Who IS this guy?!

'Niceguy' Eddie

Political Talk Show Host and Internet Radio Personality. My show, In My Humble Opinion, aired on RainbowRadio from 2015-2017, and has returned for 2021! Feel free to contact me at niceguy9418@usa.com. You can also friend me on Facebook.

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Hate Crime?

I want to say a few things, show a few things, and ask all of your opinions about something, regarding the tragic suicide of the Rutgers student last week after being spied on and outed over the Internet by his “otherwise OK” roommate.


I was firing up my Wii the other night, and noticed the story on my Wii News Channel. Normally I don’t get my information from my Wii (or think with my… never mind) but I was interested in this particular story, so I clicked on it. For the most part it was a rehashing of the basic facts of the case, but their conclusion kind of pissed me off. I don’t have access to it any more, so I can’t put the exact wording, but it was something like this:

“Incidents such as these demonstrate the dangers lurking in the Internet and social networking sites.”
…The fuck?

That likes saying “Bananas are dangerous because the can be used to plug up the tailpipes of cars!” That’s an absolutely absurd conclusion to draw form this story! The Internet, and social networking sites are TOOLS. Now ANY tool can be misused for ill purpose. Duh. Obvious. Hardly a newsworthy story here. What it SHOULD show us are the dangers of homophobia. The dangers of ignorance. The dangers of intolerance and bigotry. It SHOULD show us what a lousy job we’re doing instilling our children with moral values such as respecting other people’s privacy. And this is absolutely all about this student being gay, because if he was with a girl, this wouldn’t have happened. But GOD FORBID we put out a news story that is remotely supportive of treating homosexuals like HUMAN BEINGS. That might buy into the radical GAY AGENDA. (…to be treated like human beings. What nut jobs, huh?)

Who’d have thought that my Wii was Conservatively biased?

Speaking of which… what’s with THIS douchbag? How much sympathy? The guys DEAD, asshole! Less than you deserve apparently, should your life be turned upside down, your privacy invaded, your trust violated, and your private affairs used as comedic fodder for those around you, and around the world. Hey, here’s an experiment… Let’s beat this guy to death, and see how much sympathy that generates! Hey… then at least we’d know, right?

Now, having said all that and establishing where I stand on the issue overall, I want to put out a question that I think and hope will generate some thoughtful debate:

Was this a HATE CRIME?

Personally, I’d have no problem with these two being changed with anything up to involuntary manslaughter, because their actions did, absolutely, lead to this man’s death. Unintentionally, yes. I’ll buy that. But there was, at a minimum, a tort being committed, if not a crime: Invasion of privacy. So, in my mind, I can see throwing some rather severe penalties at these two, because their behavior was absolutely unacceptable. No question.

But was it a hate crime?

Believe it or not, and while I may be accused of splitting hairs here, I say, “No.”

My reasoning, is that I think of hate crimes in a very specific way. They have everything to do with the MOTIVES behind a crime, but it really doesn’t have anything to do with hate specifically. That and I don’t think these two really HATED this guy, or gays in general. As little sympathy as I give them legally, this WAS really just a [despicable] college prank gone fantastically, horribly wrong. The MOTIVATION that I need to see to consider something a hate crime is this: Are they trying to send a message to the rest of the [whatever] community?

If they had set his car on fire? Slashed his tires? Beat him to a pulp, while wearing hoods? (Etc, etc…) THAT’S a hate crime, because it’s meant to send a message, a threat, to the rest of the community. And as much as I despise these two, I just don’t see that here. It may be a minor point, but I think it’s an important question; especially if we expect “hate crime” to carry the kind of weight that “terrorism” (essentially the same crime) carries when someone on the Right makes that claim.

Personally? I see this as a crime of IGNORANCE. And I think it shows how much better of a job we need to do to teach people (children) not only tolerance, but a basic respect for boundaries! If these same two had put a web-cam in the girl’s bathroom, there would be people calling for rape charges. But instead they spy on a gay student, and there’s a debate as to whether or not there’s even a crime here. And my Wii seems to think that the danger lies in the Internet and Social Networking!

That sickens me. Because there is no doubt in my mind that if this student were not gay, (1) he wouldn’t have been harassed like this, and (2) if he was, the public would clearly be putting the spotlight of guilt on the other two students, not piddling about, debating whether of not there’s been a crime committed.

But please let me know your thoughts. Especially on whether or not this is a HATE CRIME.  Because I had heard that allegation raised, and I really wasn't quite sure what I really thought about it.  So I'm interested to hear your all's thoughts about it.

7 comments:

  1. I really don't think it was a hate crime. It was two stupid kids doing something they thought would be funny. I don't think hate was involved, or bigotry, or that they were trying to send a message. Of course, we don't know what was really going through these idiots' minds.

    But to blame the internet and social networking is just as stupid. Its akin to actually believing that taking away people's legal rights to own guns would reduce crime. You can't solve a problem by removing the tool. It's the assholes using the tools that need to be educated, and sometimes removed from society.

    It's like the old saying guns don't kill people, people kill people (I think that's how it goes). The internet didn't cause this. assholes who don't know how to respect other people's privacy caused this.

    Thanks for another great post. And did you know you can't repost anything from this site on facebook?

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  2. I don't think bigotry or racism alone should be the determining factor with respect to "hate" crimes. I think the crime has to be very specific in its intent. If two bullies stand outside a bar and pick fights with people and one just happens to be gay, that's not a hate crime, in my opinion. However, if they target black or gay individuals specifically because of their color or sexual orientation, then I'm okay with that designation.

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  3. Oh and to answer your specific question, I think in this case, it was just a-holes taking their prank too far. I would compare this to drag racing or some other activity that under certain circumstances could prove fatal.

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  4. @Silky977 - Sounds like we agreed with you first two points. As for facebook, I'm not all that active on it, so what do you mean? Does it's disble links or something? Or is it part of the usage agreement? Becase I swear I've seen stuff from blogspot blogs on facebook before.

    @Sammy - I agree with you as well. Though I thought your example of "drag racing" was an interesting choice. I know what you MEANT, but the first image that came into my head was that of some kind of transgendered marathon. LOL

    Thank you both for your comments.

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  5. Whenever I've tried to post your stuff on facebook it tells me that the message contains blocked content that has previously been flagged as abusive or spammy. Weird.

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  6. Huh. That is wierd. I'll look into it.

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  7. LOL Eddie! Freudian slip I guess. I said "drag racing" without thought to the other meaning of "drag".

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