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4.1.2.1.2 Hate Crime Replaced With Other Terms
Many organizations prefer mainstream terms like »discrimination,« »racism,« or »racist incidents« because they are understood by the general public and do not require specialized knowledge. The term »hate crime« is hardly used by grassroots anti-Fascist organizations such as the Anti-Nazi Group (Grupa Antynazistowska, GAN) in Piła, although the activists are well aware of the ideological background of the right-wing skinhead attacks they deal with on a daily basis. The group is involved in activities under the broader concept of promoting tolerance and fighting xenophobia on the local level. Similarly, the representative of the Social and Cultural Society of Jews (Towarzystwo Spoleczno-Kulturalne Zydow w Polsce) in Poland stressed that the term »hate crime« may not be clear for many members of the organization who are elderly and thus do not speak English. In this context, the terms »racism« and »anti-Semitism« are used interchangeably. In further conversations about hate crimes with activists from Jewish organizations, it was evident that they were concerned not merely with physical attacks on individuals, but also with acts of vandalism and desecrations of Jewish cemeteries, as well as anti-Jewish and neo-Nazi graffiti in the streets.
Representatives of the Association of Roma in Poland and of the Arabia.pl Association referred to the continuous attacks and vandalism affecting particular ethnic (Roma, Arabs) or religious (Muslims) communities as hate crimes. Bogaudin Bokov of the Ingush Unity (»Edinstvo Ingushetii«) had not heard the term hate crime before. He intuitively associated it with his community’s predominant experience: the war in Chechnya, yet he recognized the general meaning and the context of the term as xenophobic acts against ethnic or religious minorities. In contrast, the Russian Cultural and Educational Association never used or discussed the term »hate crime,« even though anti-discrimination is a component of their work. Instead, the terms »discrimination« and »racist incidents« (wypadki rasistowskie) are used interchangeably. These groups understand term »hate crime« in the broader context of discrimination. The president of the organization Kazakh Community (Wspólnota Kazachska), Balli Marzec, said that while it is difficult to give an exact definition of hate crime, the term can be »intuitively« defined as discrimination and violence on an ethnic or racial basis. A representative of the Arabia.pl Association has a similar interpretation: Hate crime can be categorized as discrimination, but it is »the most severe form of discrimination, when someone is beaten or killed.«
A representative of the LGBT organization Lambda Warsaw expresses the difficulty with the operational use of the term »hate crime,« while at the same time recognizing its significance: »We sometimes deal with criminal offenses and crimes targeting homosexual persons. We are familiar with the terms ‘hate speech’ and ‘hate crime,’ but on a daily basis we are occupied with something else.« Their focus is not the legal definition of hate crime, per se, but providing psychological and legal help to LGBT community members.
(OPP)
