Tom Lehman
Doug Henwood wrote:
> [from Sam Smith's Progressive Review]
>
> LIBERTARIAN PARTY: Early this month, an 18-year-old black man went on a
> bloody crime spree, attacking two elderly white men and bludgeoning an
> 82-year-old woman to death. The suspect, Obie Weathers, was arrested on
> February 15, and reportedly told police, "I hate all white people."
> Prosecutors are now investigating the case as a possible hate crime, which
> puts Obie Weathers in a fast-growing category of criminals:
> African-Americans who face extra-long prison sentences because they violated
> state or federal laws that punish "racist" thoughts. While such laws were
> touted as a way to protect minorities against violent white racists, the
> actual result has been the exact opposite: Blacks are twice as likely as
> whites to be charged with a "hate crime." According to data from a National
> Crime Victimization Survey, published by the US Department of Justice, only
> 2,336 whites were charged with anti-black "hate" crimes in 1997, while 718
> blacks were charged with anti-white crimes. Adjusting for the fact that
> blacks make up just 13% of the population, they were statistically twice as
> likely as whites to face prosecution for hate crimes.
>
> LIBERTARIAN PARTY http://www.lp.org/