...And Injustice For All

 Two stories caught my eye this morning as I perused the Daily Mail.  The first one involves a drunk Jewish man, who, in a fit of anger, shoved a neighbor against a car, poured a can of beer on her, and screamed racial epithets.  The second involves a gang of youths who savagely beat a man who was enjoying an evening run.  Although the article doesn't mention it, I'm quite certain derogatory racial remarks were experienced by this poor guy as well.  What struck me was the charges prosecutors decided upon:

Pouring beer on your neighbor and calling her names is a HATE CRIME.

Beating a man to within an inch of his life is SECOND DEGREE ASSAULT.

Why the disparity? 

Clue one:  The perpetrator of this horrific "pour beer on someone" crime was Jewish, and the victim was Turkish.  Hate crime.

Clue two:  Although the article FAILS TO MENTION IT, the gang who perpetrated this savage attack were of a minority group, and the victim was not.  Second degree assault.

Here is what second degree assault looks like:

I'll let you use your own vivid imaginations to concoct the ghastly, sickening, gut-wrenching image of a woman drenched in beer.  As for the name-calling?  I'm sure everyone here has been taunted with ethnic/racial/religious slurs countless times in life.  And lived to tell the tale!  We were even taught a little rhyme when I was growing up, something about "sticks and stones".

 Don't get me wrong; I'm not defending the drunk Jewish guy.  He should be ashamed of himself for putting his hands on ANY woman, acting like a lout, and generally being a jerk.  Charge him with public intoxication and disturbing the peace.  When I think "hate crime" I picture a black man being dragged by a rope behind a pickup truck to his death, just because of his color.  I picture a gunman walking into a synagogue and spraying bullets at the congregants, just because of their ethnicity/religion.  I think of a gay man being savagely beaten to death because of his lifestyle.  I DO NOT picture drunken name-calling or beer-sloshing, no matter who is at the other end of the beer can or the words. 

In the other case, in a sane, functional system, savagely beating someone beyond recognition certainly merits a charge of attempted murder, irregardless of color or age.

And that's my two cents.