Racial and Ethnic Interpersonal Violence (IVUS 275-299)

Bias crimes are just another way for people to feel like they have control and more power over other groups of people. I will never be able to fully comprehend the mind and thought process of someone who participates in hate crimes. When a bias crime occurs in recent times, it makes me feel like we haven't made a lot of progress as humans. Are we letting bigotry run rampant? This chapter from Inequality and Violence in the United States makes me think of local instances of bias crimes. Just this school year, we've had instances of people being attacked for their affilitation with the GLBT community, and other instances of racial comments being written on doors or even as graffiti. It is disappointing to know that these things have occurred here at the WSU Pullman campus because I feel like others see it as a reflection of the values and thoughts of our community. I also think about the responses to bias crimes. I think that making people aware of what happens sort of gives satisfaction to the person behind the crime to know that it has caused a stir, but at the same time, it makes the community pull together to take a stance against the crime and it gives the community an opporunity to be proactive about preventing bias crimes from happening. Racial and ethnic interpersonal violence happens around the country and may never fully be abolished, but by pulling together, a lot can be done to reduce the amount of occurences.