John Kass’ Oct. 18 column, “Hate-crime laws just racial politics by another name,” was like a pleasant gust of fresh air. There is distressing truth in the saying “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.” Do those in favor of hate-crime laws know their history?
Did they ever read the Declaration of Independence (“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”)?
Did they ever read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” (“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”)?
Did they ever read or hear about the Nazis murdering and burning a village in retaliation for killing one German soldier in World War II?
The concept of giving extra protection to some groups of people by punishing the rest extra-severely for crimes against them has nothing to do with democracy, and it has sad precedents in recent history.
History shows that we haven’t invented anything superior to simple equality of all under the law.
