Links - 30th April 2019 (2) (Hate Crimes)

Finley: America’s hate crime surge is a hoax - "statistics that show an increase of 17% in the number of hate crimes reported to the FBI during the Trump presidency.But it isn’t true. The surge has little to do with Trump and his red hat brigade. This according to Will Reilly, a Kentucky State University associate professor, who extensively researched hate-fueled violence in America for his book Hate Crime Hoax.“Almost all of that surge is due to the simple fact that in 2017 the number of police departments reporting hate crimes to the FBI increased by 1,000,” says Reilly. “The surge narrative is pretty dishonest.”And destructive. The perception that hate-filled mobs are roaming the streets attacking minorities, gay and transgender people and other vulnerable citizens in the name of Donald Trump keeps us on edge and makes us distrustful of our neighbors. It also creates a gullibility that that allows us to believe things we should know aren’t true. Like Jussie Smollett’s ridiculous tale of being attacked by two MAGA-hat-wearing thugs on a frigid Chicago street. Before the actor’s whopper unraveled, it was wildly parroted by a media too eager to believe anything that confirms its conviction that America is boiling with hate. Smollett’s fake hate crime is not a one-off. Reilly’s research finds that most high-profile hate crimes over the past few years have turned out to be hoaxes... “The number of hate crime hoaxes actually exceeds the number of convictions. The majority of these high-profile incidents never happened.”It’s also a false narrative that white cops are targeting African American men... of the 1,200 Americans killed by police, just 258 were black, and only 17 of those were unarmed and shot by white officers. And yet, his research indicates just 10 percent of the media coverage of police violence focused on the non-black victims. “White guys shot by police under identical circumstances never become national stories”... The distorted coverage has helped give rise to social movements such as Black Lives Matter that are based more on perception than reality.“It’s worth noting that that interracial crime is not a huge threat in America,” says Reilly, who is African American. “Eighty-five percent of whites are killed by other whites. Ninety-four percent of blacks are killed by other blacks.”"

Inside the suspicious rise of gay hate crimes in Portland - "The case was investigated by the bias-crimes unit but was suspended due to the lack of tangible leads. Although it is impossible to know what exactly happened, nothing in the police reports indicate that Stanford told police she was attacked with a bat by multiple assailants in a hate crime.The next day, however, the sensational and detailed story emerged in the fundraising appeal. Over $10,000 was raised.Sophia Stanford blocked me across several social media accounts after I sent a request for comment.In progressive Portland where the “#Resistance” is mainstream, stories like Stanford’s feed into a whisper campaign of violent homophobes, transphobes and racists lurking on every corner. A moral panic had now been ignited. Within days, the number of alleged hate attacks ballooned through uncorroborated and vague online rumors. These stories were then amplified by progressive media, nonprofit groups, businesses and politicians. Activists, driven by their own personal grievances, then launched a crusade to find the phantom suspects, doxing and targeting innocent people in the process... Rumors of attacks did not circulate only among radical-activist networks. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler amplified the rumors on Twitter. So too did the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which blamed “right-wing agitators” for the attacks. Car-ride company Lyft shared an advertisement aimed at Portland’s LGBT community. It repeated the rumors and offered a ride credit to encourage business. Activists organized a “safety day” training event featuring a workshop called “Local Fash 101” where attendees were taught how to spot fascists... When I asked reporter Blair Stenvick what steps she took to independently verify that allegation, she said: “I’m not interested in discussing this with you.”... Doxers identified that Zerfing owned a maroon SUV and used that as evidence he was involved in the attack even though that car was repossessed three months ago. He showed me one of the many death threats he now receives.“I guess we will find out when we pay that address a visit,” the text reads. “4 hate crimes in the last week you were involved in. Paybacks a bitch mother f–ker.”All the men I contacted who were blamed for the attacks categorically deny having any involvement. Some are current Proud Boys members in various chapters across the West Coast, some are ex-members and others were random rally attendees who were photographed at events between 2017 and 2018.“The Proud Boys is the most welcoming organization that I have ever been a part of,” Fred Swink, an openly gay Proud Boys member in Vancouver, Wash., told me... Patterns he identifies among [hate crime hoaxes] are the lack of evidence, reluctance to cooperate with police, sensational claims, the presence of fundraising and the involvement of radical activists — all of which appear to be happening in Portland."

Four Out Of Five Racist Notes Were Fake At An Iowa University: School Officials

Jussie Smollett's fake attack wasn't an uncommon ploy - "what hate hoaxers actually do is worsen generally good race relations, and distract attention from real problems. As Chicago’s disgusted top cop, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, pointed out yesterday, skilled police officers spent four weeks tracking down Smollett’s imaginary attackers — in a city that has seen 28 murders as of Feb. 9th"

Mayor claims she was hate crime victim after 'yellow, sticky substance' found on car. But cops have simpler explanation. - "Darnell Byrd McPherson — the volunteer mayor of Lamar, South Carolina — said she was a hate crime victim after finding a "yellow, sticky substance" that seemed to have been sprayed on her car... Darlington County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Robby Kilgo told Newsweek that "we found it to be pollen. There was no reason for us to collect a sample.""

Chicago PD In Possession of TWO Photos of Jussie Smollett In Car With Nigerian Brothers - "police seem to have proof that Smollett picked up and drove the brothers to the area where the attack was set to take place"

Jussie Smollett up for NAACP Award, Anthony Anderson hopes he wins - "Smollett is nominated for the 2019 NAACP Image Awards, scheduled for Saturday. Six-time host and "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson told Variety on Wednesday that he hopes to see the controversial actor there.“I hope he wins," Anderson added. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color. So I’m glad it worked out for him."
I guess the attack was good for him after all

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett faces felony charge for allegedly filing a false police report - "More than a decade ago, Smollett pleaded no contest to providing false information to law enforcement in a 2007 misdemeanor case, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.The case stemmed from a DUI stop in which Smollett gave police the wrong name.Smollett also pleaded no contest to driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit and driving without a valid driver license."

Jussie Smollett's lawyer suggests Osundairo brothers wore white makeup during attack, brushes off FBI probe - "Glandian told "Today's" Savannah Guthrie on Thursday that Smollett did not lie when he told police he believed his alleged attackers were white because they were possibly wearing white makeup to disguise themselves."

Escape The Echo Chamber - Posts - "do you know what significant detail that has gone largely unnoticed? In Smollett’s TV interview, before the case broke, he argued that he wanted to bring the attackers to justice ‘for what they did’. The attackers have been identified and Smollett has not called for them to be prosecuted and he has not directly accused them of attacking him. This is because his lawyers have told him that he would be at risk for an expensive libel lawsuit if he did.This case is only going to get more interesting."

Hate crime - Wikipedia - "In their book Hate Crimes: Criminal Law and Identity Politics, James B. Jacobs and Kimberly Potter criticize hate crime legislation for exacerbating conflicts between groups. They assert that by defining crimes as being committed by one group against another, rather than as being committed by individuals against their society, the labeling of crimes as "hate crimes" causes groups to feel persecuted by one another, and that this impression of persecution can incite a backlash and thus lead to an actual increase in crime. Jacobs and Potter also argued that hate crime legislation can end up only covering the victimization of some groups rather than all, which is a form of discrimination itself and that attempts to remedy this by making all identifiable groups covered by hate crime protection thus make hate crimes co-terminus with generic criminal law... American forensic psychologist Karen Franklin said that the term hate crime is somewhat misleading since it assumes there is a hateful motivation which is not present in many occasions"