Reading reflection #10

The article form the burlington free press that deals with hate crimes, was a little shocking to me; mostly because it happened in Vermont, which in my minds is one of the most liberal and accepting place in the united states. I was alost shocked by the fact that the crime commited towars the gay couple was dotn so by two women, normally when i think of a hate crime i think of two guys going and beating up some gay guy or some white rednecks ebating up a black guy, this is defiently not the case. And although hate crime legislation is a good idea, i feel that in practice it is an in effective tool to stop hate crimes from occuring. I also feel that they are in place mostly to make people feel good about themselves and to make it seem like they are making an effort to make a difference, when in fact there are other things that they could be doing that would educate the public about other races and sexes. If you teach kids from a young age that discrimination is wrong, and that it is ok to be different and to accept people for their differences and continue to do so through young adulthood this would do much more than simply making it a law. Also free speach could be an issue with this type of law and there are to many gray areas.