Bad guy of the month legislation

Republican Senator Josh Hawley has been taking a lot of heat for being the sole vote against the recent COVID Anti-Asian hate crime bill. The bill singles out hate crimes enacted upon Asians in the wake of the COVID epidemic thought to have originated in Asia.

Social media have been merciless in their criticism of Hawley. Roundly denouncing him as a bigot.

But if you actually listen to the motivating principle behind his vote.

You wouldn’t be persuaded he is a bigot

Anymore than this writer is a bigot in saying this.

If you start singling out groups for punishment and prosecution. However, heinous their behavior might be. Eventually you’re going to run out of groups to punish. And then you’ll be forced to start going after witches.

Just ask the people in Salem, Mass.

And as a postscript. We wonder if this new Anti-Asian hate crimes bill may open new doors for some groups of Chinese American students.

Some students have gone to court protesting against what they feel are admission practices at Harvard University which are discriminatory on the basis of race. Federal courts have, to date, ruled against their claims. But it remains a highly controversial area.

Could this new legislation create a pathway for the controversy to ascend to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court?

Could it come down to a definition of what constitutes “hate”? Can institutions be guilty of “hate” crimes based on their admissions policies?

We will see.