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Originally Posted by ISiddiqui
It never ceases to amaze me how conservatives can object to hate crimes to come to the defence of racists and Holocaust deniers by claiming freedom of speech as long as they don't participate in violence itself, but if it is Muslims that are engaging in the same activities, then they must be supressed and banned.
If hate crimes are bad because they criminalize thought, then these laws against non-violent groups (and groups which do NOT believe in using violence) are bad as well.
It seems the libertarians (and us moderate libertarians) are the only ones consistent on the issue. The KKK has a right their opinions and so do the non-violent Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Defending the nation? Pah... racism it is... unless the Brits through out BNP members who walk the line in advocating violence against those of South Asian decent.
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As a conservative, I am against crimes in which innocent people lose their lives - it doesn't matter to me if you want to qualify it as a "hate" crime or not. In my opinion, anyone who takes the life of someone else, except in war, should be considered guilty of a "hate" crime.
As for defending racists and holocaust deniers, I have never done either. However, I do recognize that we live in a free country, and as long as we remain a free country, we have to embrace the fact that we are all different. If someone wants to stand out on the street and rave about how their beliefs are correct - that is fine with me. I draw the line when they try to inflict their beliefs on me, or anyone else, and especially when someone gets hurt or loses their life because of their actions.
A crime is a crime. Period. A man who robs a store at gunpoint and murders the clerk on duty is guilty of the same crime that the KKK member who murdered a black family is guilty of as well as the "terrorist" who bombed a subway or flew a plane into a building. Murder itself is born out of hatred. You can dictate punishment based on whether or not a crime is premeditated, but not on the person's thoughts that drove that crime to occur.