Hate & Haters

Hate is a strong dislike of someone or something. People may be said to hate other people, themselves, animals, objects, ideas, and so on. Hate is sometimes used as a modifier to intensify descriptions of especially vile actions such as “hate mail,” “hate speech,” and “hate crimes.” Hate can motivate war and such atrocities as GENOCIDE and ethnic cleansing. It is natural to wonder about the moral status of hate, especially given its close connection to violence. Is it morally permissible to hate, and how hatred is involved in such morally dubious attitudes as racism, sexism, and misanthropy? ~ hate from Encyclopedia of Ethics

Hate Crimes or Bias

Hate crimes or bias crimes are incidents in which the offenders have selected their victims because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or other innate characteristics. Hate crimes are different than other crimes because the offenders target victims because of who they are, as in ethnicity or gender, or because of a group that the victim(s) choose to belong to, such as a religious group. These offenders often randomly choose their victims and do not care who they assault or harass. Their mission is often to convey a message to an entire group, such as “Leave—your kind isn’t wanted in our neighborhood,” or to let the group know that they will not tolerate “your behavior.” ~ HATE CRIMES from Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society

Hate Groups

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a hate group as an organization whose primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility, and malice against persons of or with a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity which differs from that of the members or the organization, e.g., the Ku Klux Klan, American Nazi Party. ~ Hate Groups from Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice