Disability Hate Crimes and Autism Conditions

[The Midge]

Recently the News in the Uk features a report about the shocking rise of disability hate crimes.

Hate crime against disabled people rises 41 per cent in one year

Reported hate crime against disabled people has risen 41% in a year. Campaigners say this is the tip of the iceberg. (that is there is a lot bigger problem than we can see).

I guess a lot of this is directed at people with obvious physical disabilities.

It has me wondering about all the bullying and harassment that is often the experience of those on the spectrum. This can happen even when no one knows we have the condition (even when the person with autism is unaware and they are undiagnosed). It still does a lot of damage.

What does hate crime against HFA or Asperger's people look like? How could we tell when we are victims and when should we report it? What should the authorities do about it? And why can't people not behave like assess?

Finally the million £ question: Can it be a hate crime if our condition is not obvious or we are adept at masking it?

 

[Gritches]

I'm completely clueless about hate crime law in the UK, but for the US I'd have to guess it would require 1) The defendant having knowledge of your condition prior to the crime AND 2) Intent to harm on the basis of that condition. Intent is almost impossible to prove, they'd have to basically admit it either in the commission of the act or later on, and there might be additional conditions like Substantial Bodily Harm in addition to those two.

I don't see anyone getting prosecuted for a hate crime against someone with ASD in the US any time soon.

 

[Flinty]

I don't really understand the concept of a hate crime. How often do you commit crimes against someone you like?

Also, if I were to commit a crime against someone because they're NT, should that be classified as a hate crime, remembering that they're not a minority?

 

[The Midge]

I don't really understand the concept of a hate crime. How often do you commit crimes against someone you like?

Also, if I were to commit a crime against someone because they're NT, should that be classified as a hate crime, remembering that they're not a minority?

Women are not a minority, but if you commit a crime against a female because you hate women then it is a hate crime. Likewise any race etc. that happens to be a majority I would presume. So no vigilante crusades against the NT world!

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

Any attempt of attack on anyone, verbal or non verbal makes me very sad and angry, and disabled vulnerable people too. I saw this poster recently.

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

Liers, wolves in sheep clothing are pathetic and wicked, they try to pretend they are being nice and friendly to you and you are being nice and polite to them as generally you do. When the scum are like that to disabled/vulnerable people that's particularly nasty.

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

I was watching a traffic police reality show. A driver was using his horn in a manner to intimidate or provoke the officer confirmed. In general with attempted bullying intimidating or provoking bullying tactics takes place on people minding their own business.

 

[The Lorax]

Bullying on an individual level - The bully in this case is making others feel worse so he feels better because they feel bad. It is a redirection of anger or injustice. They will pick on the easiest one to affect.

Bullying on a group level - This is tribalism. The majority group always picks on the minority group. It has happened through time and happening now in so many ways people can't think of in so many countries. The way we treat African Americans in the USA is tribalism. They are the minority at 12% of the population.

The further you are from the majority the more you get picked on. Since humans are social creatures lacking that same social intelligence is very noticeable. Then put sensory oversensitiveness and anxiety on top of that you get the bullying.

One child I know was a normal happy good looking kid. His parents sent him to a private school. His parents are upper middle class. He got bullied a lot. Why? The school was almost exclusively Japanese students. They bullied him all the time because he was Caucasian, different culture, different look, and didn't speak the language. You wouldn't think Japanese kids would do this. But even on this level they do.