in the death of these two individuals. I will be following the trial and posting up-dates on my thoughts. Thank you for posting this article.
Last edited by memasgirl; 10-06-2011 at 08:36 PM..
Reason: spelling errors
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Racism hate crimes
