Let me see if I understand this correctly:
After Dylan Roof killed people at the church in Charleston, SC, investigation into his motive resulted in finding his “manifesto” in which he indicated he was inspired by the Trayvon Martin case and wanted to start a race war. It was instantly labeled a “hate crime.”
When Vester Lee Flanagan killed the two news reporters in Virginia, investigation found in his “manifesto” that he indicated he was inspired by the Charleston shooting, including : “As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE …” This still has not been labeled a hate crime. Why not?
Both are: a man of one race, killing people of another race, documenting that he wants a race war.
Am I missing something?
I agree with what you say here, Chris, but in the end, the label doesn’t matter. As far as I’m concerned, all cold-blooded murder is a hate crime. I’m so tired of people getting so up in arms about race, especially when it’s one-sided. But in the end, all that matters is that innocent people lost their lives because of a psychopath. People kill each other for whatever twisted reason they want. The “reason” is only their unfounded excuse. These crimes, whether over money (or loss of it) or whether they are on drugs and completely out of it, or because they just feel like killing someone that day, all have a common denominator – mental illness. If our government would stop wasting taxpayer dollars and re-prioritize a little, we could more than afford to reopen the mental institutions, which have all but closed nationwide. This is where these people belong. The reason they kill is just an excuse. They don’t really need a reason but we love to label everything. Anyone who wants to take a life is either consumed with greed, on drugs, or just plain crazy. The psychopaths need to be put away, probably forever, and unfortunately there is no place for them anymore.
Very good points Alicia. The “hate crime” label is a political tool.