I know some debate the label 'hate crime', but really?

[PureX]

A "hate crime" is not always race based. It can be based on any number of things: sex, gender, religion, politics, ethnicity, notoriety, ...

Also, some people object to the designation of "hate crime" on the basis that a crime is a crime, and the motive is irrelevant. But I disagree. Hate crimes exhibit both randomness and a perpetual motive. They present a much greater danger to society as a whole.

 

[pearl]

Could we say that if the perpetrator was white it would have been totally different? If so, would that be called racism?

I don't think that would change anything. Its a collective blame for, in this instance, against Asian Americans. There have been countless attacks on Asians blamed for covid. Sort of a 'shoot from the hip' thing, certainly not letting any knowledge get in the way.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

The attack occurred on Monday at around 11:40 a.m. local time in front of an apartment building in Midtown Manhattan. Police released surveillance footage that showed a man approaching the woman on the sidewalk and kicking her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The man then kicks the woman in the face multiple times while making "anti-Asian statements toward her" before casually walking away, police said.
And if that's not bad enough,
The video of Monday's attack also shows people inside of the building lobby who appear to stop what they are doing to watch the incident unfold. One of them then shuts the door as the suspect walks away and the woman is left on the ground. The Brodsky Organization, the company that owns the building, said that two lobby staff members who witnessed the attack have been suspended pending an investigation in conjunction with their union. Man charged with hate crime after attack on Asian American woman caught on video - ABC News (go.com)

I would like to know why this violent person was deemed safe to re-enter society. Apparently his "lifetime" probation does nothing. My psychopathic abusive upstairs neighbor is supposedly on probation but he still beats women, sexually abuses them and hires hookers. Should have just stayed locked up.

 

[pearl]

I would like to know why this violent person was deemed safe to re-enter society. Apparently his "lifetime" probation does nothing. My psychopathic abusive upstairs neighbor is supposedly on probation but he still beats women, sexually abuses them and hires hookers. Should have just stayed locked up.

Exactly. There is a huge gap in the system for dealing with the mentality.

 

[Kooky]

The attack occurred on Monday at around 11:40 a.m. local time in front of an apartment building in Midtown Manhattan. Police released surveillance footage that showed a man approaching the woman on the sidewalk and kicking her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The man then kicks the woman in the face multiple times while making "anti-Asian statements toward her" before casually walking away, police said.
And if that's not bad enough,
The video of Monday's attack also shows people inside of the building lobby who appear to stop what they are doing to watch the incident unfold. One of them then shuts the door as the suspect walks away and the woman is left on the ground. The Brodsky Organization, the company that owns the building, said that two lobby staff members who witnessed the attack have been suspended pending an investigation in conjunction with their union. Man charged with hate crime after attack on Asian American woman caught on video - ABC News (go.com)

Some people are really invested in the idea that racist crimes (or really, any crime motivated by bigotry against members of minority groups) either don't exist, or that they are 'overblown' by some kind of media conspiracy.

I suspect the idea that racism is anything more than a stronger form of being rude to people would be antithetical to their worldview, which is why I assume the idea of racism as a systemic problem intrinsic to the society they grew up in gets such strong pushback.

 

[pearl]

I suspect the idea that racism is anything more than a stronger form of being rude to people would be antithetical to their worldview, which is why I assume the idea of racism as a systemic problem intrinsic to the society they grew up in gets such strong pushback.

I suspect the bottom line is there must be someone or a particular people who are collectively to blame for 'my' problems or inconvenience. Either way its a sad state of affairs.