Research Paper Example: Hate Crimes

Introduction

I developed the study topic "How do hate crimes in the Bay Area affect citizens?" to acquire a better understanding of Hate Crimes in the Bay Area. I chose this topic for my research project because I wanted to understand more about how Hate Crimes affect people's lives. I searched through several stories from 2014 onwards, concentrating on the impact that some of these hate crime instances have had on these locals, to learn more about the issue. Hate crimes, I've observed, have a significant impact on communities, and that impact varies greatly. The following five categories will be used to arrange this project: description, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution. This will assist me in organizing my project and make it easier to understand for the reader.

Description

The Bay Area has a population of 7.75 million people and is still growing. I feel privileged to live in Orinda, a wealthy community where hate crimes are rare. I believe that most families in Orinda are trapped in what I refer to as the "Orinda Bubble," which means that they are unaware of how lucky they are and that if they drive 9 miles west, they would find themselves in Oakland, which has a high poverty rate. Oakland is the most dangerous city in California, with the highest crime rate and the 13th percentile for safety, meaning that 87% of cities are safer than Oakland. Although they aren't all hate crimes, it's easy to conclude Oakland isn't the safest city in the country. Hate crimes are crimes that are motivated by the victim's race, gender, or religion and have been on the rise recently.

Sequence

A scene from Dashka Slater's 57th Bus inspired me to choose Hate Crimes as my topic. This novel is inspired by a true story that occurred in Oakland. Sasha was a well-rounded Oakland High student. Sasha was born a man and later converted into a woman. Sasha began wearing skirts to school on January 1, 2013. On the other hand, just six days later, Richard, another Oakland High student and one of his best friends, was killed in gang warfare. Sasha announced to the world that they are a- gender on March 1, 2013. When you don't identify as a boy or a girl, you're considered a- gender. As the year progresses, Richard continues to strive for improvement by applying for a job to help support his mother. The catastrophe took place on November 4th, 2013. Sasha is napping on the bus journey home, while Richard is playing with his buddies just a few seats ahead. Richard is soon challenged by his pals to light a match next to Sasha's skirt. Richard considers it but ultimately decides to do it because he feels compelled to make his buddies laugh. Richard sets fire to her, and the result is even worse than he could have anticipated. Sasha is left with 3rd degree burns all over her body when the ambulance takes 45 minutes to arrive. Richard was arrested at school the next day and was sentenced to 7 years in prison and charged as an adult a year later.

Cause and Effect

“An 84-year old man from Thailand was attacked and knocked to the ground during his morning walk in San Francisco. He died two days later”.  according to an excerpt from GlobalPost (Article). This is an excellent example of a cold-blooded hate crime that occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area. Unfortunately, as stated in the report, the 84-year-old did not make it. “A lot of folks are worried,.... some older residents aren’t even leaving their homes with the rise in attacks.” Sakhone (a community ambassador) remarked in the same story. This exemplifies the impact that Hate Crimes have on Bay Area residents. Nobody should be afraid of walking around the neighbourhood. In recent years, hate crimes have not been confined to Asians. According to a US Today report (Article) from just two years ago, “The city of Oakland, California, has launched a hate crime investigation after finding several nooses at a city park,”.  This heinous Hate Crime was uncovered just a few blocks from my brother's old apartment. According to the same source, "The discovery of the nooses comes after the death of two Black men who were found hanging from trees in California and amid nationwide protests against racial bias and police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25” This was a hate crime committed against African Americans. This was a hate crime committed against African Americans. This horrible conduct was upsetting and unsettling for many people of Oakland and the Bay Area. My brother, who isn't even black, was taken aback by this, so I can only imagine how black Oakland people felt. Hate crimes can be perpetrated not only because of a person's skin color but also because of their gender or sexual orientation, as Sasha discovered. Richard is on page 126 of the pdf edition of the 57th bus state. He told the officers, “I wouldn’t say that I hate gay people, but I’m very homophobic.” Because he was uninformed of his Miranda rights and the police neglected to tell him of them, Richard pleads guilty to the Hate Crime. As a result, he was charged with two crimes and sentenced to seven years in jail. Our event opened the eyes of the lgbtq+ community and demonstrated how hazardous it can be to express oneself, which is a terrible reality in this society.

Problem and Solution

There's an obvious issue here.  “SF police data shows a 567% increase in reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans.”  according to the study. This number was revealed just two months ago in a story from the Guardian. It demonstrates that hate crimes have surged at an alarming pace in San Francisco alone. Hate crime rates have also increased dramatically in Oakland. The Asian community has been the most recent target of hate crimes in an article, Russell Jeung, chair of San Francisco State University's Asian American Studies department, said, "I can't describe the actual amount of hate that the Asian American community is experiencing now,"  The Stop AAPI Hate website was created by Russell Jeung and the Asian American Studies department at San Francisco State University. The website was developed to raise awareness about the recent AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hate crimes. As indicated in the cause and effect paragraph, there have been several hate crimes in Oakland recently. This made a lot of the locals feel insecure and fearful. Ambassadors are one thing Oakland has done for the community. According to this article, “Community ambassadors walk the streets of Chinatown to care for the neighbourhood and help residents feel safe. They do things like sweep sidewalks, fix kids’ bikes and help with vaccine clinics.” It has a significant influence, and I believe it is a positive move for Oakland's community. “A lot of folks are worried,” Sakhone added, adding that with the increase in attacks, some senior residents are refusing to leave their houses.“ But at the same time, when I'm around, they know that I'm there to help look over them.” Sakhone is one of the top ambassadors, and the article implies that Sakhone's presence alone makes a significant influence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, hate crimes are on the rise, and they need to be addressed more forcefully. Hate Crime Rates are at an all-time high, as I've said throughout my study. The skyrocketing crime rates have frightened Bay Area residents, who have been remaining indoors for long periods in fear of being the next victim. Living in Orinda is a different climate than living in Oakland, as I said at the start of my project. I played basketball for a small Orinda team when I was ten years old, and one weekend we played at Tice Valley against the Oakland Soldiers, one of the top AAU teams in the country. Many NBA superstars have played there, including (LeBron James, Aaron Gordon, Kendrick Perkins, and others), therefore they were a formidable opponent. Because his son was playing with the soldiers, Andre Iguodala was in attendance for our game. As you could imagine, the scoreboard shows 82-18 as the buzzer sounds. We got destroyed, but my mother was chatting to Andre Iguodala throughout the game, not knowing who he was but recognizing him as a basketball player because of his stature of 6'8" and 215 pounds of muscle.  I keep telling my parents that enrolling me in that program was the best decision they could have made. Not only for the fantastic basketball program and experience but also for the atmosphere of playing four times a week at a rec center in Oakland for five years. It helped me realize at a young age how fortunate we are to live in Orinda, and how residents of Orinda, for the most part, live in a 'bubble' and maybe be brainwashed. We've had to cancel practice several times because a gang violence-related crime occurred just next to the rec center. I've had many ties with kids who have lived in Oakland as I grew up with that team, and I've realized that Hate Crimes do play a role in their lives. They used to tell me stories about how they were afraid to go outside because of shootings, and how many fights they would have at school, and so on. The main takeaway from this story is that I have been unintentionally uncovering my research question throughout my life. Now that I've been researching it for a month or so, I've noticed that many people aren't educated enough on the subject to recognize that just because you live in an affluent neighbourhood, there are neighbourhoods just a few miles down the road where Hate Crimes are rampant. Unfortunately, residents must be cautious when leaving their homes due to hate crimes, and this issue has to be discussed more openly.