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Article: You have a right to hate but not hurt someone.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 16, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I hate hate crimes as much as the next person, but where's the evidence Americans are hating or hurting each other any more than usual?
``Violent crime has dropped for five years in a row. But we are just beginning to grasp the problem of hate crimes, and how best to fight back,'' said Attorney General Janet Reno last week, in announcing the FBI's 1996 hate crime report.
Actually, we haven't grasped anything. Some police agencies can't be bothered to ponder the motivation of vandals and muggers, collect statistics and send them to Washington. Others use definitions of hate crime so narrow that nothing qualifies. The state of Alabama reported zero ...