Strange twisting of the "hate-crimes" legislation in Maine.....
Quote:LEWISTON - One student has been suspended and more disciplinary action could follow a possible hate crime at Lewiston Middle School, Superintendent Leon Levesque said Wednesday.
On April 11, a white student placed a ham steak in a bag on a lunch table where Somali students were eating. Muslims consider pork unclean and offensive.
Some background: A large influx of Somali immigrants to Lewiston about five years ago prompted white supremacists to dance around acting like fools. The mayor asked Somalis to stop moving to Lewiston, as their arrival was taxing city resources. According to a comment under this story (link below) Somalis attacked apartments and cars with acid. Can't find a story on it - may not have happened, or wasn't reported by this newspaper. Then last August, a man rolled a pig's head into a Somali mosque in Lewiston.
Those stories sound like there is a lot of racial tension, and frankly some hate around the issue of race, religion and immigration in Lewiston. CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) has been watching this situation closely.
Note that (perhaps) the only group that got violent here, if it DID happen, is the Somalis, and there exists no reporting on it that I can find. White supremacists have spewed their irrelevant garbage for years. Kids have been mean to other kids forever. Acid attacks are somewhat new.
Hate crime legislation was intended to add to the penalties for a crime committed against someone for racial, ethnic or sexual orientation reasons. Is putting a slice of ham on a table a crime? It may be mean, disrespectful, even hateful but is it a crime?
[quote]The school incident is being treated seriously as
