Hate This Crime
Straight to the point, the concept of “Hate Crimes” and punishing people for what the think or feel is an incredibly bad idea. Furthermore, I submit to you, these laws were not even created to punish the crimes of a few “haters”, rather to coerce all of us to withhold our true thoughts about anything that may not be in agreement with those in power. So…
1) We all hate! Every single human being has experienced hate. (Read this) We are all guilty of having hated someone. So, why are we ALL not in jail? Because, we did not take any physical action against the object of our hatred.
2) In our physical realm it is the physical act that should be recognized as the crime. Only that should be punished. Do I care if you hate me, if you don’t assault, murder, steal or otherwise harm my person or property? Uh, no! You are free to think whatever you want about me.
3) Freedom of thought and speech is paramount. We must be free to experience our realm and have honest responses to the stimuli we encounter. I believe it is important, at some point in our lives, that we all feel the intensity of hate. We need to understand it, feel it’s corrosive effects on us, and become wise enough to find more productive channels for these emotions.
3) Hate crime legislation is actually intended as a mechanism of CONTROL! Those in power want you to believe that you have freedom of thought and speech. In reality, they allow these rights only within the parameters they set. They can’t have you wandering “out of bounds”, uttering truths that don’t agree with their agenda. So, this type of utterance must be labeled as “hate speech”.
4) While I defend your ability to say whatever you want, you should adhere to saying things that you know to be true. When you knowingly say things that are untrue, that are detrimental to the lives of others, they should, and do, have legal recourse to hold you accountable. We’re looking for free, HONEST, expression.
5) The concept of Hate Crimes places us on a VERY Slippery Slope. The danger of sliding down this hill into an abyss of totalitarianism is immense. Who will be the select group of people who decide what constitutes “hate”? What if they hate you? Once hate crime laws are ingrained in a society they will be repeatedly adjusted (expanded) to the point where only the ruling elite can speak freely. Who wants to live in that world?