Have you ever thought about getting beat up or even killed because of something you can't help like your sexuality, race, religion, or gender? Many people in the world are getting injured or killed everyday. About one person every two hours of everyday gets attacked or killed because of who or what they are. How do hate crimes play a big role in society today? Well hate crimes affect the way people live in a very big way. Hate crimes can destroy people, families, and even towns because of their effects.
What is a hate crime? How many people in the world can define a hate crime? Hate crimes are terrible attacks that a person or persons do to others. Many people think that a hate crime is just a fight or a robbery, but it's more than that. The legal definition from congress is "A crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation". One example of a hate crimes happened in Jasper, Texas on September 15, 1999. Willie Jarrett, who was black, was walking to a local bar. Jarrett and two other white men began to talk and drink alcohol. Later that night the two men began beating Jarrett till he couldn't move. One of the two men took their car and ran over Jarrett about four times. Willie Jarrett survived. The men were accused with four crimes including assault with intent to commit murder. Another example happened on October 6, 1998. Two men robbed and beat Matthew Shepard, a gay man. After the attack the men tied Matthew up and left. Two days later he was found dead. Also, there have been numerous occurrences of attack on Asian Americans. One example is John Lee. One moment he was meeting his friends at the steps of his dorm room, and the next he was lying in a hospital bed.