Conf. Monument Vandalized In Jackson, TN

The vandalism occurred in Jackson, Tennessee. This Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 2014 hate crime report is all I can readily find in regards to what constitutes a hate crime in the state. It does not appear that vandalism of statues are covered.
I read the report you linked to and I think that vandalism of a statue could be covered. Crimes against property such as vandalism may be hate crimes. I think that the problem is the identity of the victim, in this case the government or the public. Typically to be a hate crime in Tenn. one element is that the perpetrator targeted the victim based on race, nationality, sex, religion or disability.
 
I read the report you linked to and I think that vandalism of a statue could be covered. Crimes against property such as vandalism may be hate crimes. I think that the problem is the identity of the victim, in this case the government or the public. Typically to be a hate crime in Tenn. one element is that the perpetrator targeted the victim based on race, nationality, sex, religion or disability.

I agree. I could see the vandalism of a statue to let's say for example, MLK, by spraying racial epithets, kicking it into a hate crime category.
 
Don’t get me wrong I hate vandalism and think this is terrible. However, I hate to see a kid (assuming this was a kid) go to prison for being a stupid kid (I know I did stupid stuff as a teenager). Seems like better punishments would be along the lines of “volunteering” at the closest Civil War Battlefield NP to clean bathrooms/pick up trash or something along those lines; also attending a class on the ACW should be required. Perhaps none of this is really practicable but sending someone to prison to get a better education on crime doesn’t seem like the right solution to me.
 
The vandalism is bad enough, but the comparison to Nazis is ridiculous. It completely diminishes what Nazis were and shows how diluted and distorted the perspective about our civil war has become to so many. And please let's not get into calling this political correctness. This is base ignorance and petty crime, and that knows no political bounds.
 
Don’t get me wrong I hate vandalism and think this is terrible. However, I hate to see a kid (assuming this was a kid) go to prison for being a stupid kid (I know I did stupid stuff as a teenager). Seems like better punishments would be along the lines of “volunteering” at the closest Civil War Battlefield NP to clean bathrooms/pick up trash or something along those lines; also attending a class on the ACW should be required. Perhaps none of this is really practicable but sending someone to prison to get a better education on crime doesn’t seem like the right solution to me.
Here on Long Island they have a diversion program for teens convicted of painting nazi symbols on Jewish synagogues and other buildings where the young person works with a rabbi on weekends. I spoke to a rabbi who participated and he said that sometimes the kids change, but about half of them seemed unmoved by the experience.
 
To hear the first "law student" say "I don't care or respect the monument" and "let all the vandalism happen to it, I don't care", is the prime example of those who never cared to learn about the history itself to begin with, and just spew the same old, baseless talking points of ****, hatred, etc. Furthermore, for her to incline that the University needs to somehow bow down to the will of the students, last I checked, it's not THEIR University..they are simply paying a tuition to learn, which does not give them an automatic right to somehow dictate what will and will not be on campus. But also, it's up to the Universities themselves to grow a backbone once again and not succumb to any student temper tantrums that ever occur.

The episodes of ignorance, arrogance, & self entitlement of some in that upcoming generation, I shutter & fear for the future for any important positions they might hold. With myself only being 33 years old, it might be something that will have to be dealt with a lot over time, sadly.
 
The vandalism occurred in Jackson, Tennessee. This Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 2014 hate crime report is all I can readily find in regards to what constitutes a hate crime in the state. It does not appear that vandalism of statues are covered.
Under Methodology on pg. 3 of this report it states that crimes committed against property can be constituted as hate crimes, but that the offence must be motivated by bias which can only be determined after investigation, as motivation can be considered subjective. There must be sufficient evidence in place, and only then can the incident be reported as a hate crime.
 
Under the state's hate crime law:

The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be subject to enhancement as provided in Sections 99-19-301 through 99-19-307 if the felony or misdemeanor was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender of the victim.

I would think that since the victim is the public, this would not fall under the definition of a hate crime.

Does the state enhance penalties for destruction of historic artifacts? That might be the case here.
I've never seen 'ancestry' listed as an area of possible discrimination/hatred. That one is new to me, and makes me wonder why it is included when race, ethnicity, national origin, color and religion are already included. At the same time, I am glad to see it there as it may provide some protection to those who would not otherwise be protected.
Also, I think in this case the nature of the crime goes more to what motivated it than to the damage actually done (as it relates to property).
 
While those responsible for this vandalism ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent and be held liable for all costs involved in the statue's repair, how does this rise to the level of a hate crime?
It's what motivates the incident that appears to be the issue to me. If you scrawled your name on a monument in the form of graffiti, then that's vandalism. The only intent is to deface, but without bias (in regard to the monument you have defaced). The motivating force raises an incident to the level of a hate crime, but that must still be proven by evidence sought under investigation.
 
I've never seen 'ancestry' listed as an area of possible discrimination/hatred. That one is new to me, and makes me wonder why it is included when race, ethnicity, national origin, color and religion are already included. At the same time, I am glad to see it there as it may provide some protection to those who would not otherwise be protected.
Also, I think in this case the nature of the crime goes more to what motivated it than to the damage actually done (as it relates to property).
Generally with a hate crime there has to be an underlying ordinary crime (murder, arson, etc.) In other words there is no hate crime without there already being an ordinary crime. If the crime is motivated by one of the motives covered in the statute, then the crime is "enhanced." In NY, an ordinary crime that is a class B misdemeanor would be a class A misdemeanor if it is a hate crime.
 
It's what motivates the incident that appears to be the issue to me. If you scrawled your name on a monument in the form of graffiti, then that's vandalism. The only intent is to deface, but without bias (in regard to the monument you have defaced). The motivating force raises an incident to the level of a hate crime, but that must still be proven by evidence sought under investigation.
One issue that arises is that very few hate crime statutes cover crimes that are motivated solely by political disagreements.
 
One issue that arises is that very few hate crime statutes cover crimes that are motivated solely by political disagreements.
Often political disagreements are the things that culminate in hate crimes. And that leads to other things...unless you 'nip it in the bud' at its source.
 
Idiots. Even if you see a monument that honors people you don't agree with (or hate), that is still no excuse to go vandalize. Monuments are supposed to honor certain things or events. There even is a monument over in Normanday that is dedicated to the Nazi defenders! And no one has even vandalized it!
Funny enough, my mother is German and when I visited her relatives I was incredulous to see plaques in churches dedicated to (lets avoid the use of the term Nazi) German soldiers. I had grown up in the understanding that these were 'bad' people, and yet there were items, in churches, honoring their sacrifice. It really got me thinking about how people feel the necessity to honor the fallen, regardless of who won or lost the war.
 
Funny enough, my mother is German and when I visited her relatives I was incredulous to see plaques in churches dedicated to (lets avoid the use of the term Nazi) German soldiers. I had grown up in the understanding that these were 'bad' people, and yet there were items, in churches, honoring their sacrifice. It really got me thinking about how people feel the necessity to honor the fallen, regardless of who won or lost the war.
There is a completely overlooked rule about hatred towards people: It's not the people to hate, but the way they believe
 
There is a completely overlooked rule about hatred towards people: It's not the people to hate, but the way they believe
Perceptions/beliefs are everything, and that's why education is so important. It's the only was to overcome misconceptions/misunderstanding about others. The only thing to add to that is that we have to be willing to listen to what others have to say. We may not like it, but they have their reasons for thinking the way they do, just like us.
 
Back
Top