The issue of hate crimes has greatly affected the way in which people interact. A hate crime is defined as any act of violence or verbal slashing of a person based upon race, religious belief, or one’s sexuality. There are several other grounds for determining a hate crime depending upon guidelines in written laws. Hate crimes are said to have originally derived from the unjust treatment of Jewish cultures during the Holocaust in World War II. Slavery of African Americans in the early to mid 1900s has also been deemed a cause of hate crimes.The issue of hate has completely engulfed the media with questions and proposed answers on how and why some of these ungodly acts could have taken place. The media believes that the hate is not ascribed but learned through a person’s upbringing in certain environments. Other factors that influence this prejudice way of thinking include status in society, religious practices, and competition in the job market. In recent attempts by congress, strict laws and consequences have been passed to discourage hateful harm of another human being.Recently, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany led a 200,000-person march in memory of victims of concentration camps. The 71/2-mile human chain raised large banners against racism and large green balloons reading, “No to Neo-Nazis.” Paul Spiegel, head of Germany’s Jewish community, spoke out against conservative politicians that suggested that minorities adapt to a culture they were unfamiliar with. (Article 1) The Christian Democrats, party of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, has spoken out in opposition to immigrants with new proposed laws in mind. The party’s leader, Friedrich Merz, suggested that immigrants adopt Germany’s “Leitkultur.” The term is believed to fuel the prejudice and racism that is already existent with minority hate crimes.(Article 2)Despite numerous laws and advancement against ra...
