Hate Crime in America

The United States is a place for all people: old and young, rich and poor, black and white, man and women. Diversity in America is celebrated, and it is one of the defining characteristics of the land of opportunity. According to the 2010 census, approximately 60 percent of the Americans are white, and by 2055, there will be no single racial or ethnic majority (Cohn and Caumont). However, not everyone in America appreciates this growing diversity, and because of this, the prevalence of hate crimes has increased.

A hate crime is “a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity,” (Hate Crimes). For the purposes of this paper, a hate crime will be limited to only race. This paper will explore the issue of racially charged crimes in the United States and its persistence today. It will show how socioeconomic strains and social constructs of ‘differences ‘contribute to hate crimes.

In addition, this paper will highlight the tension between races in America and the influence American culture has on hate crimes. It will also explore human rights norms and United States law to show how these entities identify or fail to identify hate crimes and address problems associated with it in an effort to protect basic human rights. According to Robert Morton’s strain theory, rebels-those who commit hate crimes-view race as a roadblock that hinders their ability to achieve success, and thus, are more likely to commit these crimes.

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Conflict/critical theories is also used to describe the nature of hate crimes since those who are less powerful or are losing power use deviance and retaliation against other races to succeed in society. Inter/actionist theories are also helpful in explaining the nature of hate crimes because those who commit these crimes label the victims (those of other races) as different and the reason why their problems exist and commit these crimes in an attempt to succeed in society.

Thus, this issue is no longer solely about racial tensions, but the struggle with a changing society and a loss of power. International human rights laws and laws in the United States both aim to protect and promote racial equality. According to the Universal declaration of Human Rights, “…one of the purposes of the United Nations which is to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.” Additionally, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the United Nations declares that any doctrine that supports the superiority of one race over another is biologically false and condemnable. The United Nations also calls upon states, “to build an international community free from all forms of racial segregation and discrimination,” (International Convention…).

The United Nations also declares, “that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment…for any reason based on discrimination of any kind,” ( Convention Against Torture). Thus, the United Nations condemns racially charged crimes and stresses states to follow these statements. It also calls states embrace differences between people because all people born have the same human rights. In accordance to the United Nations, the ¬¬United States also has laws that against these crimes. The United States just like the United Nations embraces diversity especially when relating to race in an effort to protect races from hate crimes. According to 18 U.S. Code 249, any person who has been charged with committing a race crime, “shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years…shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life… if death results from the offense; or the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill,” (Hate Crime Acts).

This is because American society values diversity and accepts those of different races, religions, and ethnicities. American society not only just accepts these values but also embraces them, causing to be an identity of this nation. Many Americans also no longer focus on race because they consider the election of former President Barak Obama as racial progress. Thus, the United Nations and the United States both condemn racially charged crimes in an effort to promote diversity. ¬¬Despite these norms, there are those that still commit crimes against those who are different from them. Many sociological theories explain why these crimes persist and are increasing in prevalent today including Robert Merton’s strain theory, Robert Agnew’s strain theory, conflict/critical theory and inter/actionist theory. Merton’s strain theory focuses on how people adapt to strain, and he identifies five different ways people adapt to strain (Ritzer 183-184).

To explain why people commit hate crimes, rebels will be the focus of this argument for this paper. Rebels, according to Merton, reject tradition goals and the ways of achieving those goals; in addition to that, they make up their own goals (Ritzer 184). Those who commit hate crimes place are not able to obtain economic success such as a job, and thus, they place those of different races. They reject the idea of embracing diversity because they claim that diversity is preventing them from achieving success, and instead take it upon themselves to show that world that diversity is dangerous by committing crimes against those who are different in order to scare them away. Agnew’s strain theory, which focuses on what happens to people who experience strain, can also explain hate crimes (Ritzer 184). Agnew also states that those who have lost something and are experiencing adverse situations are also more likely to commit deviant and criminal acts. Offenders of hate crimes who have experienced the loss of power, namely white power, in an increasingly diverse community are more likely to commit deviance and crime.

They are even more likely to commit deviance/crime if they felt that someone who they consider as having an inferior skill set replaced them due to the color of their skin in an attempt for the work place to be more diverse. American culture, which idealizes economic success can also be attributed to this. Conflict theory suggests that people commit hate crimes because they think that they are losing power and influence on society by those of other races. Therefore, they commit these acts of deviance/crime in order to show that they are still relevant and that those of other races are inferior to them and should be scared. Inter/actionist theory also describes hate crimes because those who commit hate crimes label the victims as different from them and a threat to their way of life. The more threatening the offenders perceive the victims to be; the more likely they are to commit deviance/crime. In general, human rights norms relate to sociology because sociology can explain why or why not human rights violations occur and what society values through a critical view of its laws.

For example, Merton’s theory on strain can explain the types of people who are more likely to violate human rights. Agnew’s theory can also help to explain how people who experience strain are more likely to violate the human rights of others. Thus, sociology explains why violations of human right norms occur through analyzing people’s underlying intentions, feelings, thoughts, and circumstances. A shifting society can also explain sociologically why violations of human rights occur. In an industrial society, human rights violations occurred because, according to Karl Marx, the capitalists want to maximize profit and minimize costs (Ritzer). In order to do that, the capitalists had to violate the human rights of their workers by underpaying them or having them work in less than ideal conditions in order to keep costs down. However, society in the United States today has shifted to a post-industrial society. This also comes with problems of its own as it related to human rights.

When shifting towards a post-industrial society, those who had previously worked in that industry have now lost their jobs. This causes them to feel a sense of being stuck and unable to achieve economic success. Therefore, they place blame on those (of different races) who have replaced them for a cheaper wage. The more frustrated they are the more likely they are to commit deviance. This is what Agnew described in his strain theory (Ritzer 184). In addition to this, American society today has hate crimes because of shifting demographics in terms of race, resulting in the loss of influence by those who were previously the majority. In order to protect victims of hate crimes, laws in the United States regarding these crimes should be more severe to deter individuals from committing these crimes. Laws in the United States also need to be better at identifying hate crimes, as to accurately charge those who commit these crimes.

This can be done by ensuring that every state defines the term ‘hate crime’ in the same way and that every state has the same punishment for those who commit these crimes. In addition to that, schools can also teach inclusion, acceptance, and the notion that every human being has the same human rights to students to prevent hate crimes in the future. This exercise helped to show how sociology is used to explain human rights violations. In addition to that, this exercise also helped to show how broader sociological theories develop through observing the interactions between groups of people. From this exercise, it can be said that sociological theories not only help to explain why individuals act in the manner that they do, but also these theories can then be used to determine the root of the problem to change society in a way that makes it better for everyone else. For example, through the analysis of hate crimes, it can now be understood that hate crimes do not just occur because of racism, but the deeper underlying reason of why they occur is because there is a power struggle between the two groups and often blame for a bad situation that is hindering the offender’s success. However, there are theoretical, human rights, and legal limitations to solving human rights issues such as hate crimes.

The theoretical limitations are that it is theoretical, representing the ideal and not reality. As sociologist it is important to realize that theories cannot explain everything. A legal limitation to solving human rights issues such as hate crimes is that it takes time to determine the true motive of a person. The human rights implication is when one issue is solved, another may appear. Another complication that occurs more often than not is that it is hard to change laws due to politics and political tensions.