FD5/Final Exam Lock Them Up

Uyen Nguyen Hill

4 May 2012

FD5

Lock Them Up

America is the most multicultural and diversified country in the world. Every day, we see vivid differences in race, religion, sex orientation, color… And there are always some people who think they are better human than others, and like to hurt others physically and mentally. We cannot foresee or prevent what they have done or said, but we definitely can fix them. Haters just don’t see how severely their victims have suffered. [THESIS] Therefore, those haters should be put in the shoes of those who are undervalued to the most extended law enforcement and to all ages. In addition, parents should play an important role in teaching their children about all human equality. [THESIS]

It is critical to let those who commit hate crimes experience their own cruel act. Those, who attack immigrants from anywhere, should be temporarily exported to that country. They should be living there to learn. First is to learn why many people in third wheel country choose to leave or escape their home, and come to the U.S. Then they will learn what it is like to be discriminated against. If those haters still cannot change, they should be locked up until they truly regret what they had done and ask for forgiveness.

Many may say that the punishments for hate crimes should not be as harsh as violent crimes. That is because they do not see the extensive damage and distress that hate crimes cause. According the article, “The Psychology of Hate Crimes” published on the American Psychological Association website, “Hate crimes have an effect on both the immediate target and the communities of which the individuals are a member, which differentiate them from other crimes.” Just imagine you and your spouse were Asian having Asian kids. You sent your first child to a new, private high school full with white kids. After a couple weeks of school, you started to notice changes in your oldest child. He had become quieter, not been participating in family’s activities and always tried to hide in his room. Top all that, he had never mentioned any new friends or class activities, even though he was used to be an out-going student. After all, you discovered that their white friends had not been so friendly at all. They’d never let him joined any class activities. They’d called him means names, “Yellow Math Geek,” “Petite Genius”… Then you wondered why the teacher never did anything to stop this. The answer was your child; he was too scared to stand up because he’d been threatened to be beaten up. Even though those hatred kids never said it, but they had sent an invisible message to you, “Do not even think about sending the rest of your children here, because they will be like your pathetic son!”

Penalizing hate criminals is not only to open their eyes, but also to ease the brutal message, and get back the trust in a safe and welcoming environment. When talking about this topic, my sister-in-law said, “I knew a guy in high school who ended up killing himself because he got beat up by a guy on the football team because he was gay.” We do not want tragic things like this to happen but to prevent it, we can prevent another. Like the distressful incident in Marine Park Junior High school, where four young girls got attacked for not letting other black kids used the park. These young girls and their families will never forget what happened, but we can at least, bring them peace of mind for future experience.

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes occurring at schools and colleges by offenders who are the age of 24. Parents of these people, especially minors, may protect their children who had been offenders by arguing their children were young and unknowledgeable. However, how young is too young and how old is too old to learn about and respect others’ physical and mental differences? Should we let a three-year-old cry and scream in disgust to see her first black friend because in her entire life, she’s never seen one before? We cannot punish a three-year-old but when kids start to grow psychologically and recognize things around, that’s when they should get seriously disciplined.

About three years ago, I was visiting my aunt and her family of five in Atlanta, Georgia. Her oldest child was born in the U.S. and is as old as me, but we didn’t quite hit it off. I think it’s because she thought I was just a lame immigrant with broken English and weird accent. We were having a conversation, my cousin asked her mom, “Mom, when I was little, you’d always said, if I don’t behave, you’d let the black people take me away. I have many black friends and they’re nice, why would you say that?” My aunt couldn’t say a word. I could have sworn that my aunt did not mean to be racist, just the way she tried to protect her daughter was wrong. It’s like she was one of those who received the invisibly negative message that I mentioned above.

Killing someone emotionally isn’t any less painful than doing it physically. Therefore, if the law punishes those who’re cold blood murders, it should always enforce the hate criminals. Parents need to educate their children about race, sex, color and religion differences. Together we can try to bring back the warm and equal society.

Works Cited

Hernandez, Marianna. “Non-Bias Attack.” Brooklyn Skyline Newspaper online. 11 Apr. 2005. 6 May 2005 [http://www.brooklynskyline.com/news_article.asp?c=ne&na=1486].

Nelson, Kelly. Personal Interview. 4 May 2012.

Nutter, Michelle Gwinn. “THE DANGEROUS INTERSECTION OF YOUTH AND HATE CRIME.” N.d. The 2007 National Conference on Safe Schools and Communities. 4 May 2012 [http://gwired.gwu.edu/hamfish/merlin-cgi/p/downloadFile/d/19156/n/off/other/1/name/025pdf/]

“The Psychology of Hate Crimes.” Hate Crimes. N.d. American Psychological Association. 4 May 2012 [http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/violence/hate-crimes-faq.pdf].