Its good to be a Goth

[vetran]

BBC News - Hate crime: Police record attacks on punks, emos and goths

Goth Bashing to become a hate crime.

should we water down "hate crimes" in this way?

[Halo Jones]

BBC News - Hate crime: Police record attacks on punks, emos and goths

Goth Bashing to become a hate crime.

should we water down "hate crimes" in this way?

Get an Ouija board & ask Sophie Lancaster

[Lockhouse]

Everyone's a victim. Divide and conquer.

[vetran]

Get an Ouija board & ask Sophie Lancaster

BBC News - Una Crown, 86, murdered in 'brutal assault' in Wisbech

are either less deserving of consideration?

[Mich the Tester]

What makes a 'hate crime' more or less serious than beating somebody up with no good reason?

Do we really need laws to specify 'hate' as a motive, when there are surely sufficient laws for locking up violent scum anyway?

[VectraMan]

Surely if you're going to beat up some poor random unfortunate, you're probably not going to be doing it out of love. So any violent crime must involve a certain amount of hate. And for that matter, this change only applies to certain recognised "sub culture" groups. It doesn't cover anybody who genuinely expresses their individuality, just people who express their individuality in the same way as all their friends.

[MyUserName]

Isn't it already illegal to beat goths up, technically they count as people and it is illegal to beat people up?

What is the point of dilluting hate crimes until it just means 'someone that you do not like the look of'?

All that will happen is people will start throwing the phrase 'hate crime' up when they feel it will get them some attention or cause the police more hassle when arresting them.

[portseven]

BBC News - Hate crime: Police record attacks on punks, emos and goths

Goth Bashing to become a hate crime.

should we water down "hate crimes" in this way?

Hope Chavs are not included, as Chav bashing should be encouraged!

[formant]

Its good to be a Goth

Considering 'hate crime' already includes religion (a matter of personal choice), you may as well add subcultures. 'Hate crime' as a category would make more sense if it was restricted to things people have no say over (sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, and suchlike).

Overall however I think there is no need for this category or label, as the crimes committed within it can be dealt with on their own just as well. I feel the same about 'domestic violence'. Rape, assault, harassment, etc are well defined within our justice system. 'Domestic abuse' is all too often used to soften the perception and punishment of such crimes. The label of 'hate crime' on the other hand seems to have the opposite effect. These categories seem to be more of a political tool or serve to create a political narrative, than address the real issues/crimes committed.

[SueEllen]

It's labelled a hate crime simply so they can count them.

If it's found only 3 Goths/Emos/Punks a year are being beaten up per police area then they will stop counting them.