Immanuel Kant (via ageofreason)
Which is great, when true. Alas, ethics tends to drift into law and suddenly, we have things like “hate crimes” which essentially put the deaths of some above the death of others. I understand, it’s to compensate, but it still feels wrong. I mean, it’s what every racist and homophobe is afraid of: their rights being treated as less important than the minorities. By codifying hate crime, you’re fulfilling the XYZiphobe’s biggest fears.
It’s one thing to be protected, but another to have the loss of your life valued more than the loss of anyone else’s life.
Hate crime legislation may mean well, but really, it’s big brother telling us “wrongthinking is punishable.”
Think of it this way, should a killer of a gay man get a lesser sentence because he can prove he’s not homophobic? It’s like you get a “discount” for being a less-bad person.
