Hate Crimes

            A crime is defined as any act, which breaks the law. If the crime involves prejudice against a race, sex, religion, or any other group characteristic, it is classified as a hate crime. The question raised is why classify crimes has hate crimes? What are the difference between a robbery committed and a blue person robbing a purple person, due to the fact that the person was colored purple? The difference is noted in the psychological factor of the crime. According to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association or APA for short, hate crimes often leave intense feelings of vulnerability, anger, and depression. And often the victim tends to develop bias and stereotypes of his or her own towards the group who committed the hate crime. Once a crime victim experiences a crime, it becomes a part of their memory. Recovery is very important and the ability to move on with ones life as well. Crimes committed with prejudice against a certain characteristic (hate crimes) have a much longer recovery period than that of normal crimes (APA.ORG). The psychological damages that hate crimes inflict on society, have created a sense of terror with this genre of crime. Despite the fact that there is no difference in physical damage, emotional damage is much greater, as is the consequences in some states.
             As horrific as these crimes sound, one must think that madmen or extremists are only capable of committing these types of crimes. Groups such as the Black Panther party, the neo-, and ethic inner city sub-cultures come to mind (Levin). However, this is not the case according to the American Psychological Association. There statistics suggest that a majority of the hate crimes in the United States are committed by law abiding citizens who think that there actions are justified. A prime example of hate crimes is the World War II mass execution of Jews and other ethnic minorities.