dreamer_easy: (australia)
[personal profile] dreamer_easy
Have posted a few links over at [livejournal.com profile] seeingred about the attacks on Indian overseas students here in Australia, which have included a petrol bomb and a stabbing that has left a student in critical condition. (I'd love to think the violence was just a Melbourne thing, but I'm very worried it's affecting more than one group of visible OS students and more than one city.) Anywho, for me, the most hopeful was The Age's report that the Victorian A-G is pushing for hate crime laws, which would increase sentences for crimes motivated by homophobia, sexism, and religious prejudice, as well as racism.

Date: 2009-06-02 10:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kelemvor.livejournal.com
I'm somewhat ambivalent on the subject of hate crimes. Two years ago, a man was killed at a notorious cottage not half a mile from my flat. He was the victim of a homophobic attack, but that doesn't make him any deader. Likewise, bullying hurts regardless of the "justification" used by the bullies - getting mocked for liking "Doctor Who" is no less painful that getting mocked for being good at academic work.

I believe that people should be made to answer for their actions. I don't believe that people should be made to answer for their thoughts.

Date: 2009-06-02 10:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kateorman.livejournal.com
Interesting thoughts. Certainly in the case of the Melbourne crimes, the problem seems to be that the violence has been allowed to build up to this point over a number of years; simply enforcing existing laws might've prevented that. OTOH, a hate crime affects far more people than just the victim of that crime - and it's intended to.

Date: 2009-06-02 11:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kelemvor.livejournal.com
I think that a lot of problems are caused by existing laws not being enforced. Trouble is, legislators then go on to create new laws in response to particularly vile acts, which is a perfect example of shutting the stable door after the horse bolts - you can't prosecute the perpetrators under the new law!

OTOH, a hate crime affects far more people than just the victim of that crime - and it's intended to.

Hmm.

Isn't that the definition of an act of terrorism? As I understand it, a hate crime is one motivated by a dislike for the different. Whether anyone else is affected doesn't seem to have entered into it in the cases that I've read (which is, admittedly, a very small sample).

Date: 2009-06-02 11:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kateorman.livejournal.com
Some Indian students have already left Australia out of fear that they'll be targetted next. Others are restricting their movements and taking other precautions. The crimes may only have directly affected scores (hundreds?) of students, but they also keep thousands of people in fear, and impact their ability to work and learn.

Date: 2009-06-02 11:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kelemvor.livejournal.com
Right, I see. Looks like the lines between hate crimes and terrorism are being blurred...

Date: 2009-06-02 12:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kateorman.livejournal.com
Well, they do have the same goal. In fact, you'll have noticed that NOW have described the murder of Dr Tiller as "domestic terrorism", which is exactly what it is: you only need to target part of any group to keep that whole group afraid. It's what lynching was about, too, and what Brownmiller called rape.

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