8/20/99 Editor N.H.:
On July 12, l999 the M.N.H. printed a letter by D.S., Chair of the Commission on Religion and Race of The Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church, and S.W., Chair of The Wisconsin Conference Board of Church and Society. In this letter these two people urge support and passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I am writing this letter to oppose the passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and to warn as to what might happen if such a law is passed. Hate is an emotion. To legislate against hate is to legislate against what is in our mind and thereby aims at mind control. Our laws already cover the deeds which result if we lose self control over our feelings. Trying to bring our feelings under the heel of legislation will ultimately produce a nightmare society as described in George Orwell's book: l984. In this society everybody has to love Big Brother who is the embodiment of the party. The party keeps itself in power by complete control over man's actions, thoughts and feelings. Winston Smith, the hapless hero, after having been brought by torture and deprivation to an absolute low point has still enough emotional strength left to hate Big Brother. At this point O'Brien, the party spokesman, addresses Winston: "Intellectually there is very little wrong with you (Winston now can see five fingers when O'Brien holds up four). It is only emotionally that you have failed to make progress. It is not enough to obey him (Big Brother); you must love him." In the l984 society a renegade like Winston will always be liquidated, but only when not just his intellect, but also his feelings have been brought under the mind control of the party. The book ends with these lines: "He (Winston) had won a victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
P.S. In countries which have passed Anti Hate Crime laws, Germany, France, Switzerland, the laws have been used exclusively to penalize those who dare to refute Nazi gas chambers. But beware! Anti-hate crime laws can be used against any opposition and thereby open the door to a dictatorship.