Quote:
Originally Posted by Alf
Source Maru. He was charged with common assault. Not racially aggravated, as was reported.
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I'm the source?
(Joking aside)
I hadn't noticed there was could've been a distinction in the ruling, but the "lesser" charge is telling. If it were to be considered a hate crime (of sorts), then racism would have to be
proven. One would think past comments could even come into play if there are witnesses? Though I don't think it's unreasonable to think at least his being bullied partially played off of racial/ethnic differences since that could've effectively made him an "outsider". I was on the receiving end of those nuances with where I grew up, when I was very often selected for bullying. I could say racially motivated, but I just think that my being white, very small and obviously "different" probably made me an easier target to isolate from my peers. That said, a victim mentality would've been panned majorly when I was growing up, so it's not something that was tolerated to go to the principal's office and go "That person is racist towards me!"... it would've had to been a staff/peer group thing where they saw it witness this beyond just "typical" bullying.
Back then it was just the B word (bully) that was thrown around.
Now it's the R word, but the B word is still as much of a problem... but I think stories like this that do shock people make them think about how they deal with people and how they treat others as human beings... puts things like our harsh words into perspective. I actually don't want the R battle to become a bigger deal than it is now, because I do think that coexistance should be a matter of who we choose to hang around with... but rather how we treat all human-beings in general. (To be clear, you've never made me feel the latter, Alf, I'm just making a very particular point)
There is something to be said as well about worrying about what happens in our own yard before attacking others... still, it isn't a bad thing to bring awareness to things like racial tensions. Which will
certainly always exist in the same sense that all societies, even Intersectional ones, will have some sense of exclusionary behavior and prevailing priorities.