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104
Insights
While some view hoaxes as simple pranks or misguided kids making mistakes, they are much worse, and more harmful. Hate crime hoaxers bring shame to themselves and the entire group to which they belong by portraying themselves as victims from a protected group. They breed hatred and cause fear.
Hate crime hoaxes are particularly troubling for various reasons. First, vipers are a “criminal” subset of persons who have been granted special statutory protection. Legislatures, national and state, found instances of hate crimes so odious that safeguards were provided to persons against whom such crimes are committed because of race, gender, ethnicity, etc. It is disconcerting that these vipers, who enjoy this higher plane of security, in turn use the shelter of belonging to a protected class as an avenue to commit crimes against themselves and subsequently reap the benefit. The hate crime viper knowingly causes harm to other members of his own group. Essentially, persons in protected classes are committing crimes against themselves for their own advantage. They then attempt to deflect blame by seeking sympathy for being in a protected class to avoid retributive and restorative justice.317
Faked hate crimes are a bewildering and apparently a growing problem nationwide, from Georgia to New York, remember Tawana Brawley? – individuals, usually black, are staging scenes to make it appear that they are being targeted by racists.318
Another issue is that hate crime hoaxes affect the perpetrators as well as those persons who are actual victims of real hate crimes. Arthur Teitelbaum of the Anti-
317 Michael J. Sandel, Public Philosophy, Essays on Morality in Politics, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005.
318 Anon, “Faked Hate Crimes,” Winston-Salem Journal, July 17, 2001, p. 8.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 110 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 104 Insights While some view hoaxes as simple pranks or misguided kids making mistakes, they are much worse, and more harmful. Hate crime hoaxers bring shame to themselves and the entire group to which they belong by portraying themselves as victims from a protected group. They breed hatred and cause fear. Hate crime hoaxes are particularly troubling for various reasons. First, vipers are a “criminal” subset of persons who have been granted special statutory protection. Legislatures, national and state, found instances of hate crimes so odious that safeguards were provided to persons against whom such crimes are committed because of race, gender, ethnicity, etc. It is disconcerting that these vipers, who enjoy this higher plane of security, in turn use the shelter of belonging to a protected class as an avenue to commit crimes against themselves and subsequently reap the benefit. The hate crime viper knowingly causes harm to other members of his own group. Essentially, persons in protected classes are committing crimes against themselves for their own advantage. They then attempt to deflect blame by seeking sympathy for being in a protected class to avoid retributive and restorative justice.317 Faked hate crimes are a bewildering and apparently a growing problem nationwide, from Georgia to New York, remember Tawana Brawley? – individuals, usually black, are staging scenes to make it appear that they are being targeted by racists.318 Another issue is that hate crime hoaxes affect the perpetrators as well as those persons who are actual victims of real hate crimes. Arthur Teitelbaum of the Anti- 317 Michael J. Sandel, Public Philosophy, Essays on Morality in Politics, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005. 318 Anon, “Faked Hate Crimes,” Winston-Salem Journal, July 17, 2001, p. 8. |
