CLU professor says hate crime targets not the only people victimized by racial bias
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

People who are aware they're unique or different may also know they might be victimized because of it. They may live in a world of hurt- even if they've never personally experienced a hate crime.

That was one of the recent messages expressed by Helen Lim, PhD, an assistant professor of criminal justice at California Lutheran University.

Having developed a special interest in hate crimes, criminal justice systems and criminology, Lim has done a great deal of research on the topic. She recently shared her findings in a lecture at the Soiland Humanities Center with about 80 people of all races, cultures and ages.

The research she discussed primarily focused on bias crimes against Asian Americans, but those of other ethnicities in the audience nodded in agreement with her comments.

"It doesn't have to happen to you personally for you to fear for your safety and think you could be a target," Lim said.

She told about people who live and deal with hate daily. Lim spoke of a cheerleader who was the only person of color on the team and never felt a part of the group. She also described an Asian man traveling through the southern part of the U.S. with a group of Caucasian friends who hid him in the back of a van when they drove through an area that they felt was racially charged.

People who live in fear of victimization may change who they are to avoid possible consequences, Lim said.

People who live in fear may try to look and act more like their surroundings. Or they could move areas where more people look and act like they do.

In relocating, they create what Lim called "homogenized communities." And homogenized communities perpetuate class systems where hatred can take root, she said.

Many circumstances can trigger hate crimes.

People often get territorial feelings about other races moving in because they fear that jobs will be lost to the minorities.

Hate also comes from ignorance or feelings of superiority.

Stereotyping contributes to the phenomenon because ethnocentric people don't view other races as individuals, she said.

Some gangs or groups commit hate crimes to intimidate others. Their targets can be individuals or entire communities.

In one such incident Lim talked about, an Asian family moved into a neighborhood and their car was vandalized repeatedly. In desperation, they moved to an Asian community where they felt safer.

Potential solutions, Lim said, include training of teachers and police so they can easily identify not only hate crimes but the processes involved.

"The modern manifestation of hate is not as overt (as it once was)," she said.

The damage to someone who's experienced hatred, Lim said, doesn't end when the event is over.

The victims may find themselves living in a continual state of anxiety and fear, she said.

Some studies have compared the aftermath of hate to that of being raped, Lim said.

Her message had been heard.

"I was amazed when she gave examples from her interviews at how people truly felt. I did not realize how miserable it can be," said Roberta Salinas of Oxnard, 26, a criminal justice student at CLU.

"It was good to come to a better understanding of the harm of hate crimes and what victims go through," Salinas said.