Crimes of Hate

The municipal judge in Vista who dismissed the civil rights violation charge concerning the Mexican migrant farm worker may be reflecting the prejudice and attitude of the “home territory” of the Skinheads and Tom Metzger mentality, but he didn’t concern himself with the federal, state or county definitions of “hate crimes.”

Precisely because these crimes indicate a social pathology that is a real and present danger to all of us, we need to know at least the county definition: “A ‘hate crime’ is any act, or attempted act, to cause physical injury, emotional suffering, or property damage, which is, or appears to be motivated, all or in part, by race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability or other group characteristic.”

VIRGINIA W. TAYLOR

San Diego