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Hate Crimes and 'Incidents' Against Blacks and Muslims Up in Orange County
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Something is rotten in the state of Orange County, because as hate crimes and incidents overall are going down, they are on the rise against blacks and Muslims. According to a report released today by the OC Human Relations Commission, 56 hate crimes took place last year, and nearly a third of them targeted blacks. According to an analysis within the report, the overall number of hate crimes in Orange County has been cut almost in half since 2006. But the number of such attacks against blacks -- which can include assault, robbery, vandalism or murder -- rose from 16 to 18 between 2009 and 2010.
The report also notes that while hate crimes against Muslims were down in 2010, hate "incidents" -- a hateful action that isn't illegal, like hateful emails, signs, graffiti, or use of racist epithets -- more than tripled, with 31 incidents reported last year.
The news is being reported from a variety of angles, with the OC Register championing the overall drop in an article entitled "Hate crimes decline, but some groups targeted," and the OC Weekly focusing on the disturbing uptick in crimes against blacks with a post called "African-Americans Were Victims of One-Third of Orange County's 2010 Hate Crimes: Report." (As you can see, we also chose to focus on the increase in incidents against blacks and Muslims. Make of that what you will.)
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