A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. According to newly released FBI data, hate crimes rose 17 percent last year, which marked it being the third consecutive year. The Uniform Crime Reporting Program's Hate Crime Statistics report shows 7,175 hate crime incidents in 2017 compared with 6,121 incidents in 2016. The 2017 incidents amounted to a grand total of 8,437 offenses.

According to an article from CBS News, offenses in 2017 were most commonly motivated by hatred over race, ethnicity or ancestry, at a rate of 59.6 percent; 20.6 percent of the offenses were motivated by hatred over religion; 15.8 percent stemmed from sexual orientation bias; bias over disability comprised 1.9 percent; and gender identity hatred comprised 1.6 percent.

The FBI says "Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI's Civil Rights program, not only because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities but also because groups that preach hatred and intolerance can plant the seed of terrorism here in our country."

From mass shootings to the power of hate speech, it is definitely evident that there has been an increase in hate crimes. These crimes have been seen in communities, in high schools, and on college campuses. They are usually sparked by someone's hate for either a certain race, religion, gender or really, just about anything. The world seems to be full of hate, with many people having closed minds and not being open to new ideas. When in reality, the world is continuing to evolve and reform in many different ways. This generation seems to be progressive, and hate crimes are getting in the way of it.

In a New York Times article by Elizabeth A. Harris, a Cornell University student was accused in an attack, and was charged with a hate crime. This event took place around September of 2017, where he was said to have called a black student a racial slur and then punching him in the face. The fact that a student used someone's race for anger towards them, is unsettling.

In another New York Times article by Audra D.S. Burch, for the first time since the 1970's, a white man was executed for two racial killings in Florida. Mark James Asay, the killer, was executed around August of 2017 for the killings of a black man and a man who dressed as a woman and identified as white and Hispanic. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Asay was a white supremacist who killed the two men because of their race. His execution can be seen as a form of justice. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, he became the first white man to be put to death for killing a black man since the state restored capital punishment in the 1970's.

Another New York Times article by Audra D.S. Burch, tells the story about Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian immigrant, who was fatally shot and killed at a bar, after being confronted about his immigration status. The fact that he was confronted about his immigration status in the first place, shows that people need to be more understanding that today in the United States, there seems to be an increase in immigrants- which isn't a bad thing. Immigrants contribute so much to the United States, and shouldn't be seen as a threat.

The KKK, a white supremacist group, was created in 1865, but still seems to be existing today. Through the civil rights movements, and all of the challenges faced to try and reverse the work that the KKK has done, it is extremely sad to see that they still exist today.

When will we realize that as time goes on, hate crimes should be decreasing, not increasing? Hate crimes can cause terrorist attacks, bullying and many other extreme forms of hate. New hate crimes can be seen as "fuel" for hate organizations to continue and keep on inflicting hate. The question is- when will we start to make a change? Let's stop hating so that maybe this year hate crimes decrease, instead of continuing to increase.