You don't know what a hate crime is?
Say a group of black kids get together and decide to go out and "beat up" a white person, for no other reason than they are white, then that's a hate crime. The difference with, say, a robbery. Someone pulls a gun and may or may not shoot you. You are either uninjured, injured or dead.
With a hate crime, guns and knives are rarely used. Most of the time, it's fists and stomping and bats. Sometimes, burning, acid. Things that cause extreme agony and terrible damage. Remember, someone can be beat with a bat until both arms and legs are broken and they are brain damaged, but if they survive, it can be considered "simple battery".
Why aren't guns and knives generally used? Because people committing hate crimes want to feel bones break. They want to feel the suffering of the people they hate. It's what Christian Fred Phelps wants to do to the gays. When he says we shouldn't "tolerate" them, what do you think he is suggesting?
Man Guilty of Murder in Texas Dragging Death - NYTimes.com
His head and right shoulder were sheared off when the truck sped around a sharp corner and he slammed into a sharp-edged culvert. His lower body was found a mile down the road, dumped outside a cemetery and black church.
Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway - CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Muslim man jumped to the aid of three Jewish subway riders after they were attacked by a group of young people who objected to one of the Jews saying "Happy Hanukkah," a spokeswoman for the three said Wednesday.
Teen Suspects To Appear In Family Court Saturday - wcbstv.com
NEW YORK (CBS) ―Two young girls and a young boy were in police custody
Saturday morning, under arrest in a series of hate crimes targeting Asian women on the Lower East Side.