7th Letter to the Editor in Sunday Challenger
This week the Sunday Challenger published my letter on race relations in response to this article from last week.
Some idiots burned a cross in front of a black family's house in Burlington. I think anyone will admit that they've had racist thoughts and may have even acted like a racist either voluntarily or involuntarily; we should feel ashamed and correct ourselves. But to take the time to build a cross, soak it in gasoline, plant it in someone's yard and burn it is just incredible to me. Where does that hate and stupidity come from.
One item I will disagree with is the new phenomenon of "hate crimes." For one, they are persecuted unfairly. I would like to see a black guy in prison for a hate crime against a white guy, but we know that's not going to happen. Mostly, what I dislike about hate crimes is that the crime is based on the motive and not the act. These cross burning idiots broke a couple of laws starting with trespassing. Get them for that. Send them to a nice prison and let all the black guys know what they did.
Think about hate crimes this way: Imagine a woman has been raped and the county prosecutor has to decide on much to go after the guy, but first Mr. Prosecutor wants to know why the rapist did it. Hate crime theory says let's punish the guy who was just being a controlling, raping SOB more than the guy who just had issues with his mother and just wanted to feel close to someone. It doesn't matter! The woman was raped and the guy should be put away. Same for hate crimes. If I burn a sign on my neighbor's yard in the middle of the night that says "move out", I should be punished just as much as the cross burners.
Stay You
Some idiots burned a cross in front of a black family's house in Burlington. I think anyone will admit that they've had racist thoughts and may have even acted like a racist either voluntarily or involuntarily; we should feel ashamed and correct ourselves. But to take the time to build a cross, soak it in gasoline, plant it in someone's yard and burn it is just incredible to me. Where does that hate and stupidity come from.
One item I will disagree with is the new phenomenon of "hate crimes." For one, they are persecuted unfairly. I would like to see a black guy in prison for a hate crime against a white guy, but we know that's not going to happen. Mostly, what I dislike about hate crimes is that the crime is based on the motive and not the act. These cross burning idiots broke a couple of laws starting with trespassing. Get them for that. Send them to a nice prison and let all the black guys know what they did.
Think about hate crimes this way: Imagine a woman has been raped and the county prosecutor has to decide on much to go after the guy, but first Mr. Prosecutor wants to know why the rapist did it. Hate crime theory says let's punish the guy who was just being a controlling, raping SOB more than the guy who just had issues with his mother and just wanted to feel close to someone. It doesn't matter! The woman was raped and the guy should be put away. Same for hate crimes. If I burn a sign on my neighbor's yard in the middle of the night that says "move out", I should be punished just as much as the cross burners.
Stay You
posted by Howard McEwen, CFA at Sunday, August 29, 2004
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