Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: November 06, 2010 10:59PM
A judge has deemed a recent cross burning at the home of an interracial couple to be a hate crime. Being classified as a hate crime allows for stricter/longer sentences, hopefully to dissuade others from engaging in similar behaviour and to register societal disapproval at such flagrant criminal acts against others on the basis of racism and other prejudices (historically, the big two are on the basis of race and sexual orientation).
Below are links to some news accounts about this and a few excerpts from the articles, as well as some of my random thoughts about the issue in general. It does tie into discussion of Mormonism at some point.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/101105/national/ns_cross_burning"WINDSOR, N.S. - Canada has marked a turning point with what's believed to be a landmark hate crime conviction, an interracial couple said Friday, months after they awoke to find a burning cross on the front lawn of their rural Nova Scotia home.
Shayne Howe, who is black, and Michelle Lyon, who is white, were in court to hear provincial court Judge Claudine MacDonald find Justin Rehberg guilty Friday of inciting racial hatred.
"It shows that Canada doesn't accept this, that those days are over," said Howe outside court. "For that conviction to come through, it makes me happy."
http://www.globalnews.ca/world/Cross+burning+hate+crime+judge+says/3782956/story.html"A Nova Scotia man was found guilty Friday of inciting racial hatred for burning a cross outside the home of an interracial couple in rural Hants County.
"We commend Judge Claudine MacDonald for sending a clear message that Canadians will not stand for blatant acts of hatred and racism," Bernie Farber, the group's [the Canadian Jewish Congress] CEO, said in a statement. "This is a precedent-setting case, the first time in Canada that a cross burning has been recognized for what it is — a hate crime."
"The real danger isn't so much in the overt acts like this, but in the more subtle instances where people don't even realize they're acting in a discriminatory fashion and it has significant consequences to those that experience it."
"… in Canada, there is a "sentencing regime" that allows the Crown or the judge to push bias or prejudice as an aggravating factor for some crimes — such as assault — that might have been motivated by hate and typically based on race or sexual orientation.
"It reflects that a lot more people aren't necessarily overtly biased, but they do manifest unconscious biases and the real danger is our inability to recognize that and deal with it on a systemic level," he [law professor] said.
NG: I agree that many people are not overtly biased but bias can be unconscious. That’s why having one’s consciousness raised is a positive thing. It happens often here at RfM where posters from diverse walks of life write about life from their perspective and it allows readers to gain new insight. It’s definitely a learning curve for many BICs, growing up learning and living racist doctrines, to readjust their way of thinking after they leave the church.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_burning“Many Christians consider it sacrilege to burn or otherwise destroy a cross. Klan Christians, however, states that it is not destroying the cross, but "lighting" it, as a symbol of the members' faith.”
NG: It’s interesting to see how people adopt the same symbol but use it differently according to the nuance of their beliefs, to the point that its significance can be completely opposite from one group to the next. We’ve talked about that wrt the markings on the outside of Mormon temples that Christians insist are satanic and Mormons view as Christian, or at least not un-Christian.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2231653698&topic=132489“Crown lawyer Darrell Carmichael presented a 15-page brief that argued history shows a cross-burning is a potent symbol that inflames racism and "was likely to lead to further breaches of the peace."
“In North America, cross burning is "inextricably intertwined with the history of the Ku Klux Klan," Carmichael said.”
NG: This is an example of how symbols and symbolism present a powerful message and are often inextricably linked with the way certain groups use them, as in the case of cross-burning, which must surely be associated with the KKK forevermore (i.e., negative connotation, for the rest of time). I can’t see how another group could adopt that symbol/act and justify its use for a so-called positive purpose.
I'm rushing now due to imminent board closing, but I wanted to post a few thoughts about how symbols are used and interpreted. We attach such deep meaning to symbols, positive and negative, that misuse or desecration is seen as hurtful, serious, misguided or even criminal; for example, descrating a country's flag is viewed as deeply offensive, even if it's your own country. I'm betting that no rational CEO will adopt the swastika as the company symbol, perhaps ever again in human history. Most Christians would view cross burning as an un-Christian act. Unless it's a KKK-Christian of course.
What do you think about this court decision, the act itself, symbols in general, Mormons and the cross, the temple markings, etc?
Such are my musings on a wet Saturday evening.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2010 11:02PM by Nightingale.