----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <mlorrey@datamann.com>
> Working in Vermont as I do, with
> the current Civil Union controversy raging, it has turned out that all
> of the overt 'hate' crimes committed here since the 'Take Back Vermont'
> grassroots campaign began were actually committed by gays trying to gain
> sympathy.
Please provide referrences proving your contention that all (overt?) hate
crimes commited in the state of Vermont in the period in question were
actually commited by gays.
> Sorry Harvey, I just don't accept claims of widespread rural bigotry at
> the level you claim, except possibly in the rural South or other areas
> of strong Klan influence
I'm not certain what level of rural bigotry Harvey was claiming, but rural
bigotry is generally considered a more insidious problem for several
reasons. Large population centers tend to support greater
cultural/orientational diversity. Incidents are often under reported in
rural areas, due to denial for instance (see your post above.)
A few quotes from the U.S. Department of Justice Policymaker's Guide to Hate
Crimes: (http://www.texasnaacp.org/hateguid.htm#1)
"It's alarming that a number of communities reporting said that no hate
crimes were committed within their jurisdictions," said Stephen Arent, vice
chairman of the ADL's National Civil Rights Committee. "Unfortunately there
is a great deal of denial. Many communities would say that hate crimes don't
exist."
"In certain communities, especially urban communities such as Washington,
D.C., and San Francisco, people do feel more comfortable coming out" than
they would have felt a few years ago, Gonzales said. "As you move to rural
areas and the center of the country, the comfort level with coming out is
not as great, and those are the areas where gays and lesbians will be less
likely to report hate crimes."
"Given the incendiary nature of hate crimes, some State and local political
leaders and law enforcement officials discourage police and sheriff's
departments from collecting or disseminating raw data. They consider any
evidence of hate crimes a "black eye" on their community and fear the
possible economic and political repercussions."
While the problem of victim underreporting is particularly significant in
the gay and lesbian community, the stigma of "coming out" has lessened in
recent years. High-profile declarations by entertainment, sports, and
political figures such as k.d. lang, Elton John, Martina Navratilova, and
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), point toward a growing acceptance and
tolerance of the gay lifestyle. The reality, however, still is quite
different, Gonzales said. Recent incidents of violence against gays in
Colorado, Oregon, and Maine, among other States, underscore the assertion
that, in many areas, gays "have the appearance of equality but not the fact
of equality."
"Many police jurisdictions, especially those in rural areas, simply do not
have the manpower, inclination, or technical expertise to record hate
crimes, and other jurisdictions fear that admitting the existence of hate
crimes will cause their communities cultural, political, and economic
repercussions."
"Victims have a myriad of reasons for failing to report hate crimes.
Homosexual victims may decide not to report hate crimes to police because of
fears of reprisals or a belief that they will be forced "out of the closet."
Such an "outing" may cause repercussions to their career and relationships
with family and friends."
Please note that although under reporting is considered a major problem,
there are very likely jurisdictions that engage in what I would call
over-reporting as well:
"For various reasons many victims do not report hate crimes, and public
service organizations and police agencies report hate crimes differently.
Depending on the jurisdiction, local law enforcement may only record and
report bias-motivated "crimes" -- those incidents that have been reported,
investigated, and categorized as hate crimes. Some advocacy groups, on the
other hand, classify all bias-motivated "incidents" as hate crimes, whether
or not they rise to the level of criminal offense."
--::jason.joel.thompson:: ::founder::
www.wildghost.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:34 MDT