[RangerDuke08]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

The key word here is "recorded". Just because there was only one incident recorded doesn't mean there weren't others. You might also consider that the definition of a hate crime can vary from place to place. What I have noticed is that alot of crimes can go unrecorded. I wouldn't doubt that alot of hate crimes occur in places like Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Milwaukee, etc. With that in mind, I often notice that places with liberal politics are more inclined to call something a hate crime. In more conservative places, the definition of a hate crime might be different. Also, MS and AL have smaller populations than Michigan and California. A larger population usually has higher raw numbers of crimes.

Yes very true, the keyword is "recorded". The reason Mississippi had 0 hate crimes in 2006 is because of how crimes were recorded as crime rather than crimes/hate crime. And a larger population certainly has a higher raw number of crimes however the porportion of hate crimes is not consistent with population. Ie., Georgia and Michigan have comparable populations, while the number of hate crimes in Michigan was substantially higher (653) vs that of Georgia (13).

In the States of the Rocky Mountains where I'm originally from - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming for example are considered some of the safest states. It is common knowledge in these states that the small population density along with its homogenous culture better preserves this state of low crime and low number of hate crimes. There are certainly many factors in play to describe the social relations of race in a diverse society and not all can be thoughtfully explained as human relations are too complex to be summarized in one paragraph. However if one looks at the trends which is what we are looking at, trends as a social theory and not as a concrete model, it does cite strikingly recurring occurrences.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

The key word here is "recorded".

Hmmm. So you're saying that even though you're presented with the facts, you won't believe them?