Hate Crimes Overview
Definitions and Characteristics
The problem of hate crimes is hardly a recent phenomenon. Earliest recorded history to the present is rife with accounts of individuals committing acts of intimidation and barbaric violence against others simply because of their race, religion, physical handicap, sex, or political beliefs. From the Romans’ persecution of Christians to the Nazis’ "final solution" for the Jews, from the "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia to the genocide in Rwanda, hate crimes have shaped and sometimes defined the history of nations.In the United States, hate crimes have been inspired largely by racial and religious biases. As Europeans began to colonize the New…
