Stop Hate 2000 Newsletter November 18, 2006

The PlanetOut web site has an article about 12 and 14 year old boys who were charged under Maine's hate crimes legislation for vandalizing a lesbian couple's home. According to the article, valuables were stolen, furniture and windows were broken, pesticides sprayed, car damaged, urine and feces were in the car and the home, and anti-gay comments were written on the walls of the home.

When a person reads of two boys committing such a crime, one is left to wonder where children learn such hate. Is this kind of hate learned at home, at school, in church, from society in general? What causes such a deep level of fear and hatred?

Some people feel hate is a learned emotion. When we read about hate crimes committed by children, one is left wondering how society can better teach love and acceptance.

The PlanetOut news article underscores the need for groups like Stop Hate 2000. Hate crimes are a daily occurrence in almost every country, state or province.

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The Stop Hate 2000 web complex has a new resource. A set of web pages dedicated to bullying is now on our web site. The pages on bullying were added, because bullying is often a hate crime, where anybody who is a visible or could be an invisible minority is targeted for abuse. The new resource pages, Stop Bullying, supplements a variety of bullying related web links on our web resources page.

A source of news about hate crimes in the United States can be found on the Yahoo Hate Crimes News web pages.

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A few of the news stories we have been following appear below:

  • A report by Alice Samson and Coretta Philips, Reducing Repeat Racial Victimisation on an East London Estate, may be of interest to those who are attempting to reduce hate crimes in their local communities. The report can be found on the United Kingdom Home Office Race Relations web pages. The program implemented in a housing authority in east London is credited with as 12% reduction in repeat racial victimization. We are not certain how well the positive outcomes could be duplicated in other communities, but the report is worth serious consideration.

  • The Houston Chronicle web site has a news story about a Hispanic teen who was beaten and sodomized with a plastic pipe.

  • The Journal Live site has an article about a Bangladeshi family. The family's home was attacked by an arsonist. The grandfather of the family collapsed and died.

  • This fall saw news stories about well-known people. Reichen Lehmkuhl, who is Lance Bass' boyfriend, says he was sexually assaulted while a cadet in the United States Air Force Academy. Since then, both Lehmkuhl and Bass have received death threats. The complete article is found on the Advocate web site. Ted Haggard was the pastor of the Colorado Springs, Colorado mega-church, New Life Church, and president of the National Association of Evangelicals. He resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was fired as pastor of New Life Church after allegations were made that he had been seeing a male prostitute for three years. A series of articles about Ted Haggard can be found on the CNN web site. This story is of interest to those advocating for gay rights, because Haggard opposed same-sex marriage. Activist Mel White wrote a new book, Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right. The book can be purchased from the Soulforce web site.

  • South Africa passed a law allowing for same-sex marriages. This is an important breakthrough in Africa, a continent where homophobia and homonegativity are very high. An article about the new law can be read on the CNN internet site.

  • Four men were convicted of beating two gay American tourists in St. Maarten. The story appears on the Advocate web site.

  • A July PlanetOut news article reports on the arrests of 14 people in Latvia. The people were arrested for having attacked activists and dignitaries during gay pride celebrations in Riga, Latvia. According to the article, some protesters threw tomatoes, eggs, and bags of urine at people entering a pride-related service at an Anglican church.

  • An Advocate article about Georgia Tech University is of interest to those who wish to place reasonable limits on freedom of speech, in the interest of preventing hate crimes, and those who believe there should be almost no limits on freedom of speech. Georgia Tech University is no longer forbidding students from making anti-gay comments.

  • The police arrested a man for a hate-crime attack that took place during pride events at a San Diego park. According to an article in the Advocate, three men, armed with baseball bats and a knife, attacked the victims.

  • In a July 2006 Advocate article, three gang members are reported to be facing hate-crimes charges for beating people at a Riverside, California gay bar.

  • The Advocate carries an article about a Texas pastor who has been accused of raping a church member, after telling her she was possessed by a lesbian demon. Evidently, the pastor is denying the accusation. The article can be read on the Advocate web site.

  • There is very good news regarding protecting gay and lesbian students from bullying. Legislation proposed to protect gay and lesbian students from bullying is reported by the Advocate as having received the some important political support.



Anybody with news about hate crimes or discrimination is welcome to email us.



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