Activists and media hesitant to call attack a hate crime

Disturbing images broadcast from Chicago earlier this month via FaceBook Live when 4 Black teenagers taped their torture of  a mentally challenged White teen.
The boy was kidnapped, gagged, burned and cut repeatedly. Through out the attack the perpetrators uttered anti-White epithets and insults.

Most politicians condemned it as the hate crime that it was, including prominent Black leaders like President Obama. At the same time it's sad that some otherwise well-meaning social justice advocates and media commentators shy away from calling this crime what it was: an act of hate against both the disabled and a White person. It's as if they are possessive over who can be the recipient of hate, and who can only be the perpetrator.

Hate crime legislation was originally enacted to protect society's most vulnerable citizens. However that does not preclude a minority from committing an act of hate, not does it disqualify a targeted attack against a white person as a hate crime.

Make no mistake, condemning an attack on a mentally disabled young man is not a conservative rallying call, but rather human compassion.

Actor calls out the "lower case kkk"

Actor Aziz Ansari hosted Saturday Night Live last night. The Tamil American comedian used his role to speak out about casual white supremacy, what he calls "the lower case KKK". He also spoke in hopeful tones for the future, acknowledging the surprising large turnout across the country for yesterday's Women's Marches.

Wet Foot/ Dry Foot is history

The Wet Foot/ Dry Foot policy for Cuban migrants is history. First instituted by President Clinton in the 1990's, it gave legal residency status to Cubans who entered the United States illegally, as long as they reached American soil. President Obama just ended that policy, putting Cubans on more even footing with other Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. Naysayers to the policy change have been vocal, but overlook a key detail: Cubans still receive preferential treatment in the annual visa lottery process, with a minimum 20,000 visas reserved for Cubans as well as the family reunification program.

The Korean-American Population

As Korean-American Day approaches we look at the distribution of Koreans throughout the United States:

		Korean-American Population			Korean-American Population, as a Percent of Total Population
	United States	1,456,076	1	Hawaii	1.82%
1	California	467,165	2	California	1.25%
2	New York	139,357	3	New Jersey	1.14%
3	New Jersey	100,125	4	Washington	0.94%
4	Texas	75,619	5	Virginia	0.92%
5	Virginia	73,427	6	Maryland	0.83%
6	Washington	63,689	7	New York	0.72%
7	Illinois	58,160	8	Georgia	0.55%
8	Georgia	53,817	9	Alaska	0.55%
9	Maryland	47,950	10	Nevada	0.54%
10	Pennsylvania	39,755	11	District of Columbia	0.49%
11	Florida	25,658		United States	0.47%
12	Hawaii	24,872	12	Illinois	0.45%
13	Massachusetts	24,861	13	Colorado	0.41%
14	Michigan	23,664	14	Massachusetts	0.38%
15	North Carolina	23,195	15	Oregon	0.35%
16	Colorado	20,822	16	Pennsylvania	0.31%
17	Arizona	16,685	17	Texas	0.30%
18	Ohio	16,269	18	Connecticut	0.27%
19	Nevada	14,548	19	Arizona	0.26%
20	Oregon	13,358	20	Rhode Island	0.26%
21	Minnesota	13,026	21	Minnesota	0.25%
22	Tennessee	11,125	22	North Carolina	0.24%
23	Indiana	9,765	23	Utah	0.24%
24	Connecticut	9,484	24	Michigan	0.24%
25	Wisconsin	9,189	25	Iowa	0.24%
26	Missouri	8,891	26	Nebraska	0.20%
27	Iowa	7,243	27	New Hampshire	0.19%
28	Alabama	7,009	28	Tennessee	0.18%
29	Utah	6,670	29	Wisconsin	0.16%
30	Oklahoma	5,361	30	Kansas	0.15%
31	South Carolina	4,913	31	Indiana	0.15%
32	Kansas	4,426	32	Missouri	0.15%
33	Alaska	3,935	33	Alabama	0.15%
34	Kentucky	3,648	34	Oklahoma	0.14%
35	Nebraska	3,579	35	Ohio	0.14%
36	District of Columbia	2,952	36	Florida	0.14%
37	Rhode Island	2,715	37	Vermont	0.14%
38	Mississippi	2,562	38	North Dakota	0.13%
39	New Hampshire	2,518	39	Idaho	0.12%
40	Louisiana	2,431	40	South Carolina	0.11%
41	New Mexico	2,016	41	New Mexico	0.10%
42	Idaho	1,867	42	Delaware	0.09%
43	Arkansas	1,405	43	Mississippi	0.09%
44	Maine	1,138	44	Maine	0.09%
45	West Virginia	924	45	Kentucky	0.08%
46	North Dakota	857	46	Wyoming	0.08%
47	Vermont	850	47	Montana	0.07%
48	Delaware	827	48	South Dakota	0.07%
49	Montana	717	49	Louisiana	0.05%
50	South Dakota	570	50	West Virginia	0.05%
51	Wyoming	467	51	Arkansas	0.05%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
B02006 Asian Alone by Selected Groups, 1 year estimates
C02006 Asian Alone by Selected Groups, 1 year estimates