Jon writes:
Impossible?
What does that have to do with criminalizing something?
Thought crime is a science fiction fantasy - you know, it's not real? We can't do it, so we can't criminalise it. What's more relevant is that we're not doing it.
It's impossible to detect or even be a witch, yet that never stopped many a witch hunt and subsequent execution.
Well yes, and 1000 years ago the only punishment for any crime was death and a for a long time after the local baron could do what the hell he liked to his serfs. But we don't do that stuff anymore.
Laws already existed targeting the actions relevant to hate crime laws. It wasn't like someone invented a new way to punch minorities in the face to which the legislature responding by creating special laws dealing with this special way of punching.
If you punch a gay chap in the face you get prosecuted for common assault. If you punch a gay chap in the face whilst calling him a fucking filthy fag you get prosecuted for common assault aggravated by the fact that the assault was motivated by a hatred of a particular protected group.
Their only distinction was that they now made it possible for the legal system to consider (and punish based on) the presence of thoughts considered unsettling to the general public.
Motives, thoughts, intent - whatever language you'd like to use, the crimes are being punished more harshly because they show traits that society wishes to erradicate, that is, discrimination on religious, sexual and racial grounds. People can have whatever thoughts they like, but the minute they start acting on those thoughts, they're going to find themselves in trouble. Motive and intent has always been a factor in deciding the level of a punishment.
We aren't talking about probing at people's thoughts to determine their degree of responsibility, but about probing at their thoughts do determine if they are 'unacceptable' and that just so we can punish them more severely because we don't like the thoughts.
Nope, we don't do that, we punish actions. See above
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