Jussie Smollett’s hate crime

I'm not a big fan of the term "hate crime" because the definition of one is vague and nebulous at best, obfuscating and confusing at worst. The term "hate crime" suggests that certain crimes should be judged and punished more harshly depending on the motive of the perpetrator. Jussie Smollett Theoretically, the criminal act is considered worse if racism, homophobia, or some other prejudice is the primary motive. But is that really true? Even if it is true, why should it matter? Let's say person "A" murders person "B" in some heinous manner, let's say by nailing them to a tree--is the crime really worse if the perpetrator and victim are of different races or have different sexual preferences? Personally, I wouldn't really care too much one way or the other even if the perpetrator and victim were different species. I'd care that a living creature had been nailed to a tree for no justifiable reason. In my opinion, there is something seriously wrong with a human being who would torture an animal or a person and take pleasure from watching them suffer. Someone that evil shouldn't be allowed to live. Jussie Smollett hates President Donald Trump so much that he paid two black men $3,500 (unfortunately for him paid by check, leaving a paper trail) to "attack" him with bleach, claiming they were Trump supporters shouting "Make America Great Again" and racist, homophobic slurs. His t-shirt says it all, doesn't it? Smollett caused the city of Chicago to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars paying the police to waste hundreds of man-hours investigating a … [Read more...]