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"Hate crimes" in some countries also comprise expression of hate. Hate crimes can be a useful designation for research and social intervention, but prosecuting
by homonculus1 7y ago
"Hate crimes" in some countries also comprise expression of hate. Hate crimes can be a useful designation for research and social intervention, but prosecuting them more harshly is literally policing thought as a secondary offense and makes the population malleable to further authoritarianism. It's a bailey type of argument because criticizing it means you must be sympathetic to racists.
- paulmd 7y agoWe punish "thought as a secondary offense" all the time. eg: involuntary manslaughter vs voluntary manslaughter vs third degree murder vs second degree murder vs first degree murder. Or more pointedly - terrorism is a different charge from murder, the difference being the "thought as a secondary offense" of intending to cause a political effect with your act of murder. Hate crimes are analogous to terrorism. They are an offense not just against an individual, but an entire class of individuals. They are intended to send a message (even if it's as simple as "I don't think you should be present in my society") and cause fear and intimidation. And as such it's perfectly fine to punish that differently from plain old "killed you for the paper in your wallet". Why do you feel it necessary to bring up how much you hate crime laws in a thread about CRISPR?
- paulmd 7y agoflagged for politics no reason to post about hate crimes on a thread about crispr