Hate Crimes
In my article titled "Death & Life is in the Power of the Tongue", I wrote about the negative propaganda of the media and the baseless hatred against Palestinians. I wanted to expand this to include Muslims as a whole, and acknowledge the hate crimes of others. We have recently heard stories about Asians and Asian Americans being targeted and assaulted. This is true, as so many are of many different nationalities. I do not write today to discount any group, or any victim of any type of crime or hate. Hate crimes in general are on the rise as they have been for thousands of years. See my article titled "One Nation" for additional information.
To be perfectly clear we condemn any killing, harming, rape/molestation, or oppression of any man, woman, or child that transgresses the limits. We condemn all rape and molestation of any person.
When we think about hate crimes sometimes we only think about physical assaults or property damage. What we do not discuss much about is the intimidation that is so often used. No person, no man, woman, nor child should have to live in fear any where. This is especially true in a country that is suppose to be the land of the free. Yet every day people are threatened and intimidated. When people are intimidated they reasonable fear some sort of bodily harm, harm to their estate, or of a loved one.
Every year hate crimes rise, and it is no different with hate crimes and acts of intimidation against Muslims. This doesn't even count all of the cases that go unreported. We so often hear people complain about anti-Semitism, and our hearts goes out to any victim, but why so many double standards? Let's cry out about discrimination and hate towards any race of people and every religion. This goes back to Black Lives Matter. Yes, Black Lives Matter, and so does All Lives Matter. Saying Black Lives Matter does not mean that All Lives Don't Matter Except Black Lives. It means Black Lives Matter TOO! Saying Pro-Palestinian does not mean someone is Pro-Terrorism, it means they are Pro-Palestinian. Not every Muslim or Palestinian (Muslim, Christian, or any other faith) believes in maiming, killing, and raping.
In 2016 the largest reported hate crimes of all types against religious groups keeps growing. Lets not focus on one and ignore all the rest. In 2016 there were 684 anti-Jewish hate crimes reported, 62 hate crimes against Catholics, and 15 hate crimes against Protestants. These are just what has been reported and listed as a hate crime, and does not include the many cases that goes unreported. In a Pew Research Center Survey that was conducted in 2017, 75% of Muslims in America said there is "a lot" of discrimination against Muslims. This view is shared by 69% of adults in the general public.
We should always respect a person's First Amendment rights, but this right is not absolute. We should always support those who are victims, and we should always condemn true radicalism. We should not seek nor desire the demise or destruction of any country or its people. While we are giving each person just consideration and respect, keep in mind not to think in isolation. Hate crimes are not just against one group of people.
Take the time to research a topic before we speak or write about it. Take for example, the Department of Justice keep track of hate crime statistics. You can see these for yourself at https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics
Here we can see that hate crimes are broken down into 6 categories: Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry; Religion; Sexual Orientation; Gender Identity; Disability; and gender. The highest hate crime category is based on a person's Race, ethnicity, and/or ancestry at 59.1%. Then the next highest is Religion at 17.3% and Sexual orientation at 17.2%; Gender Identity 4%, Disability 1.5%; and gender 0.9% (Single-bias incidents in 20222).
Looking at the DOJ's pie chart we can see that of the 10,299 known offenders who perpetrated a hate crime 51.0% were white, 21.0% were Black of African American, 17.4% race was unknown. Of the 7, 671 known offenders for whom ethnicity was reported as the basis of the hate crime (the offender) 48.9% were not Hispanic or Latino, 29.7% their ethnicity was unknown, 12.8% were Hispanic or Latino, and 8.6% were in a group of multiple ethnicities. Of these, 80.6% were 18 years of age or older.
What we see by the statistics is that over half of all hate crimes are perpetrated by a white person against another for being different or having different views then themselves. This does not mean that white people are to blame for hate crimes, because hate crimes are perpetrated by a wide variety of people. It also does not mean that all white people are full of hate. We should avoid categorizing a group of people based on what a select others may do, even if that is a large group. We need to be accountable for our own actions, and hold only those accountable for what they personally do. We must avoid transgressing the limits.