Now Theft Can Be A Hate Crime?

In Holbrook, Long Island, New York, New York, a statue from a nativity scene was stolen for the second year in a row. The statue was one of the three wisemen, Balthasar, who, in the display, is black. Because it has happened twice and the statue is black, police have decided to investigate the crime as a hate crime.

A hate crime is defined as one that is motivated by, "feelings of hostility against any identifiable group of people within a society." (Wikipedia) Usually these crimes carry a stiffer penalty than the same crime done with a different motive.

The argument put forward is that because over the past two years this statue has been stolen, a menorah has been broken the same two years, and this year a white sheet was hung from a pole that this must be racially motivated.

Police are investigating the disappearance of Balthasar, a black wise man, as both a hate crime and a religion-related crime.

"It's kind of in between," Hate Crimes Bureau Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks said, adding that detectives are looking into the sheet's possible symbolic reference to the Ku Klux Klan.

(Newsday)

[edit on 12/21/05/21 by junglejake]

Now who would still a black baby jesus?

On a serious note I'm not suprised its been deemed a hate crime as authorities take this sort of thing very seriously.

I don't support 'hate crime' legislation so naturally I think this is ridiculous. If a person steals something, they should be punished. Separating out hate crimes or racially motivated crimes as somehow worse and more worthy of punishment FEEDS racism, bigotry and separationisn.

Bah!

This is the second story I've in the last couple of weeks about someone stealing the baby Jesus from a manger scene.

In the other instance it had been going on for years so they installed a security camera to catch the theif.

It turned out to be a woman in her 50s or 60s who no one would suspect of doing such a thing.

That crime was not racially motivated, not was it motivated by any other form of hate.

I don't know the history of the area where this new theft took place but they shouldn't automatically assume it was motivated by hate.

[edit on 21-12-2005 by AceOfBase]

Hate crime? Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, the thief really
likes black statues. And the white sheet? Well, that is symbolism for sure: the thief hangs it there to symbolize their surrender to their uncontrollable urge to steel black statues.

It could also be a high school group that is trying to begin a tradition.

The story Ace Of Base is referring to, I think, was a woman who, after her child in high school told her about the tradition of stealing the baby Jesus from the display, didn't want the tradition to die for whatever reason.

Also, it wasn't the statue of Jesus that was stolen.

Finally, do you think that by charging someone with a hate crime because they stole a black statue instead of a white one will erase racial intollerance? What happens if the thief turns out to be black? What happens if it turns out to be a bunch of school kids of all different races? Do the white ones get charged with a hate crime while the black ones get charged with theft?

Originally posted by junglejake
Also, it wasn't the statue of Jesus that was stolen.

Oh, sorry about that. I didn't read the article correctly.
I thought it was a statue of a black baby Jesus that was stolen.

The situation sounds like, well, a hate crime, stealing only the black figurines, smashing menorahs.

don't know the history of the area where this new theft took place but they shouldn't automatically assume it was motivated by hate.

We're talking about one of the more segregated suburbs in the US (long island as a whole anyways), naturally segreated too, none of that legalistic stuff, just good old 'I ain't selling mah house to any dark people' type stuff.

It could also be a high school group that is trying to begin a tradition.

Of smashing jewish menorahs?

do you think that by charging someone with a hate crime because they stole a black statue instead of a white one will erase racial intollerance?

Who cares? If the crime was motivated by race, whether it was blacks against whites or vice versa, then why shouldnt' they be punished? No all laws are out there to change society, some are just to punish that society finds objectionable.
Heck, all forms of sodomy are still illegal in new york, thats far more whacked out than specifically punishing people who smash menorahs and dispose of black figures from nativity scenes.

Make no mistake, I think they should charged, but with theft, not with holding an illegal idea even if they do, in fact, hold it.

Obviously I'm not a big supporter of censorship of ideas, even when those ideas make about as much sense as taking a baseball bat to your head to increase your memory. Get them out in the open so it's obvious the the masses just how stupid hating someone for the amount of melanin in their skin is. Don't make it illegal to have that idea.

i agree with you. have any belief you wish just dont act on it. if you hate me because i am white, fine. just dont kill me because i am white!

By adding a special provision to the law, though, stating that if you hold these ideas then you are more of a criminal than someone doing the exact same thing without those ideas starts the snowball rolling down the mountain. If it's ok to charge someone more harshly for a crime if they believe something, then why wouldn't it be ok to make believing in that illegal? Many European nations, Canada and others already have, so why not us?

Originally posted by AceOfBase
This is the second story I've in the last couple of weeks about someone stealing the baby Jesus from a manger scene.

]

They stole Balthasar one of the Wisemen and he was black.
In a way this is a hate crime because they only stole a black statue (to destroy probably) And broken Menorahs, all those things happening repeatedly are look at by profilers and then they investigate find out who was behind it and it is usually white supermacists. Therefore stealing certain things repeatedly that could suggest discrimination is considered a hate crime.
I hope I wrote this clearly enough because sometimes I can't write very well what I mean.

Doesn't it seem like everyone can be victims of hate crimes except whites. I guess it's politically correct to hate and blame them for the crimes of their white majority government and other white elitists. So go ahead and keep on hating whitety, cause in your eyes they're all guilty!

hate?

more like crime of oppurtunity.

I was in Sheffield Texas right before Xmas.

There was a manger thing going on with baby jesus.


It was 2 am the town was shut down no cops. no damn phones i could find that work.

now i had 2 thoughts rush through my head

steal the christ child
replace christ child with a ham

needless to say I couldnt find a ham so i was like to hell with that idea.


hate?
no

more like

own sick pleasure.

Anyone ever seen the hate crime episode of South Park?

at the end kyle is saying would any crime I commit against ANYONE be considered a hate crime? well any violent crime.



it's so hard faking being PC all the time.