A hate crime occurs when a criminal act is carried out and has been motivated by a bias against a victim of an opposing social group, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, nationality, disability, gender, class, political affiliation, racial group or gender identity.
Today I'd like to briefly discuss the idea of 'Hate Crime', specifically in relation to the recent tragedy in Scotland where a man was beaten up and burned to death. Police are investigating whether or not the death of the openly gay man, named Stuart Walker, was a homophobic attack.
A spokesperson said 'In terms of claims of his sexuality and lifestyle we are not ruling out any aspect of his life to try and identify why someone would want to kill him.'
Journalist Laurie Penny tweeted on the incident:
It's appalling that this is still a society where, when a gay man is murdered, we have to consider that it may have been because he was gay.
I agree with Penny. It really is saddening that we hate at all, but when we must consider that our hatred of those different to us inspires murder, surely it must stand as a wake up call? We are all different from eachother, we are all capable of acquiring enemies, and although it may not feel like it, we are all individually capable of making a positive change. Nobody wants to live in fear because of what they are.
Rest In Peace, Stuart Walker.
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