Attacks On Homeless Should Be Considered Hate Crimes

With the trouble economy forcing more people onto the streets it’s not surprising that number of unprovoked attacks on the homeless has risen.

Last year there were 106 reported attacks against homeless people. Out of these attacks 27 people died. California ranks second in the highest number of annual attacks. The majority of the attacks are done by men under the age of 25.

Popular culture has a way of dehumanizing homeless people. This month Maxim, the popular magazine for men, published an article called “Hunt The Homeless.” Over the last few years the internet has been flooded with “Bum Fights” videos, produced by young men who pay homeless men to fight each other.

Joel Roberts, the director of People Assisting The Homeless, says this “Could you imagine if 40% of the Jewish American or African America or Asian American population in a city experienced violence? Or the LGBT community? Or people with disabilities? The whole community would be up in arms.”

Maryland will soon be the first state to include homeless people in it’s hate crime laws. Here’s hoping that California, and the rest of the country, will follow suite soon.