Most of us by now have heard of the horrible act of four Chicago natives who kidnapped a special needs man, held him for 48 hours, beat him and cursed at him with racial slurs like "F*ck white people" and "F*ck Donald Trump."
To make matters worse, they live streamed the entire event on Facebook. The social network giant allowed it to be viewed by many people on its platform and let it stay on the site for far too long, before taking it down.
While the four alleged culprits of this crime were arrested by police, the Chicago PD was reluctant to call this disgusting and terrible act a hate crime.
When asked by a reporter why the suspects made anti-white and anti-Trump comments and whether that justifies investigating the horrifying incident as a hate crime, Chicago Police Department Commander Kevin Duffin said, “Kids make stupid decisions — I shouldn’t call them kids, they’re legally adults. But they’re young adults and they make stupid decisions.” (via Daily Caller)
Uh, what? Stupid decisions? We're far past stupid decisions, Commander Duffin. A stupid decision by kids is joy riding in their dad's car late at night. Or tipping a few cows after too many beers. Kidnapping a mentally challenged man, beating him, cutting his scalp, and cursing at him- because he's white- is not a "stupid decision."
The heinous act, made worse by it being easily viewable online, sparked a heated debate. While many people were quick to call this act a hate crime, there were some- most notably Black Lives Matter supporters- who were slow to acknowledge it.
But what is a hate crime? When should that term- and the penalties it brings- be used? Should hate crimes only be applicable when they concern people of color, certain religious groups, and homosexuals? Or should the same standards be used for all crimes motivated by hate?
Let's look at the actual laws, because that's what matters here. People can throw around their opinions, ideas, and biases, but what's written on the books takes precedent over all of that.
The most important and landmark law defining what we call hate crimes and discrimination is the Civil Rights Act of 1968, perhaps one of the most important pieces of legislation in modern times. It was a part of a series of laws passed during that era that aimed to end racial discrimination in our country. It allows the federal government to prosecute anyone who "willingly injures, intimidates or interferes with another person, or attempts to do so, by force because of the other person's race, color, religion or national origin."
By the most basic standards, what those four people did by kidnapping and beating that man was a hate crime.
But since 1968 we have passed more laws that strengthen hate crimes and give our government greater power in punishing such terrible acts. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 "requires the United States Sentencing Commission to increase the penalties for hate crimes committed on the basis of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or gender of any person." (via Wikipedia). Again the definition of what we call hate crimes is very clear. Violent crimes committed against a person because of their race or perceived race require strict penalties.
There are other federal laws that define and expand hate crime definitions, but they all go back to the fundamental definitions of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In America, there are very clear guidelines for what constitutes a hate crime. Anyone that willingly harms someone because of their race is guilty of breaking those laws.
It's plain to see why such strong laws have been passed in our country. Sadly, the United States has a history of discrimination against people of color, dating back to the time of slavery. Even in modern times, there have been cultural practices put into place to denigrate and oppress black Americans and other minorities. Since then we have made great strides in ending such behavior.
Racial violence still occurs in our country though, because there will always be evil people. While I believe such hate crimes are fewer in this day and age- and are perpetrated by individuals, not groups within our society as a whole- they still happen. When they do, those responsible need to be punished.
Yet racial activists, most notably people within Black Lives Matter, seem to think hate crime laws should only apply when the victims are people of color. When the roles are reversed, they seem to be unwilling to show the same condemnation of black people attacking white people.
Shaun King, noted Black Lives Matter supporter, wrote an article and tweeted out:
The simple reason why I won't be fighting for justice for the young man who was assaulted in Chicago. (via Twitter)
His excuse for not calling this a hate crime and taking a strong stance against it is that the people are already in custody. That because the police arrested them and are in the process of prosecuting them, he is not obligated to take a stand against hate crimes perpetrated against white people.
Justice is always swift and easy when black folk mess up... Black folk are held super-responsible for every mistake and criminal offense made. We rarely have to march for justice in our communities. American prisons are full of black folk who are being held responsible for every mistake they’ve ever made. (via NY Daily News)
So this terrible crime, which illustrates the ongoing animosity many black people have towards white, he uses to make black people out to be the victims. Four people brutally beat a white man and streamed it online, and he criticizes our justice system. His article is a naked attempt at subverting the real crime to promote his own racially-charged agenda.
Tariq Nasheed, another Black Lives Matter activist, had this to say on Instagram:
Targeting disabled people based on race and torturing them should be labeled as hate crimes EQUALLY. When one group is punished but the other group is allowed to walk free for the same crime, that is the epitome of systematic white supremacy.
He's referencing an event when two white high school students attacked and sexually assaulted a disabled black teammate. What he does not mention is that those students WERE charged for their crimes. The two students are facing life in prison, and the family of the victim has issued a $10 million lawsuit against the school for neglecting to stop this kind of behavior.
But Nasheed wants us to believe there was no justice for that victim, so we shouldn't care when it happens to white people.
Such is the hypocrisy of many modern "civil rights" activists. They care about equal justice for all Americans, but turn a blind eye when the same kind of violence happens to white people. They are so fixated on race that they have a warped bias against their neighbors and fellow Americans, simply because they aren't black.
Someone like myself could never reason with people like this- I automatically have no credibility with them because of my race. But here's what some black Americans are saying about the kidnapping.
Quinton Jackson, a self-proclaimed Democrat who voted for Trump, made his views about the hate crime very clear:
Where's Obama, Sharpton, Jackson, and Holder?? A disabled man was kidnapped and tortured for 48hrs by thugs for being white!! #BLMKidnapping (via Twitter)
Noted vloggers and personalities Diamond and Silk were not silent about the issue:
@FoxNews, We would like to know where is the DOJ, @TheRevAl, the Civil Rights Movement and @CornellWBrooks to do his Sit In. #HateCrime (via Twitter)
It's very plain to see that these four people kidnapped and assaulted the young man over his race. The fact that they were quickly arrested and are being prosecuted does not erase the fact that these kinds of attacks against white people happen in America. They are just as terrible and unacceptable as any attack on a black person, minority, or homosexual.
Thankfully our justice system has acknowledged this reality:
Chicago prosecutors filed hate crime and other felony charges Thursday against four people suspected of holding a special needs man captive and assaulting him in a racially charged attack broadcast live on Facebook. (via Breitbart)
Don't be surprised if you hear that liberal or racial activists come out to criticize this decision, or at least downplay its significance.
The resistance of Black Lives Matter activists to call this a hate crime is telling. Equality and civil rights are a two-way street. Every American deserves to be respected, validated, and protected. If one of us is suppressed, all of us are suppressed. That used to be what civil rights leaders believed. Today's black activists wear their bias against white Americans nakedly, almost as a badge of honor.
It will only serve to erode their influence in this country and lead to more hate crimes like the one in Chicago.
But perhaps that's what they want.
