jeremy borger [blog]

I can’t stand hate crime laws. I think they’re st…

I can’t stand hate crime laws. I think they’re stupid. If a guy goes out a beats a homosexual (or someone who’s black or has some other “minority” status) with a bat because he’s gay (or black or whatever) and then goes out and beats me with a bat just because he doesn’t like me, he will be penalized MORE for beating the gay/black/etc than he will for beating me. That’s just dumb. Beating someone with a bat is wrong and you should be punished for that. There shouldn’t be a stiffer (or lighter) penalty if the motivation was based on some “minority” status.

I also think that in the future, hate crime laws may be used to stop free speech. Christians are often declared to be intolerant because they take strong stands against certain lifestyles, actions or religions. We say “This is wrong” or “This is right” instead of that wishy-washy “Well, this is what’s true for me but I don’t want to tell you how to live” politically correct blah blah blah garbage.

There’s TONS of people who want to shut Christians up because of this. They can’t stand it that Christians are out there saying what’s right or wrong, especially when the wrong is their lifestyle or beliefs and they feel the finger is pointed directly at them. But it’s hard to shut someone up like that in a society built on free speech. So how could they get around it? By making the general public think that words, thoughts, or ideas and the expression of those could be dangerous and harmful. Hate crime laws are a step in this direction.

I’ve seen it in many publications already. It’s usually related to homosexuality or the Islamic religion. I remember reading a Newsweek article that said Pat Robertson should be held partially responsible for the September 11 attacks since it’s because of him, and people like him, that Muslims hate America. If only we were more tolerant, the logic went, the terrorists wouldn’t hate us so much. It’s totally screwed up logic, but I’m getting off track here…

On Monday, a janitor at a local church was beaten, supposedly because the pastor of the church called homosexuality a sin. The Plain Dealer covered the story in today’s paper. Check out this quote…

Buck Harris, a former host of a gay-themed radio talk show, said sermons such as [Pastor Paul] Endrei’s can fuel hate crimes.

“If they don’t preach tolerance, they are preaching violence,” Harris said.

Wow. If they don’t preach tolerance, or the acceptance of something they think is wrong, they’re preaching violence. What?!?! Keep in mind that in this situation, it was the PRO HOMOSEXUAL people that were committing the violence, NOT the “intolerant” people speaking against homosexuality!!! Again, most people who do claim to be tolerant tolerate everyone except those who are intolerant. Intolerance has become the ultimate sin in this post-modern society.

Scary stuff. And even if you don’t agree with my beliefs, if you’re a supporter of free speech and are against censorship, this type of thing should scare you about what the future may bring. You say something that another person doesn’t like and they can say it’s “hate speech” and that it my incite “violence” and perhaps one day you’ll be prosecuted for it.