Oh, Really? Hate Sweeping UW Campuses?

Plenty of press coverage here over nine reported "hate crimes" on UW campuses this year. (See left sidebar for reports, including "a poster stolen from a door.")

...Each new incident raised questions — why now, and why these campuses? Definitive answers continue to elude campus officials,

...The rash of hate crimes on UW campuses is not part of a national trend

Interesting, especially in light of the national numbers.

FBI statistics released last month show hate crimes in general dropped 15 percent nationally in 2009, to 6,604 from 7,783 in 2008. Levin, the California State University expert, said he has no data or anecdotal information to suggest that what's happening on UW campuses this fall is part of a national outbreak.

The American Council on Education, which represents the nation's higher education institutions, also dismissed the notion that campus hate crimes are increasing. "I just think they're getting more attention," said Ada Meloy, the council's top attorney.

The reporter did manage to find someone who agreed with his thesis, of course. SPLC, which has all the credibility of Baghdad Bob.

Frankly, there's no 'there' there in the stories.

Definitive answers continue to elude campus officials...

And they will, for quite some time. "Hate crimes" are reported by victims, and as we've learned, they are sometimes self-inflicted. Besides the logical error implicit in assigning "hate" to the mind of the (alleged) attacker, there is the sheer stupidity of describing a missing poster as a "hate crime."

Count me as a cynic.