Thread: Student jailed for offensive comments on Twitter

Originally Posted by Taosaur

I did use a lighter tone in response to an argument I find silly: that hate crimes somehow normalize or excuse non-hate crimes. Another argument I find silly is, "It doesn't do everything, so we should do nothing." Obviously, hate crime laws--or "protected class" laws in general--don't solve institutional bias against the classes they protect. What they do is counter it to some extent, which is more than you accomplish by telling judges and juries, "Don't exercise the bias that you won't acknowledge you have."

Why don't we just prosecute the crimes and ignore race? When we can do that consistently, hate crime laws will cease to be invoked even if they stay on the books. If you want to make the case the hate crimes are being invoked inappropriately, go ahead, but in general prosecutors are as lazy as anyone; they'll make the charges they think will stick, and leave out whatever will be a pain in the ass to prove, even if they think it applies.

People in the dominant / normative culture who resent these laws are the reason these laws need to exist. White privilege is a thing. It's a pervasive and powerful thing. If some white people suck hard enough to cancel it out, that's not Al Sharpton's fault. As I said before, a lot of people have a vested interest in ignoring white privilege, and only acknowledge racism that involves someone shouting epithets.

Who said hate crimes excuse or normalize non-hate crimes?

I am not arguing that those laws don't do everything and therefore do nothing. I am arguing that they have a reverse effect. The laws we are discussing seem racist to lots of people, including prosecutors and judges. Not just a few of them. Throwing in the hate crime element will makes them tend to care less about the overall cases, which makes them more likely to not take the real crime involved seriously. I am not saying hate crime laws "normalize or excuse" other crimes. I am saying they exacerbate racism and induce apathy. We do need to take measures to make sure cases are prosecuted fairly, but throwing in an added thought crime element is both unjust and counterproductive.

Also, you keep talking about white racism exclusively. It is not the only type of racism. Jackson, Mississippi is 70% black, and black against white racism and discrimination are very prevalent, as are other types. The movies about my city and state are all about white racism against blacks, but I assure that in 2012 it is not the only type of racism that exists here. We have black cops, prosecutors, judges, and a mayor who despise white people, and they have a sense of power in a racial majority. (Note: Not all of the black officials I mentioned are racist. Most are not. Racist whites still have many positions of power here too.) So the problems you have brought up are not exclusive to white against black. So, do you think hate crime laws should apply to all people equally, or just to people of certain racial divisions?

Did you see the South Park video I posted?