The hate in Hoosier Hospitality

I've probably used the phrase "Hoosier Hospitality" more than a thousand times. Tens of thousands? Maybe.

I don't think I'll be using it again. Because for too many Indiana residents, it's a spirit not fully extended to those whose complexions, accents, true selves aren't what nice Hoosier boys and girls learn in white Sunday School.

Yep. I said it. I mean it, too. I grew up in an all-white community where otherwise well-meaning and Christian-like people toss out hateful words as if they were simple adjectives. There's been progress, sure. But not enough.

When State Senator Aaron Freeman stripped the guts out of a bias crimes bill and said, "In the next five weeks, I'm going to pop popcorn, kick my feet up and watch the show in the House and let them deal with it," I was disgusted.

"Let them deal with it," said this guy elected to represent the will of the people of Indiana.

"It" is the discussion over whether judges should have the ability to add addition time to sentences for for people found guilty of harming other people because of their race, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, disabilities, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Think about that a little bit.

We're talking about people found guilty of harming others because of things those victims cannot control. We're talking about hate-motivated actions against other human beings.

The state Chamber of Commerce says 75 percent of Indiana residents want a bias crime on the books that includes those protected classes, and I hope that's true. Because I want my state to be a state where hospitality extends to everyone. Where there's no room for hate. Where haters are punished appropriately for their hateful actions.

I honestly don't understand why this bill is so controversial. Worried your whiteness or straightness is going to be targeted? You're protected, too. Not that, statistically you should be worried. Surely you're not worried that you'll be facing additional years or months in prison for committing a hate crime?

Would it help you to remember the  Golden Rule? You remember that one: "do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matthew 7:12) Matthew apparently thought we would understood that "others" mean everyone.

This discussion exhausts me. Maybe instead of putting his feet up and snacking while others take up the mantle of statesmanship, Sen. Freeman should just give the majority of us what we want: a state where hate crimes are unacceptable.