Hate Ignorance Not People

Hopefully readers out there (yes both of you!) saw this story more than I did but while watching CNN today regarding this potential "hate crime" in Seattle --

http://www.komotv.com/news/6004201.html - Steven Saleh , deli owner

I swear -- but would appreciate being corrected if I mis-heard it -- the transcript that CNN showed on the TV screen of the drunk woman and man yelling at Mr. Saleh said something along the lines of -- "......go back to your f***ing country, you Arab, hey Gandhi, you mother f***er.......you are un-American................."

Well not only is this a very rude way to purchase cigarettes and beer :0) it is also being treated as a hate crime since Saleh is originally from Yemen but is a naturalized citizen who has lived in the USA for 21 years. If found guilty this man and woman could serve up to 9 months in prison.

Now whether this is a hate crime or not is up to the Washington State court system -- personally I view all crimes against my person or property the same -- as a CRIME -- that should be punished regardless of a person's motivation or in this case, intellectual ignorance.

Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu (who loved the Christian Bible's New Testament by the way, please noted my earlier blog posting regarding Gandhi in more depth here entitled, "Anniversary") from India which is NOT an Arab nation. Perhaps these drunken idiots (or CNN printed the transcript incorrectly) were referring to the President/dictator of Libya -- Mohmmar Qaddafi, http://www.emergency.com/qaddafi.htm -- since Libya is an Arab country.

You say "Gandhi ", I say "Qaddafi", let's call the whole thing off....................


Should this drunken couple have to serve nine months in prison for this crime let us hope the judge/jury have the freedom to do some creative sentencing -- how about having them read books about -- the Arab world, Gandhi, Libya, non-violence, India, alcoholism/addiction, British colonialism, history of US immigration, world religions, Arabic, geography, and related topics for the first eight months of their sentence then have them travel for two weeks in the Middle East followed by a written report produced over the final two weeks of their prison sentence writing a report for the presiding judge to review thus completing their nine month sentence.

Now that is creative jail time which has a higher probability of benefiting society versus having these two people watch cable TV, lift weights, and trade cigarettes on the prison black market for nine months don't you agree?

I hate hate crimes :)

Todd