Hate Crimes

When I read about hate crimes I get really emotional because of the way people are treated just because of there race or gender and even there ethnic background. Hate crimes usually occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group. After reading this article I became outraged and very upset. I can’t believe that someone would do something like attack a cab driver just because he has a friend or buddy in Iraq. “While Singh was driving Vázquez home, Vázquez started calling him a terrorist and threatened to kill him, according to court charging documents. Singh said he worried for his life and the lives of other motorists as he drove down Interstate 5 at 60 mph.” I don’t understand why he would endanger himself or why the guy even said anything at all. Just because you feel a certain way about something or someone does not mean you have to voice it. This is also not the first time this has happened. People say rude and mean things on a daily bases and there has also been other attack’s just like this one on other cab drivers. “On Sept. 13, 2001, Farwest Cab driver Kulwinder Singh was assaulted and accused of being a Middle East terrorist by an intoxicated passenger he picked up in SeaTac. Raymond Isais Jr., 21, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to malicious harassment.”

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Racism

After reading this article I was shocked and disappointed to read that people would even get scared just by hearing someone speak a different language. This makes me see how ignorant and naïve people of the United States and even other countries can be. It also shocks me to read how the airlines handled the situation. I understand that there are certain precautions that we now have to take since 9/11 but I also feel that in this situation they were taken a little too far. I don’t understand why they would land the entire flight, making all the other passengers delay their flight just because someone heard a group of Iraqi men speak Arabic. I feel that the airlines could have done it in a more timely and professional manor.

“These are some of the most pro-American people around,” Garcia said. “There’s no reason to suspect that these people were a threat on this airline….This is the face of prejudice and racism that happens today.” This article shows you how far racism has come today. People are scared of just a language from a race that only a small group of people did terrorists acts. These men that were accused of doing nothing wrong are good people who are helping our country fight the real enemy.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110ap_iraqi_passengers_lawsuit.html

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