I think you're wrong in supposing this is not a case of hate but only of people protecting strangers' property. Going to get friends and returning for violence is what gives it all away.
A Guy Who Is Doing What's Right / A Guy Who Wants To Protect Strangers' Property
Would a good citizen who only wants to protect property/do the right thing go and get some friends and return with a metal bat and yell racial slurs (niggers colored spade black nigger jungle bunny coon etc..), or would he pull up beside them from a relatively safe distance and yell "Hey! Stop stealing cars you pricks...". The would-be thieves would bolt and know they've been seen and can be identified.
A Guy Who Is Doing What's Wrong / A Guy Who Hates Another Race Or Color
Would a bad citizen who only wants to beat some 'nigger' car thieves pull up to the black thieves and let them know they've been seen and to move on to another area of the city, or would he not tip the 'niggers' off that they've been seen and instead take the time to get some friends in order to return to kick some 'nigger' ass? Think about it. In the time it took to get some backup the car thieves could have stolen a car and gotten away. That fact alone makes it obvious these guys weren't being good samaritans who gave a shiit about someone else's car, but only of a angry racial mindset. I find it odd you think this is a case of good samaritans. Nothing is further from the truth. Good samaritans would try stop the crime in progress, not take off to get some friends and a baseball bat. How ridiculous is that?
Diagnosis:
White guys beating 'niggers' a.k.a. hate crime.
The Clincher
Left crime in progress in order to get extra muscle AND a baseball bat a.k.a. potential lethal weapon.

Good article.

Interesting that any case of "white on black" violence is dubbed a "hate crime"...but the cases of "black on white" violence (of which there are FAR more incidences, by the way), is dubbed a "poor victim of the inner city crying out against his white oppressors".

We really haven't come that far since Montgomery, really. We've only switched seats.

Maybe when America get's a police force that has access to telephone's, and citizens learn how to call the police when they believe a crime is about to happen or is in progress outrageous incidents like this will happen less and less. Wild West & Frontier justice how are you.

What is a hate crime anyway?...If someone kill another of the same race, is it not because he hates that person? The term "hate crime" is a bunch of crap...

I guess the lesson here is that if you're going to bludgeon someone with a baseball bat, make sure he's the same color as you.

~Zoo

To briefly play devil's advocate, does it mention that they actually tried to steal a car? What were they doing, hanging out? If so, why exactly did three guys feel it necessary to start something with them? It says they were 'shouting racial epithets', and evidently the three black guys hadn't done anything.

I dunno about anyone else, but if I jumped to the conclusion that the black guy in front of my house was going to steal something, and attacked him with a bat while shouting racist epithets... umm... I think I'd have a hard time disproving racial bias...

What should the minimum requirement be? Wearing a white hood? And before anyone points out whey they were there, ask yourself if having your skull fractured is a fit punishment for considering to steal a car...

but the cases of "black on white" violence (of which there are FAR more incidences, by the way),

in 2002 (the most recent year for which data appears to be reliable and complete) Link, slightly more than 3 million violent crimes were perpetrated by whites while blacks committed slightly more than 1.2 million violent crimes.

due to relative numbers of whites to blacks (even without factoring in other variables such as distribution of population by income or economic status), the likelihood of a white person randomly coming into contact with a black person is only about 3% whereas a black person is likely to randomly encounter a white person 57% of the time.

on that basis, the number of violent crimes committed by whites against blacks should total a lil more than 90,000--rather than the 135.000 recorded by the dept of justice for 2002. on the other hand, the number of violent crimes committed by blacks against whites should be about 690,000 rather than the roughly 614,000 reported for that same year.

wake up white people!

your white family member, friend, neighbor or predator is much more likely than a black person to render you the victim of a violent crime.

I dunno about anyone else, but if I jumped to the conclusion that the black guy in front of my house was going to steal something, and attacked him with a bat while shouting racist epithets... umm... I think I'd have a hard time disproving racial bias... What should the minimum requirement be? Wearing a white hood? And before anyone points out whey they were there, ask yourself if having your skull fractured is a fit punishment for considering to steal a car...

wish i could come back and hit this one with an insightful rating everyday for a month.

Of course, thats just 'cus the cops, prosecuters, judges, parole and probation officers are racist, right? uh huh.

roughly 2 weeks ago, the la times published an article about this study:

"The State of Black Los Angeles," a report by the Los Angeles Urban League and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles presented at a USC conference attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, police Chief William J. Bratton and other civic leaders. The report, compiled with U.S. Census, state and county data, includes recommendations for creating jobs, developing affordable housing, expanding parks and establishing prison programs geared to reentry into society.

Particularly disturbing are crime data showing that blacks — adults and juveniles — have arrest rates far higher than other groups. In addition, black and Latino drivers are searched by the LAPD four times more often than whites or Asians, yet only 38% of blacks are found to be carrying illegal items compared with 55% of whites, 65% of Latinos
and 54% of Asians.

Data on racial disparities in criminal justice were compiled by UCLA and UC Berkeley researchers and make up a special section of the report. The findings document that a historically tense relationship with law enforcement continues. For example, according to Los Angeles Police Department consent decree data for 2004, 19.8% of black drivers are stopped by police, compared with 12.6% for whites, 11.2% for Latinos and 10.1% for Asians. The national rate for blacks is 12.3%.

bear in mind this is happening even while, as noted in the 3rd quoted paragraph, the lapd is subject to a federal consent decree and all it's stop and search reports are being carefully monitored.

i dont consider lapd unduly aggressive and they seem to me far more racially tolerant and much more honest than any police department i've enountered so far (having lived in detroit, chicago and milwaukee, i'm more than passing familiar with racist & crooked cops). still it's difficult to come up with any other plausible explanation for the data quoted above.

Interesting that any case of "white on black" violence is dubbed a "hate crime"...but the cases of "black on white" violence (of which there are FAR more incidences, by the way), is dubbed a "poor victim of the inner city crying out against his white oppressors".

bingo...

The term "hate crime" is a bunch of crap...

bango...(listen up Canada!)

I just dont think they should face additional penalties for a 'hate crime' because I don't believe in hate crimes legislation in the first place

boingo...

My sentiments exactly.