I have been thinking about hate crimes a lot lately. I am of two minds. As a member of a class that is frequently the victim of hate crimes, I feel that there should be legislation requiring stiffer penalties for them. But isn't that really punishing someone for what they are thinking? Where does that end? When does the thought become the crime rather than the act. In many european countries denying the Holocaust occurred can be a crime. While in no way do I condone that line of thinking it seems weird that writing it is a crime. Assaulting someone is and should be illegal. But when charging and sentencing the perpetrator of the crime should thought or intent come into consideration? I understand that pre-meditating a murder is a different crime from just suddenly deciding to kill a person. But hate crimes legislation seems to me to be an attempt to control how people think. There will never not be raving lunatics like Charles Manson and well dressed, well spoken lunatics like Ann Coulter. Punishing them for what they think seems like a useless measure. Until violence as a way of solving problems is eliminated in our society hate crimes will occur. Likewise to pretend that stiffer penalties will make the perpetrators re-consider committing them is foolish.