Hate Crimes and Economy

Re “Tackling the Haters,” editorial, July 21: Of the hundreds of murders, maimings and fractured families that will occur this year due to activities of Southern California gangbangers, so-called hate crimes will represent but an obscure portion. It is obfuscatory to focus attention upon hoodlums such as the Nazi Lowriders and other white street thugs purely by virtue of the racist ideologies and activities of the membership.

Calling a crime in which a street gang victim is chosen under criteria of race “hate crimes” implies that the crime is of greater severity than gang violence committed because the victim wears the wrong colored bandanna or resides in the wrong neighborhood. Explain that reasoning to the Latino parents of a child murdered by a Latino gang member. The activities of all street gangs, regardless of ideology or reasoning for their behavior, need to be dealt with under federal laws against racketeering and civil rights violations.

SHANNON CREAM

Chino Hills

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We can relate the rise in hate crimes in this country to the transfer of funds from the poor and middle class to the wealthy. This situation makes it easy for disaffected citizens to blame their lack of opportunity on other groups.

It is no coincidence that Slobodan Milosevic’s rise to power was accompanied by a severe economic decline in Yugoslavia. A sure sign of a country’s decline is the balkanization of its citizens into separate competing groups finding less and less in common as they struggle to make ends meet.

WILLIAM DuBAY

Costa Mesa