I have been thinking about hate crimes. It seems to me that any crime has a certain amount of hate attached to it. No matter what the crime, there must be a certain amount of hate for the rules of society to even consider participating.
When a person or group targets another group, especially those who have received protected status, then the people who commit the crimes are charged with a hate crime. Our society can not be satisfied with charging people with assault or vandalism. No, we have to tack on “hate crime.” This is what happens when swastikas are painted on buildings, crosses are burned in front of homes, or Stars of David are knocked over in cemeteries. I believe that while these acts are despicable, we only call them hate crimes to appease a certain portion of the population.
Take cross burning. The only reason this is a crime, and a hate crime at that, is because white supremacist groups burn crosses to intimidate minorities. If those crosses were burned as a slap to Christianity, then no one would consider it a hate crime. Swastikas are associated with the Nazi party and anyone who displays one is labeled as anti-Semitic. Why are people ridiculed and labeled for wearing the symbol of a group to which they wish to be associated? A lot of people ran around with the X for Malcolm X, who was a violent person and they are free to do so. Let a person from the South who is proud of his heritage display the Confederate Flag (his X, if you will) and he is labeled a racist and possibly guilty of a hate crime.
Why is it that these displays are not protected as free speech? I know the obvious law breaking, such as vandalism and destruction of property do not count, but as I’ve stated, we already have laws against those things. The others are only exercising their right to free speech and should be left alone to do so. The United States and the liberal party, in particular, have decided that these actions are criminal and need big brother to police them up.
I would like to add another item to the hate crime list. Burning the American Flag. I feel that if people burn the American flag they are demonstrating hatred toward America and Americans and they should be arrested and charged with a hate crime. The precedent has been established by the government with regard to hate crimes and I know that burning a US flag fits in with the rest. No longer are we allowed to call this despicable display “Freedom of Expression.”
There are people out there who have opined that they wish to burn their flags in protest. They have often done so. I want them to ask how they would feel if the KKK decided that they wanted to burn a cross in the street as a symbol of protest? How would the flag burners feel if a person in their neighborhoods put up swastikas as a symbol of protest? How would it be received if people burned the Koran as a symbol of protest for what the radical Islamic terrorists did to our country?
We can not have it both ways so it is time to stop allowing some forms of expression and not others. From now on, when a person burns the American Flag he should be arrested and charged with a hate crime. I urge anyone who is bothered by flag burning to call the police and press charges against the burners who are participating in a hate crime. If that does not work, get a fire hose and douse the flag and the person holding it. Perhaps if you do it right you can bounce him off a few curbs with the water pressure. Be careful though. You will probably be charged with a hate crime.