Category: Hate

A growing issue among the internet is the amount of hate. A person can barely scroll through Instagram without seeing an insult hurled at a person because of their outfit or what they had said. They design these comments to tear a person down and kill their self-esteem. That is only the tip of the iceberg. The deeper you go the filthier it gets. Racial insults, sexism, and school shooting jokes are some common topics that a person can come across just wandering around. Online hate is growing but we cannot blame the platforms used. It’s the people, not the websites or whatever megaphone they use. If we take down one megaphone, they will just use another. Muting them doesn’t make it go away.

Online hate has been around for a while but we now have a newfound focus on it. Hate has taken many forms. Mostly just kept to one person or a small group of people. But now a person can share their opinion, good or bad, to the entire world. These hate groups have been around for a while. For instance, there is a neo-nazi facebook page that’s a few years old. These websites often mute or delete these kinds of accounts. An infamous website, 8chan, has no filter programs on its site. So anyone can post anything at any time. The idea is good, people can post want they want free of any filters. Then people had to ruin it all “After yet another mass shooting the founder of 8chan the go-to resource for violent extremists” (The WEEK Para. 1) The man responsible for the El Paso shooting use 8chan to spread his sickening ideology. In response, the founder of 8chan asked for the website to be shut down.

Why are people drawn to these kinds of websites? Websites like 8chan offer something most other websites don’t, anonymity. Someone can create an account and not have to share any personal information. Then they can do whatever they please with no worry of being discovered. These people then create little groups where they can talk about whatever they please. Most of these people don’t want to do the horrible acts they talk about and post about. It is merely a ploy for attention. A very sick ploy. But these people so desperate for attention have to sink this low only to get a few laughs. A select few people, unfortunately, aren’t joking. And we can never tell the difference between the few.

Some people’s answer to this online hate issue is to change laws so that people can be held liable for what they say online. This could have massive collateral damage. If the laws get changed, so it is possible then a person could sue you for your facebook post. For example, if you post something about supporting children getting their immunizations and one person gets rubbed the wrong way. Then that same person could file for a lawsuit against you. At its base, it violates the person’s rights. You can already sue someone for a false defamatory statement online “After posting just one sentence about a former co-worker on Facebook — a post that didn’t even mention the woman by name — a North Carolina woman has to pay $500,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit.” (Good housekeeping). If they change the law a person could sue you for a statement, even if it is not slanderous. That person could sue because they don’t like your opinion.

What can we do about the post about attacking people or groups? Police already monitor these sites heavily, but the amount of data is staggering. It is nearly impossible for law enforcement to watch ever website at all times. And the police can never know if the statements people make are true or just fictitious. Time is always an issue with these cases too. Even if the police have enough evidence to get a warrant, the person could have already committed those horrible acts by the time a judge rules a warrant. But every once in a while if the stars align the police can successfully use the internet to stop a crime.

If the owner shuts down the site is this the best choice? If they shut the site down then those people will only move to another. And to get rid of hate is impossible. Humans will always want to destroy each other. There should be added filters to this site, some people don’t need to be heard. The owner recognizes that shutting it down won’t end it “Shutting it down, having these chan sites pushed underground, it wouldn’t totally stop these kinds of things from happening” (New York Times). But muting hate won’t ever make it go away.

In America, hate has become a prevalent force in our culture. Every day, you hear about shootings, hate crimes, and other heinous acts that destruct our society and nation as a whole. Why is this such an issue, and why is it more prevalent than ever? In 2018, statistics showed that 80% of our country was “’mainly’ or ‘totally’ divided” (Chinni & Bronston, 2018). While is flooding our street like an open sewer, our country has always been somewhat divided, and it all goes back to ideologies.

Dating back to 1796 when the first political parties were formed, division was also formed (ushistory.org, 2019). Anti-Federalists ad Federalists were in much opposition in how the country should be run, and they believed that the easiest way to solve it was creating two separate “factions” (Naegeli, 2018). These parties would give rise to the two parties we have today- Democrats and Republicans (Naegeli, 2019). Not everyone believed in the idea of political parties; George Washington warned against the issues that could arise by forming political parties (Pruitt, 2018). George Washington stated in his farewell address: “The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.” (Pruitt, 2018). Even today, we see that this is a prevalent issue, but instead of the issue being just how involved our government should be it is now ideologies that split us apart. Next, the prevalent issue splitting America was segregation. We were no longer just opposing party but also in ideology. The North and South were in total opposition, and the driving forces that were at the forefront were states’ rights and slavery (Pierce, 2018). I am a firm believer that if you aren’t spreading love you are spreading hate, and the direct split between the North and South did nothing just that. With divide and cause friction between them. With division comes friction, and with friction comes strife. The Civil War was one of the costliest and deadliest wars fought on American Soil (ushistory.com Editors, 2009). Lastly, in today’s society, hate is rampant in our world. Family is turned on family because of political stance, and religion is something that shouldn’t be spoken of in public. Why is this? I believe one reason is that we are fed the lie that because someone doesn’t agree with you, they hate you. Many times we are fed this idea by media and social networking apps. In social media, we tend to see ads that pertain to us and what we talk about and say. Most of the time it is either going to be far-left or far-right news articles when it comes to political ads. This causes people to see the most radical sides of both sides when many democrats and republicans do not think or act to that extreme. The same goes for the news. Many times, news channels can be extremely biased by only showing you what they want us to see- the great side of their party and the worst of the opposing.

To solve this issue, I believe we must truly become unbiased and have an open mind to how and why the “other side” thinks and acts. We shouldn’t hate the other side for not thinking like us, but instead, appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of who we are as American people. Our country is a country of immigrants, and we should celebrate that fact. We should have an open ear to what others have to say and respect each other and their opinions. We should let love prevail and choose to spread it to everyone we come in contact with.

From the beginning of time, there were only two emotions that can be definitively described and portrayed with accuracy: love and hate. Love is what makes who we are it is at the source of our being and it is what keeps us alive. Hate, on the other hand, is all-consuming. It takes until there is nothing left but ignorance and greed for things that will not profit the individual. Love counteracts hate through forgiveness, compassion and most importantly continuing to love.

When someone is wronged the first response is to retaliate and make that person feel as you have felt or sometimes maybe even worse than you felt because of the pain they have caused you. To deal with such an ordeal it requires divine strength some may say. However, what of the multitude that is not spiritual and can forgive. It is innate in us to want to make peace; to overlook that part of yourself is to lose shards of who you are to other persons because of their ill-treatment and vice.

To come to a place of understanding, one must search the recesses of one’s heart and soul to produce antidote so powerful it heals you of such hurt. The hard part is that you must take that first step towards acceptance and loss of whatever is taking away the purpose of one’s life. It is difficult for someone to forgive another who hurts them so terribly that one may question his very existence for answers. To be diffident and must reprieve someone who is so lurid with their attempts damage you. It takes more than compassion; it takes strength to stand up for one’s self when no one else thinks that you have a chance at survival.

Au contraire, hate consumes its vessel till it has nothing left. Hate does not forgive because to forgive one must harbour a love for something other than selfish gains. To hate something, you need to be greedy for the downfall and happiness for your satisfaction. Furthermore, even if these are achieved it will never be enough resulting in a bottomless pit of the misery of always wanting to do their victims more wrong. Hate blinds them and they forget how to love and be normal. Therefore, everyone’s bane is himself because you are the only one who can control your actions. Actions of abhorrence illustrate a weakness in one’s character and sense of self.

Compassion for persons who love is not always easy, but it is attainable. To have compassion means to give someone a second chance regardless of the probability of being hurt again. Strength comes from giving persons a reprieve. To make a life worthwhile one must love wholeheartedly so that they can absolve themself and others from suffering. Hate cannot fix or heal the problem; it only deepens the wounds inflicted on the individuals involved.

Moving on for anyone is hard. Not overlooking the past wrongs will inhibit us from becoming better people and overall cause us to fester hatred and resentment in our hearts for various reasons. Hence, making the conscious decision to love makes it perspicuous to remedy your psyche. Hate perplexes the heart and causes never-ending heartache.

In conclusion, love covers for the faults of others and ensure that those faults do not corrupt who you are. In contrast, to loathe is a menace of the heart that will not cure. It will cost you many relationships and one may never experience the serenity of closure. Therefore, it is imperative to note that love is the cure for all ailments.

Understanding why people commit hate crime and why victims do not report to the police has received a considerable amount of attention from researchers. A number of theories have been discussed and for this research three areas, that are believed to be relevant to hate crime against the Indian community, will be further examined.

Labelling Theory

The strengths of the labelling theory encourages people to see criminal activity as a process rather than a static event. These result from actions, reactions and interactions between human beings. Labelling theory has been used to account for deviant identities (Becker, 1963). McIntosh (1968) and Goffman (1963) have argued that attributes associated with minorities, such as Jews, gays or blacks motivate their exclusion from conventional society. This could make them vulnerable to acts of oppression, whether deliberate or non-deliberate.

While labelling theory addresses the issue to power it only does so from a pluralist perspective. It implies that ‘society is composed of a variety of interest groups or segments, and that power is spread among a number of groups or segments’ (Lynch and Groves, 1989). Therefore failing to address the impact had on ‘constructed hierarchies of race, class and gender’. These components are crucial to understanding hate crime.

When discussing labelling McDevitt, Levin and Bennett (2002) identify four categories of offenders – thrill seeker, defensive, retaliatory and mission. McDevitt et al. (2002) found most hate crime was motivated by the ‘thrill’ of offending. Groups formed of young men, with one or two ringleaders, who search and target those different to them to verbally / physically abuse. Defensive perpetrators are motivated by perceived threat to their territory which they must defend. Gadd et al (2005) state many perpetrators see certain groups as ‘invading’ areas where they compete for employment, house and social benefits. Increase in immigration to the UK is viewed by some as reducing resources for others (Chakraborti et al, 2014). Retaliatory perpetrators are seen as those who commit hate crime due to them feeling under attack by an ‘outgroup’ (Hanes and Machin, 2014). National and international events, such as 9/11, 7/7 and Christchurch have sparked violent reactions by retaliatory perpetrators who feel they are coming under threat (Feldman and Littler, 2014). Mission offenders make it a purpose in life to target certain groups. These perpetrators will often be members of organised groups and carry out protests and attack certain groups. Examples would be EDL or Britain First who often target those who were not born in the UK.

This theory is relevant when discussing two high profile incidents involving Indians. In 2011 Anuj Bidve, an Indian student, was shot in the head at point-blank range by a male, who appeared at Manchester City Magistrates Court and gave his name as Kiaran ‘Psycho’ Stapleton (BBC, 2012). In 2018 an Indian-origin family of four in the UK had a lucky escape when their house was targeted in an ‘unprovoked’ arson attack which the police is treating as a hate crime. Mayur Karlekar, his wife Ritu and two young children were asleep in their home in London and were woken by a huge blaze outside their home. This blaze was believed to have started by youths who were carrying out this hennas act as a dare.

Subcultural theory

Subcultures are seen as values and norms different from the majority. These subcultures may include, Goths, hippies, bikers and even those who are fans of grime or heavy metal (What Is Subculture? – Theories, Definition & Examples, 2015). Becker (1963) goes on to explain that subcultures are labelled as outsiders by society and not only the result of alternate action strategies.

GMP were first to add a subculture as a category of hate crime (GMP, 2013). This allows for alternative communities, who are not part of the five nationally agreed hate crime categories, to confidentially report concerns to police. Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend were attacked by a gang of youths in August 2007. The trial heard that the gang turned on the couple because they were goths or ‘moshers’ and dressed differently to them. Although there are 45 Police Forces within the UK only 11 have subculture as a monitored strand of hate crime (Gov.UK, 2020).

Subculture theory is relevant to the research as Indians fall with different categories based on their faiths and beliefs. Examples would be Sikhs who wear turbans or some who wear Bindi’s to identify themselves from a different faith to another fellow Indian. Both may be of Indian background but their subculture is different.

Othering

“Othering” refers to the process where individuals or groups of people ascribe negative characteristics to others (Rohleder, 2014). Othering is seen by some as not being about liking or disliking someone. They believe that certain identified groups pose threats to the majority but this negativity is driven by politicians and media opposed to them actually having contact with the group (Powell, 2017). Othering excludes people who are not part of the norm and means to exclude them from social groups for being the ‘other’. Examples include Nigel Farage who described migrants as an invasion and posed a threat to the UK. Although Indian communities were targeted this was not reflected on police reports.

The hypothesis for this research suggests that hate crime in recent years has increased dramatically. However, hate crime against the Indian community still remains underreported. It is believed that the Indian community has a poor relationship with the police and there are barriers to reporting hate crime. This could be language or lack of understanding on how to report an incident. There could also be a lack of understanding on what a hate crime is and victims have established abuse as the ‘norm’ and have heightened sensitivity to hate crime.

There are two main factors associated with the heightened risk of hate-related crime: psychological and physiological aspects of individuals low self- control (Nasi et al., 2016). Hate crime is not a crime that is directed towards an individual but an entire community (Fashola, 2018). It is important to understand that the impact of the hate-related crimes is devastating, as hate crimes are “message crimes in that the perpetrator is sending a message to the members of a certain group that they are despised, devalued, or unwelcome in a particular neighbourhood, community, school, or workplace” (American Psychological Association 1998 in Fashola, 2018). After identifying the risk factors for hate-related criminal behavior, it would be possible to implement intervention techniques targeted on those risk factors that would lead to the reduction of hate crime. The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on how psychological aspects of low self- control, such as emotional disposition of individuals, perceptions of pleasure and shame and thrill seeking, as well as physiological aspect of greater physical arousal toward danger and risk-taking, rather than towards the possibility of the punishment are the mere factors related to the increased risk of hate crime (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

Literature Review

One theory that prompted research on how individuals’ low self-control increases the risk of hate-crime was Hirshi’s & Gottfredson’s Low Self- Control Theory, often referred to as the General Theory of Crime (Hirshi & Gottfredsson, 1990). The main assumption of this theory is that people can take a degree of control and within central limitations control themselves, however low self-control may implicate a series of personality traits and behavior such as: impulsivity, risk- taking and inability to delay gratification (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 360). This can lead to the heightened risk of hate-related crimes.

Emotional disposition can be a crucial factor of the individuals’ low self-control (2018, pp. 361). Study on reconceptualization of Hirshi’s self- control concerning drunk driving and shoplifting showed that the individuals with low self-control had lower levels of anticipated shame but considerably higher levels of perceived pleasure in committing both (Bouffard et al., 2015). This confirms that individuals with low self-control will be oriented towards gratification and taking advantage of accessible resources, while avoiding negative emotional reactions such as shame (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 360). Researchers also found that there is overrepresentation of a particular personality trait that certain hate crime perpetrators possess, which is predisposition to prejudice towards minority groups (Dion, 1990).

Boston case study on typology of hate crime offenders, revealed that “the most common type of a hate crime was committed for the thrill or excitement” (McDewitt et al., 2002). In the research on antigay behavior among young adults, Franklin (2000) reported that most adolescent thrill seekers, appeared to be powerless and socially alienated. This, according to the case study on group threat in hate-motivated assaults confirms that hate crimes can result from the perpetrators need to have the power and control over their victims (Levin & Reichelmann, 2015). Byers et al (1999) also reported that thrill seeking appeared to be the key motivation for the hate crime offenders. The extensive body of work on psychological aspects of low self-control demonstrates that individuals differ in their attitudes towards hate-related crimes and that the rewards of risky acts, such as hate crimes may outweigh the potential consequences for the thrill seekers (Burt & Simons, 2013). This can decrease the feelings of shame and the long term consequences of such acts for the offenders (2013). Studies confirms that psychological aspects of low self- control such as emotional disposition, attitudes towards pleasure and shame and thrill seeking are the main factors associated with the heightened risk of engaging in hate crime (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

Research has shown that low self- control can also be tied to physiological factors which can increase the risk of engaging in hate- related behavior (2018, pp. 361). Chronic offenders are confirmed to show greater physical arousal toward risk- taking and criminal behavior and lower towards the likelihood of punishment (Raine, 1993 in Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361). In contrast, those who exhibit low physiological arousal express lower level of fear, shame and have difficulty distinguishing between their behaviour and its consequences (Vaske, 2017). Continuous offenders have lower resting heart rates and are constantly under aroused, which motivates them to participate in activities that stimulate their arousal level to a more optimal one ( Eysenck, 1997 in Wilson & Scarpa, 2012). Study conducted by Coren (1999) on how the arousal predisposition predicts antisocial and criminal behavior showed negative linear correlation and confirmed that individuals with lower arousal predisposition appeared to be more likely to be involved in criminal activities. Moreover, those who engage in hate-related criminal behavior are encouraged by the physiological mechanisms that reward their activities by releasing chemicals in the brain that are responsible for the feeling of pleasure (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

As can be seen, individuals with low self-control appear to derive psychological and physiological pleasure from engaging in hate-related criminal behavior, while at the same time being less likely to be constrained by internal emotional factors such as guilt and shame (2018, pp. 361).

Conclusion

In order to explain hate- related criminal behavior a review of empirical findings and relevant theoretical assumptions is necessary. A large body of presented literature confirms that psychological as well as physiological aspects of individual’s low self- control are the main factors associated with the increased risk of hate crime (Nasi et al., 2016). Individuals’ emotional disposition of low self- control is related both to the increased perception of pleasure from risk taking and lower concern for negative emotional reactions of guilt and shame (Bouffard et al., 2015). Thrill seeking and the need for power and control over the victims appears to be the key motivation for the hate crime (Byers et al, 1999). Those who engage in hate crimes appear to derive physiological pleasures from the risk-taking behaviors

In today’s society, hate groups and hate crimes are growing rapidly. Hate groups are organizations of individuals whose “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics” (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). These characteristics include race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ethnicity. Hate groups can also cause hate crimes towards individuals. Hate crime is a violent act motivated by prejudice towards a particular group of people. People who experience hate crimes are mostly insulted because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Hate crime groups have been around for decades. Many of these hate group organizations included the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, white nationalist, black separatist, and neo-Confederate. These groups caused violent acts towards people of a particular group that brought up the death toll. For example, the Ku Klux Klan was an American white supremacist group that mainly targeted African-Americans. They assaulted and murdered African-Americans by lynching. Another popular hate crime group in history was the neo-Nazi. The neo-Nazi practiced many of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s hatred towards the Jews. They believed that Jews were an inferior race and a threat to the German community. Hate crimes Hate groups and hate crimes affect many people in society such as minorities, the LGBT community, and.

Hate groups are formed everywhere today and hate crime is occurring everywhere. “Each year, across America, an average of 250,000 people are victimized by hate crimes” (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). Almost every hate crime case involves violence and in some cases, the offender has a weapon. According to The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), there were 7,120 hate crimes incidents involving 8,496 offenses. However, this only includes agencies that submitted incident reports. Many hate crime incidents are left unnoticed because victims are reluctant to report them to police. Minorities such as Latinos don’t report hate crimes because of the threat of deportation (Center for Public Integrity, 2019). Minorities experience hate crime daily because they are mostly immigrants, they are fearful of reporting such incidents to law enforcement because they feel like nothing can be done and it will cost them their status of being in America. Another group of people that are hesitant of reporting hate crimes is the LGBT people who experience this on a daily basis because of their sexual orientation. LGBT people cases are “left unspoken because of a chronic distrust between the community and the police”(Center for Public Integrity, 2019). Their cases usually aren’t prosecuted as hate crimes when they are reported.

According to FBI: UCR 48.6 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offender’ anti–Black or African American bias. On June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina there was a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This was a hate crime church shooting. The perpetrator, Dylan Roof is a white supremacy/nationalism that hates black people. He believed that black people are animals and they know nothing. He murdered them because of their race and his hate toward them. Before the shooting Roof wrote, “How could our faces, skin color and body structure be so different, but our brains exactly the same.” People who are part of a hate group view themselves better than others of a particular group. They feel that they are not meant to be equal. He was charged with 33 federal counts of hate crime and murder. Overall this act affected people who attend church, the church is supposed to be a safe haven but people are starting to feel unsafe attending church. After this shooting, many churches were visited by law enforcement to secure the safety of attending church.

The LGBT community has also been affected by hate crimes/hate groups because of their sexual orientation. Today there are many hate groups which are the Anti-LGBT. These groups links “homosexuality to pedophilia, claim that same-sex marriage and LGBT people, in general, are dangerous to children, homosexuality itself is dangerous”(Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). Hate groups act violently towards the LGBT community causing them to have fear and sometimes making many of them to keep their sexuality a secret. Most of the perpetrators are homophobic or transphobic. Being gay, bisexual, lesbian, etc is looked down upon and causes an extreme amount of hate crime across America and other countries. In 2017 alone, 1,445 LGBT biased hate crimes were reported to the FBI. The U.S Department of Justice has prosecuted hate crimes that involved beatings, robberies, slurs, profanities, and fatalities targeting LGBT individuals (Center for Public Integrity, 2019). In Detriot a man was charged with fatally shooting three people, he targeted his victims because they were gay or transgender. According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs 88 homicides of L.G.BT. people from 2012-2015. India Clark was a black transgender woman who died due to a hate crime. She was beaten and shot in Tampa, Florida by Keith Gaillard who was part of the Anit-LGBT hate group.

People of religious/ethnic groups also experience hate crimes, according to FBI: UCR in 2017 1749 people were victims of anti-religious hate crimes. 58.1 percent were Jews, 18.6 percent Muslims, 4.3 percent Catholics, etc. Their places of worship can be vandalized, clothing like hijab can be damaged, and they experience much physical assault. A Muslim woman was attacked while delivering food for DoorDash. Her hijab was ripped off her head and used to choke her, she was targeted because of her race, ethnicity, and religion. Muslims in this country has been targeted, hate groups who target against them feel like they are all terrorists and don’t belong in America. Many religious communities are working together to try and stop such hate crimes. They are rallying against the burning of the mosque, bomb threats, and the vandalization of Jewish cemeteries.

In 1968 congress passed its first federal hate crime law, enforced by the Department of Justice. The law made it a “crime to use, or threaten to use force to willfully interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin” also “crime to use, or threaten to use, force to interfere with housing rights because of the victims race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Justice.gov, 2019). The Church Arson Prevention Act was also passed to protect churches from any damages. Hate crime is a criminal defense in 46 states including the District of Columbia. Anybody who violates a hate crime law can face up to one year, or both, only in some cases. However, not all states include sexual orientation part of the law: Alabama, Idaho, Missipi, Montana, and North Carolina. Based on this, that’s why there’s a large amount of LGBT groups facing hate crimes, due to the fact that nothing can be done. The only time it becomes a problem is when weapons are involved, but the slurs and threats continue.

Many groups like the LGBT community, Faith-based, and laws are joining forces to put an end to hate crimes. The best way to stop hate crimes is to always report the incident and support the victims. The more cases that are reported, the better it will be to find solutions to the problem. Victims of hate crimes often feel alone and afraid to speak out. It’s the community’s job to help them seek help and contact law enforcement or the media.

Hate groups and hate crimes are growing drastically over the years. People who commit these acts are motivated by prejudice and feel the need to harass people of a particular group because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. About 250,000 people experience hate crimes each year. Many hate crimes also cause death among victims. The LGBT community is starting to reach its highest for hate crimes. People like law enforcement are trying their best to work out a solution to stop such an act. I believe that hate groups and hate crimes are something that’s meant to happen. There are some people out in the world who take out their anger on others. From experience, I lived in a place where there were so many hate crimes and because of that, my country ended up dealing with war for a few years. I feel like people have to understand that we are all the same no matter our race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Refernces

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Understanding why people commit hate crime and why victims do not report to the police has received a considerable amount of attention from researchers. A number of theories have been discussed and for this research three areas, that are believed to be relevant to hate crime against the Indian community, will be further examined.

Labelling Theory

The strengths of the labelling theory encourages people to see criminal activity as a process rather than a static event. These result from actions, reactions and interactions between human beings. Labelling theory has been used to account for deviant identities (Becker, 1963). McIntosh (1968) and Goffman (1963) have argued that attributes associated with minorities, such as Jews, gays or blacks motivate their exclusion from conventional society. This could make them vulnerable to acts of oppression, whether deliberate or non-deliberate.

While labelling theory addresses the issue to power it only does so from a pluralist perspective. It implies that ‘society is composed of a variety of interest groups or segments, and that power is spread among a number of groups or segments’ (Lynch and Groves, 1989). Therefore failing to address the impact had on ‘constructed hierarchies of race, class and gender’. These components are crucial to understanding hate crime.

When discussing labelling McDevitt, Levin and Bennett (2002) identify four categories of offenders – thrill seeker, defensive, retaliatory and mission. McDevitt et al. (2002) found most hate crime was motivated by the ‘thrill’ of offending. Groups formed of young men, with one or two ringleaders, who search and target those different to them to verbally / physically abuse. Defensive perpetrators are motivated by perceived threat to their territory which they must defend. Gadd et al (2005) state many perpetrators see certain groups as ‘invading’ areas where they compete for employment, house and social benefits. Increase in immigration to the UK is viewed by some as reducing resources for others (Chakraborti et al, 2014). Retaliatory perpetrators are seen as those who commit hate crime due to them feeling under attack by an ‘outgroup’ (Hanes and Machin, 2014). National and international events, such as 9/11, 7/7 and Christchurch have sparked violent reactions by retaliatory perpetrators who feel they are coming under threat (Feldman and Littler, 2014). Mission offenders make it a purpose in life to target certain groups. These perpetrators will often be members of organised groups and carry out protests and attack certain groups. Examples would be EDL or Britain First who often target those who were not born in the UK.

This theory is relevant when discussing two high profile incidents involving Indians. In 2011 Anuj Bidve, an Indian student, was shot in the head at point-blank range by a male, who appeared at Manchester City Magistrates Court and gave his name as Kiaran ‘Psycho’ Stapleton (BBC, 2012). In 2018 an Indian-origin family of four in the UK had a lucky escape when their house was targeted in an ‘unprovoked’ arson attack which the police is treating as a hate crime. Mayur Karlekar, his wife Ritu and two young children were asleep in their home in London and were woken by a huge blaze outside their home. This blaze was believed to have started by youths who were carrying out this hennas act as a dare.

Subcultural theory

Subcultures are seen as values and norms different from the majority. These subcultures may include, Goths, hippies, bikers and even those who are fans of grime or heavy metal (What Is Subculture? – Theories, Definition & Examples, 2015). Becker (1963) goes on to explain that subcultures are labelled as outsiders by society and not only the result of alternate action strategies.

GMP were first to add a subculture as a category of hate crime (GMP, 2013). This allows for alternative communities, who are not part of the five nationally agreed hate crime categories, to confidentially report concerns to police. Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend were attacked by a gang of youths in August 2007. The trial heard that the gang turned on the couple because they were goths or ‘moshers’ and dressed differently to them. Although there are 45 Police Forces within the UK only 11 have subculture as a monitored strand of hate crime (Gov.UK, 2020).

Subculture theory is relevant to the research as Indians fall with different categories based on their faiths and beliefs. Examples would be Sikhs who wear turbans or some who wear Bindi’s to identify themselves from a different faith to another fellow Indian. Both may be of Indian background but their subculture is different.

Othering

“Othering” refers to the process where individuals or groups of people ascribe negative characteristics to others (Rohleder, 2014). Othering is seen by some as not being about liking or disliking someone. They believe that certain identified groups pose threats to the majority but this negativity is driven by politicians and media opposed to them actually having contact with the group (Powell, 2017). Othering excludes people who are not part of the norm and means to exclude them from social groups for being the ‘other’. Examples include Nigel Farage who described migrants as an invasion and posed a threat to the UK. Although Indian communities were targeted this was not reflected on police reports.

The hypothesis for this research suggests that hate crime in recent years has increased dramatically. However, hate crime against the Indian community still remains underreported. It is believed that the Indian community has a poor relationship with the police and there are barriers to reporting hate crime. This could be language or lack of understanding on how to report an incident. There could also be a lack of understanding on what a hate crime is and victims have established abuse as the ‘norm’ and have heightened sensitivity to hate crime.

There are two main factors associated with the heightened risk of hate-related crime: psychological and physiological aspects of individuals low self- control (Nasi et al., 2016). Hate crime is not a crime that is directed towards an individual but an entire community (Fashola, 2018). It is important to understand that the impact of the hate-related crimes is devastating, as hate crimes are “message crimes in that the perpetrator is sending a message to the members of a certain group that they are despised, devalued, or unwelcome in a particular neighbourhood, community, school, or workplace” (American Psychological Association 1998 in Fashola, 2018). After identifying the risk factors for hate-related criminal behavior, it would be possible to implement intervention techniques targeted on those risk factors that would lead to the reduction of hate crime. The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on how psychological aspects of low self- control, such as emotional disposition of individuals, perceptions of pleasure and shame and thrill seeking, as well as physiological aspect of greater physical arousal toward danger and risk-taking, rather than towards the possibility of the punishment are the mere factors related to the increased risk of hate crime (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

Literature Review

One theory that prompted research on how individuals’ low self-control increases the risk of hate-crime was Hirshi’s & Gottfredson’s Low Self- Control Theory, often referred to as the General Theory of Crime (Hirshi & Gottfredsson, 1990). The main assumption of this theory is that people can take a degree of control and within central limitations control themselves, however low self-control may implicate a series of personality traits and behavior such as: impulsivity, risk- taking and inability to delay gratification (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 360). This can lead to the heightened risk of hate-related crimes.

Emotional disposition can be a crucial factor of the individuals’ low self-control (2018, pp. 361). Study on reconceptualization of Hirshi’s self- control concerning drunk driving and shoplifting showed that the individuals with low self-control had lower levels of anticipated shame but considerably higher levels of perceived pleasure in committing both (Bouffard et al., 2015). This confirms that individuals with low self-control will be oriented towards gratification and taking advantage of accessible resources, while avoiding negative emotional reactions such as shame (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 360). Researchers also found that there is overrepresentation of a particular personality trait that certain hate crime perpetrators possess, which is predisposition to prejudice towards minority groups (Dion, 1990).

Boston case study on typology of hate crime offenders, revealed that “the most common type of a hate crime was committed for the thrill or excitement” (McDewitt et al., 2002). In the research on antigay behavior among young adults, Franklin (2000) reported that most adolescent thrill seekers, appeared to be powerless and socially alienated. This, according to the case study on group threat in hate-motivated assaults confirms that hate crimes can result from the perpetrators need to have the power and control over their victims (Levin & Reichelmann, 2015). Byers et al (1999) also reported that thrill seeking appeared to be the key motivation for the hate crime offenders. The extensive body of work on psychological aspects of low self-control demonstrates that individuals differ in their attitudes towards hate-related crimes and that the rewards of risky acts, such as hate crimes may outweigh the potential consequences for the thrill seekers (Burt & Simons, 2013). This can decrease the feelings of shame and the long term consequences of such acts for the offenders (2013). Studies confirms that psychological aspects of low self- control such as emotional disposition, attitudes towards pleasure and shame and thrill seeking are the main factors associated with the heightened risk of engaging in hate crime (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

Research has shown that low self- control can also be tied to physiological factors which can increase the risk of engaging in hate- related behavior (2018, pp. 361). Chronic offenders are confirmed to show greater physical arousal toward risk- taking and criminal behavior and lower towards the likelihood of punishment (Raine, 1993 in Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361). In contrast, those who exhibit low physiological arousal express lower level of fear, shame and have difficulty distinguishing between their behaviour and its consequences (Vaske, 2017). Continuous offenders have lower resting heart rates and are constantly under aroused, which motivates them to participate in activities that stimulate their arousal level to a more optimal one ( Eysenck, 1997 in Wilson & Scarpa, 2012). Study conducted by Coren (1999) on how the arousal predisposition predicts antisocial and criminal behavior showed negative linear correlation and confirmed that individuals with lower arousal predisposition appeared to be more likely to be involved in criminal activities. Moreover, those who engage in hate-related criminal behavior are encouraged by the physiological mechanisms that reward their activities by releasing chemicals in the brain that are responsible for the feeling of pleasure (Tibbets & Hemmens, 2018, pp. 361).

As can be seen, individuals with low self-control appear to derive psychological and physiological pleasure from engaging in hate-related criminal behavior, while at the same time being less likely to be constrained by internal emotional factors such as guilt and shame (2018, pp. 361).

Conclusion

In order to explain hate- related criminal behavior a review of empirical findings and relevant theoretical assumptions is necessary. A large body of presented literature confirms that psychological as well as physiological aspects of individual’s low self- control are the main factors associated with the increased risk of hate crime (Nasi et al., 2016). Individuals’ emotional disposition of low self- control is related both to the increased perception of pleasure from risk taking and lower concern for negative emotional reactions of guilt and shame (Bouffard et al., 2015). Thrill seeking and the need for power and control over the victims appears to be the key motivation for the hate crime (Byers et al, 1999). Those who engage in hate crimes appear to derive physiological pleasures from the risk-taking behaviors

In today’s society, hate groups and hate crimes are growing rapidly. Hate groups are organizations of individuals whose “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics” (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). These characteristics include race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ethnicity. Hate groups can also cause hate crimes towards individuals. Hate crime is a violent act motivated by prejudice towards a particular group of people. People who experience hate crimes are mostly insulted because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Hate crime groups have been around for decades. Many of these hate group organizations included the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, white nationalist, black separatist, and neo-Confederate. These groups caused violent acts towards people of a particular group that brought up the death toll. For example, the Ku Klux Klan was an American white supremacist group that mainly targeted African-Americans. They assaulted and murdered African-Americans by lynching. Another popular hate crime group in history was the neo-Nazi. The neo-Nazi practiced many of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s hatred towards the Jews. They believed that Jews were an inferior race and a threat to the German community. Hate crimes Hate groups and hate crimes affect many people in society such as minorities, the LGBT community, and.

Hate groups are formed everywhere today and hate crime is occurring everywhere. “Each year, across America, an average of 250,000 people are victimized by hate crimes” (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). Almost every hate crime case involves violence and in some cases, the offender has a weapon. According to The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), there were 7,120 hate crimes incidents involving 8,496 offenses. However, this only includes agencies that submitted incident reports. Many hate crime incidents are left unnoticed because victims are reluctant to report them to police. Minorities such as Latinos don’t report hate crimes because of the threat of deportation (Center for Public Integrity, 2019). Minorities experience hate crime daily because they are mostly immigrants, they are fearful of reporting such incidents to law enforcement because they feel like nothing can be done and it will cost them their status of being in America. Another group of people that are hesitant of reporting hate crimes is the LGBT people who experience this on a daily basis because of their sexual orientation. LGBT people cases are “left unspoken because of a chronic distrust between the community and the police”(Center for Public Integrity, 2019). Their cases usually aren’t prosecuted as hate crimes when they are reported.

According to FBI: UCR 48.6 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offender’ anti–Black or African American bias. On June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina there was a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This was a hate crime church shooting. The perpetrator, Dylan Roof is a white supremacy/nationalism that hates black people. He believed that black people are animals and they know nothing. He murdered them because of their race and his hate toward them. Before the shooting Roof wrote, “How could our faces, skin color and body structure be so different, but our brains exactly the same.” People who are part of a hate group view themselves better than others of a particular group. They feel that they are not meant to be equal. He was charged with 33 federal counts of hate crime and murder. Overall this act affected people who attend church, the church is supposed to be a safe haven but people are starting to feel unsafe attending church. After this shooting, many churches were visited by law enforcement to secure the safety of attending church.

The LGBT community has also been affected by hate crimes/hate groups because of their sexual orientation. Today there are many hate groups which are the Anti-LGBT. These groups links “homosexuality to pedophilia, claim that same-sex marriage and LGBT people, in general, are dangerous to children, homosexuality itself is dangerous”(Southern Poverty Law Center, 2019). Hate groups act violently towards the LGBT community causing them to have fear and sometimes making many of them to keep their sexuality a secret. Most of the perpetrators are homophobic or transphobic. Being gay, bisexual, lesbian, etc is looked down upon and causes an extreme amount of hate crime across America and other countries. In 2017 alone, 1,445 LGBT biased hate crimes were reported to the FBI. The U.S Department of Justice has prosecuted hate crimes that involved beatings, robberies, slurs, profanities, and fatalities targeting LGBT individuals (Center for Public Integrity, 2019). In Detriot a man was charged with fatally shooting three people, he targeted his victims because they were gay or transgender. According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs 88 homicides of L.G.BT. people from 2012-2015. India Clark was a black transgender woman who died due to a hate crime. She was beaten and shot in Tampa, Florida by Keith Gaillard who was part of the Anit-LGBT hate group.

People of religious/ethnic groups also experience hate crimes, according to FBI: UCR in 2017 1749 people were victims of anti-religious hate crimes. 58.1 percent were Jews, 18.6 percent Muslims, 4.3 percent Catholics, etc. Their places of worship can be vandalized, clothing like hijab can be damaged, and they experience much physical assault. A Muslim woman was attacked while delivering food for DoorDash. Her hijab was ripped off her head and used to choke her, she was targeted because of her race, ethnicity, and religion. Muslims in this country has been targeted, hate groups who target against them feel like they are all terrorists and don’t belong in America. Many religious communities are working together to try and stop such hate crimes. They are rallying against the burning of the mosque, bomb threats, and the vandalization of Jewish cemeteries.

In 1968 congress passed its first federal hate crime law, enforced by the Department of Justice. The law made it a “crime to use, or threaten to use force to willfully interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin” also “crime to use, or threaten to use, force to interfere with housing rights because of the victims race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Justice.gov, 2019). The Church Arson Prevention Act was also passed to protect churches from any damages. Hate crime is a criminal defense in 46 states including the District of Columbia. Anybody who violates a hate crime law can face up to one year, or both, only in some cases. However, not all states include sexual orientation part of the law: Alabama, Idaho, Missipi, Montana, and North Carolina. Based on this, that’s why there’s a large amount of LGBT groups facing hate crimes, due to the fact that nothing can be done. The only time it becomes a problem is when weapons are involved, but the slurs and threats continue.

Many groups like the LGBT community, Faith-based, and laws are joining forces to put an end to hate crimes. The best way to stop hate crimes is to always report the incident and support the victims. The more cases that are reported, the better it will be to find solutions to the problem. Victims of hate crimes often feel alone and afraid to speak out. It’s the community’s job to help them seek help and contact law enforcement or the media.

Hate groups and hate crimes are growing drastically over the years. People who commit these acts are motivated by prejudice and feel the need to harass people of a particular group because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. About 250,000 people experience hate crimes each year. Many hate crimes also cause death among victims. The LGBT community is starting to reach its highest for hate crimes. People like law enforcement are trying their best to work out a solution to stop such an act. I believe that hate groups and hate crimes are something that’s meant to happen. There are some people out in the world who take out their anger on others. From experience, I lived in a place where there were so many hate crimes and because of that, my country ended up dealing with war for a few years. I feel like people have to understand that we are all the same no matter our race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Refernces

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