HATE CRIMES Running rampant through our society and the world as a whole are the vestiges of fear known collectively as "Hate Crimes". It is easy, at times, to look away from these events and assume the protective stance that "It can't happen to me because I'm not black, red or yellow, and I'm not Jewish or Hindu or Catholic, nor am I gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual." Well, wake up and smell the organic fertilize. It can happen to you. It can happen to someone you love or a total stranger. Hate crimes, as a whole, are perpetrated upon those who someone or some group perceives as being different and/or a threat. How ironic that the one thing that binds us most tightly, our individual uniqueness, can so quickly become the thing that separates us. The one thing that all humans share is that we are all different. No matter how well an individual meshes into his/her society, there is always a special something that makes him/her an individual. And, it is that individuality which leaves each and every one of us posing as a potential victim of "Hate Crimes".
Don't wait for your turn to be a victim. Take some time and look at what is happening in the arena of "Hate Crimes" and when you read any of the words which refer to people of different color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, etc.., try replacing them with words that might describe some aspect of yourself, like: "blue-eyed", "country", "single", "married", "blonde", "red-head", "quiet", etc. History holds many examples of where groups of people bind together through some perceived sense of one-ness, only to fragment apart and turn up each other when differences are pointed out.
The links here will not provide definitive solutions to the problems which perpetuate 'hate crimes'. I do hope that it will yield 'food for thought'. You never know when YOU may be the victim. We all share the vulnerability and the responsibility.
- UCDAVIS Department of Sociology Hate Crimes Resource Node
- Hate Crime Premise
- Hate Crime Initiatives
- Hate Crimes In America
- Hate Crime Reports- 1995
- REDSKIN; A 500 YEAR OLD HATE CRIME
- Hate Crimes- State by State
- Transgendered Youth at Risk for Exploitation, HIV, Hate Crimes
- Hate Crimes, Hate Material, and Hate Groups
- Hate Crimes Research Network
- The Center for Democratic Renewal
- North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence
- Matthew Shepard Remembered
- Visible and Proud Webring
- Current Crime News
- Civil Rights - Collected Articles [About.com]
- Stormfront White Nationalist - White Pride Resource
- Crime ... and non-punishment
- Center on Hate and Extremism
LINKS TO SPECIAL TOPICS
SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND/OR QUESTIONS
Copyright: Maredcam Research Associates
Last Modified: 15 January 2000