HATE CRIMES

Hate Crimes in Grade School

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of Hate Crimes in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “hate crimes” and its relation with violence acts in grade schools. The research also analyzes many aspects of hat e crimes and tries to gauge its effect on students. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for hate crimes and tries to describe the overall issues related to ethnic, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, and race.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Analysis1

Issues of Hate Crimes1

Policies to Prevent Hate Crimes2

Other Issues of Hate Crime2

Methodology4

Instrument for Data Collection4

Data Analysis4

Reliability4

Validity5

Results5

Conclusion5

References7

Hate Crimes in Grade School

Introduction

Hate crime is mostly defined by s number of federal or state laws. Broadly, the term hate crime means to offend another person or cause harm to him with respect to race, gender, religion, color, sexual orientation, native country, or disability. The act involves an individual or a group which selects other people for such an attack. In other words, the selection of the victim is intentional. There are thousands of Americans who become victims hate crimes every year. Furthermore, such crimes cause ripple effects on respective communities. These crimes also cause agony and injustice, which negatively affect the democratic society, resulting in fear and conflicts which eventually affect everyone.

Analysis

Issues of Hate Crimes

Hate crimes do not give protection or exemption to Schools. Schools, including grade schools, exhibit such intolerance and aggression. Grade school students, adolescents, and young adults constitute a significant percentage of the nation's hate crimes. This proportion consist these groups both as perpetrators and as victims (Koppelman & Goodhart, 2010). There are various forms of conducts and behaviors, instigating hate such as ethnic conflicts, graffiti, staking, and intimidation. These behaviors are common in schools. Furthermore, there are certain hate groups which perpetrate violence, and work in the effort to incorporate fresh blood to their ranks. However, it is fortunate that children do not possess such violent attributes by birth. Children learn from their immediate environment which includes families and schools. Therefore, there is a possibility that such crimes can be prevented if schools, families, legal bodies, and communities work in cohesion. If these groups work together, they can manage to prelude the development of the discriminatory and narrow-minded attitudes and aggressive conduct which leads to hate crimes (Sibbitt, 1997).

Policies to Prevent Hate Crimes

In addition, there is always the possibility to reduce or eliminate prejudice by educating children to appreciate and respect differences among people. Furthermore, children need encouragement so that they develop understanding, conflict resolution, and analytical thinking skills (Jacobs & Potter, 1998). There is a need to teach and educate children that hate, in its most subtle form, is wrong. If this is accomplished, then there will be hope to prevent violent and extreme behaviors of hate in the future. It is the responsibility of educators, as they have the opportunity to decrease or eradicate hate crimes and violent acts. There are several schools at district or individual levels, ...