NCJ Number
207274
Journal
Intelligence Report Issue: 114 Dated: Summer 2004 Pages: 6-9
Date Published
2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article notes the increase in hate crimes by teens since September 11 and suggests some possible causes of this trend.
Abstract
The book "Why We Hate," by hate-crime expert Jack Levin, presents data to show that hate crimes perpetrated by juveniles, which were frequent from the mid-1980's to the early 1990's, declined dramatically during the Clinton years; however, since September 11, the number of hate crimes by juveniles has increased sharply and become more brutal than previously. Targets for this violence have included Muslim-Americans, Hispanics, sexual and gender minorities, and the homeless. Although White male teens are the main perpetrators, they also include Hispanic and African-American youth and girls. In another demographic shift, the majority of hate activity now occurs in the suburbs among relatively affluent youth. Although no single factor explains this spread of youth hatred and violence, one of its primary manifestations, White supremacy, has been explained by sociologists Pamela Perry and Randy Blazak in "Shades of White" as rooted in "anomie." This is the term used by Durkheim for the sense of confusion and loss of identity that accompanies rapid social change. As explained by Perry and Blazak, the current anomie experienced by many White teens is framed in the question, "What is the new role of Whites in the multicultural chorus?" Hate groups have tailored their recruitment messages to these frustrated White youth.