Thought Police? (the hate crime issue continues)

...when a man gets raped (for example, in jail), is it a hate crime against all men?

I think that "violent" sort of means "hateful towards people". Rape is a violent crime, and therefor a "hate crime" against human beings. As such, all violent crime could be called "hate crime".

I'm not too sure where I stand on the whole "hate crime" thing. Whether or not the person is Gay, or Black, or Female, (etc.), the punishment should be the same if they are attacked as it would be if they weren't Gay, or Black, or Female, (etc.). I think that in this country, we have the right to hate. It may not be morally right (in many people's books) to discriminate on the basis of skin color, sexual preference, etc., but you can't punish people for thinking or feeling things that the majority does not agree with. In this country, it's not illegal to have a minority opinion (thank the Gods) even though it's illegal to express those opinions in a violent fashion (because of the violent part, not the opinion part).

I don't think that a person should get punished more severely because of their personal beliefs. The penalty should be for the crime, not the belief/moral behind the crime. Rape is rape. Assault is assault. Murder is Murder. I don't care what the reasons are behind these crimes (these crimes are not crimes committed in "self defense" by their definition), they are horrible, violent crimes and should have severe repercussions, no matter who the victim was.

It makes me a bit nervous when my government tells me (or others) how to think. It's a practice that can lead to a rather uncomfortable (oppressive) living situation.