Tolerating Intolerance

Hate crimes occur globally all the time; however, they often go unnoticed and unreported. Innocent people are harassed, bashed, and humiliated for their views on debatable issues. Verbal abuse, offensive signs, physical assault, property damage, and murder are a few of the countless ways that minority groups have been discriminated. Hurting another person because of a strong dislike for their race, religion, intelligence, disability, political affiliation, gender or sexual orientation should not be tolerated, and must be stopped; otherwise many innocent people will continue to suffer. For centuries African Americans and women have been the target for racial and gender hate crimes. More recently, the status of the sexual orientation and gender identity of a person has caught the eye of malicious malefactors as a new group of people to attack. Since their specific rights are not protected in the constitution, a hate crime legislation was created and is currently pending in Congress. This preventative measure will discourage debatable people groups from being targeted. If this intolerance is tolerated any longer by the government and the people, many diverse people groups will suffer. Before a person decides whether to support or reject the idea of ending hate crimes, it is beneficial to understand both sides of the issue. Making predetermined judgments shows immaturity and a lack of knowledge. Therefore, a person must put aside any misconceived feelings and open their mind to the stories and lives of the perpetrators and the victims.

Being raised in a conservative Christian environment, going to church was the traditional practice every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evenings. The doctrinal belief was practiced outside of the home as well as inside. Missionaries would often visit the church and share stories about people who were being persecuted for their beliefs. They often expressed the ill-treatment that many women received in foreign countries. Living in the busy suburbs of America had spoiled the perspective of the outside world because everything appeared normal. Low and behold, there was a completely different environment on the other side of the world. When a person is opened to this knowledge, they tend to make two choices. The first choice is to do something about it and change the world, and the second choice is to ignore the dilemma and continue living as if it never existed. These decisions apply in every situation that is question in the life of the conservative Christian. The average conservative Christian views the lifestyle of homosexuality as being corrupt and defiling. If this is taken on a religious level, hate crimes are acceptable. On the other hand, if religion is set aside, and the original reason for Christian beliefs comes back to life, crimes against gays and lesbians are unacceptable and cruel. This is where conservative Christian people should stand, but many choose to persecute as they are being persecuted. The pattern of hurt people hurting people is immature and unacceptable. A particular race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, intelligence or political affiliation should be enforced because that eliminated diversity. Our nation is a salad bowl of many different people, which makes our land of freedom unique and inviting. It is the responsibility of the people and the government to keep the integrity of America.

Everyone has their own opinions, and everyone has the choice to share their ideas or conceal them. Since abuse is not always physical, it is important to protect the emotional and mental areas of a person. People with disabilities often need more care than others. People without a disability often fall into the habit of taking life for granted. At any moment, the human body could react to something or get hurt, possibly causing a disability. Therefore, we must be considerate of all people, not judging the level of their abilities. Women, especially when they are disabled are extremely vulnerable to being taken advantage of by a man. Since men are the main participators in conducting crimes against women, the finger of blame is generally pointed at them. This is also a form of discrimination if the action is done without proof. There are many men that gather together to project the gender that birthed them. These admirable male figures in society respect their selves and others. Even though men bully other men who stick up for women, their selfless acts often cause them to question their own motives. Debatable issues can cause a vast sea of controversy and furry. A person may even be disregarded for their belief. Evidently, hearing the opinions others increases the understanding of who they are and what they belief. The revelation that is obtained by researching an area that a person is fired up about is priceless because it shows that their passion is backed up by discipline. Respect is a mutual thing; one often has to give respect in order to receive it in return.

Parks and Jones discuss how the disrespectful usage of the N-word is analyzed in crime cases with whites (1310). The tricky part about the calling an African American a nigger, is that the fellow members of their race and call them that with no problem, but if a white person goes around calling an African American a nigger, they are in deep trouble. Criminologists are particularly interested in the verbal harassment that different races receive because verbal attack is the first sign that often proceeds to a physical hate crime. On many campuses, people have dedicated their lives to look out for possible racial hate crimes to prevent another hate wave (Fleischer par. 2). African Americans have always been the target of attack particularly because of their dark skin color. Because the difference is quite noticeable, some people tend to let it bother them in a way that is unhealthy. Words are very important and should be used to encourage and build up other people instead of hurting them.

On a bright sunny day in June, James Von Brunn entered the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and opened fire on the innocent people inside. The exact intentions and feelings of James Von Brunn are not, but it has been presumed that his dislike for the government and religious hatred was the cause. Having a highly toxic hate towards a religious group makes it terribly difficult to do anything nice to them. Strong dislike breeds hatred, hatred breeds violence, and violence breed murder, which causes death. Jews are often stereotyped as being the group who controls government institutions along with other religious groups (Eckstrom par. 6). Even though religious hate crimes have decreased during the past few years, many people are hurt for their religious lifestyle and beliefs. Many religious people become martyrs for being murdered when they stand up for their belief until death. These silent teachers make religious groups stronger and more daring. Religious hate crimes are complicated because religions are diverse and the evildoers are confused. White supremacists like James Von Brunn have unjustly taken the lives of many religious people that deserved to live.

Punching a person in the nose is a crime, but doing because they have more advance mental abilities is an even greater crime. The reports of hate crimes are severely flawed because a very small amount of people share their experience (O'Neill par. 3). Every individual has a different level of intelligence; some people like Albert Einstein are bursting through the seams with bright ideas. Since intelligent people are often favored by the people in charge, others commonly become sickened with the act of favoritism and proceed to give the favored person a hard time. Even though people of intelligence rarely die from a hate crime, the emotional and mental abuse is equally as painful. After awhile, they completely ignore society and make an oath of solitude or lash back against the evildoers. If people are kind to one another, then hateful crimes will discontinue.

When a person is diagnosed with a having disability their life changes forever. Even if the disability existed before the diagnoses, the crippling label of “disabled” has been plastered on their chest and engraved in their mind. It is often difficult for an average person to understand the mental anguish of being considered a lesser human, unworthy, or dumb. When a disabled person is viewed in this light, they hold little value and are more susceptible for attack and misfortune. Families that contain a person with a disability are forced to make the choice of personally caring for them or hiring a trained profession for the job. Depending on how severe of a disability, some people are like vegetable or active children. Since the disabled are often completely dependent on others for survival, they can easily be taken advantage of. The caretakers and closest family and friends are more commonly the ones who commit crimes against the person with disabilities (McMahon 67). It is unjust for innocent people with disabilities to be hurt and suffer because they lack the abilities of the average person.

Politics are a relevant issue in our society today. The choices that political leaders make affect the lives of many people in our country, and all over the world. Since the governmental system requires s a person to affiliate with a political party, they become stereotyped with the leaders of that political party and the actions they make. This type of condemnation is terribly far from thoughtful. Even though a person many lean towards the right side, they may agree with many opinions and views of the left side. Some people swing back and forth. Judging a person for their political associations based upon other republicans or democrats is like stereotyping a person from India or Haiti based on what is mentioned in the news. Even though the media shares the events of the world, they still are looking to maintain their fans by feeding them with most thrilling stories. Therefore, the good elements of foreign countries are often set aside in the uninteresting pile. Likewise, a person must make the effort to conduct independent research about all political parties before choosing to condemn the political affiliation of a person.

Females have a history of being discriminated and devalued for their gender. Crimes against women have taken place across the globe. The issue of violence against women is very complex and not always a concern for the people who don’t experience the pain. Being born a female gives a person an increased vulnerability to experience violence from men (Gelber par. 30). Gendered violence toward women ranges from female infanticide, rape, genital mutilation to slavery. Pakistan particularly presents an increased situation where women suffer tolerated torture and death. Women are routinely murdered for walking outside their home, or talking to a male stranger. Their deaths are symbolically used to show the other women to obey their masters or suffer the consequences. Violence against women is a global problem. Australian women often experience gendered abuse, but their voices are often smothered and kept silent. Women play an important role in society, family, and history; therefore, they should be respected and protected by all men.

Gender and gender identity are two completely different elements of human sexuality. The gender of a person is the sex they are born, and the gender identity of a person is the sex they choose. Transsexual people are often the target of unfair treatment and persecution. After adopting the lifestyle of a woman at sixteen, Angie Zapata received harassment and rejection from fellow classmates. Angie Zapata was beaten to death at the age of eighteen by a man that discovered she was not born a woman after they met online and spent the night together (Reid par. 13). Hundreds of transsexual people have been murdered for their beliefs and gender identity. Being a transgender makes a person more likely to be murdered and not find employment. The perspective of the murderer seems to consistently view the transsexual as a thing, not a human. Hitler had a similar mindset when he was slaughtering the Jews and the Christians. Each individual person has the opportunity to accept a transgender as a real human, and not discriminate against gender identity.

Hate crimes against gays and lesbians have increased over the past few years. Since gay men are the most popular target for attack, the suffering that lesbian women experience is not often discussed. Being a woman that is a homosexual makes life tough because many people do not accept the lifestyle. Even though countless people have dedicated their lives to protecting lesbians and helping them gain rights, lesbians are still the victims of abuse and murder. The preventative laws will not stop the hatred toward lesbians. However, it may decrease the amount of persecution they endure for their beliefs. The punishment that the malefactors receive will be much more severe than before, which will hopefully cause other lesbians haters to think twice before they commit a crime. Violent crimes against lesbians are often perceived as being different than regular crimes because the crimes are based on prejudice, bias or hatred from the perpetrator (Gelber par. 10). Because these crimes have been justified, they are often ignored and not considered crimes at all. The tolerance of hate orientated behavior shows that a person agrees with the intolerance of others lifestyle and beliefs. Responding to hate crime situations are just as critical as experiencing them. The past few years have been challenging for lesbians because they have a greater fear of being hurt due to the increase in hate crimes.

Matthew Shepard was a gay man who lived in a peaceful town until he was brutally murdered for his sexual orientation. His body was beaten so badly that his skull was fractured and he was barely recognizable because he was covered in his own blood. Then he was tightly tied to a rugged wooden fence and left to die alone (Martin par. 6). The villains passionately hated gays and they wanted to prove a point by beating up Matthew. Innocent, kind-hearted, and wonderful people like Matthew are hurt all over the world because many people strongly dislike homosexuals. His parents were heartbroken with the loss of their beloved son. Even though they were tremendously angry with the two men that took the life of their son, they showed grace to them despite their suffering. These crimes are committed globally and the victims are generally chosen at random. Currently, there is a hate crime legislation pending in congress in honor of Matthew Shepard. This legislation will not end all hate crimes, but it will protect the rights of homosexuals and support their quest to a better future. Gay men are just like straight men, except they have sexual feelings toward men instead of women.

Therefore, it would be showing favoritism to treat heterosexuals better than homosexuals. Since all men are made equal, they should treat everyone equally. Prejudice, bias or hatred towards homosexuals should not be tolerated or accepted.
Hate crimes range from verbal harassment to torturous murder. The process of a hate crime begins with hateful thoughts toward a certain group of people, and then it grows to unkind words. Eventually, the cycle goes from verbal cruelty to committing terrible criminal acts. These acts of hate often leave innocent people dead. Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten to death for being gay. Angie Zapata was fiercely murdered for being a transsexual. Women are murdered for not obeying their masters. African Americans are devalued and considered less human. If a person does not fit into any of the categories, they generally know someone who does. Such crimes should not be committed against anyone or anything. Taking preventative measures to protect groups that express diversity will save the lives of countless people all over the globe. Expressing a strong dislike for the race, religion, intelligence, disability, political affiliation, gender or sexual orientation of a person should be taken into consideration before taking action. A person should not tolerate the intolerance that people have towards certain racial, religious, and belief groups. This form of hate and discrimination must be stopped before more innocent people continue to suffer hate crimes.

Works Cited
Eckstrom, Kevin "Toxic mix: Antifaith and antigovernment violence." Christian Century 126.14 (2009): 16. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Fleischer, Jeff "Hate Wave?." Black Issues in Higher Education 16.12 (1999): 14. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Gelber, Katherine "Hate Crimes: Public Policy Implications of the Inclusion of Gender." Australian Journal of Political Science 35.2 (2000): 275. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Martin, Michael "Remembering Matthew." Advocate 1017 (2008): 28-35. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

McMahon, Brian T., et al. "Hate Crimes and Disability in America." Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 47.2 (2004): 66-75. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

O'Neill, Terry "Hatred everywhere." Report / Newsmagazine (Alberta Edition) 28.6 (2001): 47. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Parks, Gregory S., and Shayne E. Jones "Nigger": A Critical Race Realist Analysis of The N-Word Within Hate Crimes Law." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 98.4 (2008): 1305-1352. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Reid, Harry "Hate crime legislation awaits Senate action." Contemporary Sexuality 43.7 (2009): 8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. McHenry County College Lib., Crystal Lake. 30 Nov. 2009 < http://search.ebscohost.com>.