I don’t know what the legal requirements are for a hate crime, though — do people need to be a member of a minority or protected group in order to be victims of a hate crime, or is only the intent of expressing hate toward a particular group required?
I’ve read up on this in the past, it is the latter.
I’ll provide my knowledge as a cop, yes, you’re right. It is the latter. But don’t expect “hate crimes” to actually apply accordingly, uniformly, or in a manner that makes sense. I was chastised back in 2006 for filing a case as a hate crime. Apparently, beating a white person while calling them a “cracker”, a “gringo”, and a “honky” isn’t a hate crime if the victim is white and the assailants are Latinos. And I’m speaking as a half white, half Mexican guy. I really honestly hate the idea of “hate crimes”, it purports to punish people of racist motivations, when in fact it does not in many circumstances depending on the race of the assailant. Plus, you have to really prove the actual basis of the attacker as racist, which is much harder than you could imagine in a court of law. Even these highly racist idiots beating a poor mentally deficient white guy while saying extremely racist crap, you watch their trials and see what I am talking about. Therefor, “hate crimes”, should include all crimes since most all crimes are based on hate of some sort, whether it be hate of gender, class, wealth, race, etc. etc. So, “hate crimes” in itself shouldn’t exist unless it includes all crimes.
But excuse me for thinking. I’m just a cop who has spent a decade and half on the streets actually dealing with people, crimes, criminals, victims, etc. etc. What do I know. My experience means nothing.