ividual and society.
             There are many reasons why hate crimes need addressing in America today. One is the alarming rate at which hate crimes are growing. In 1995 there were over 7,000 hate crimes committed in the United States. Experts believe that that number will have reached above 10,000 annually by the year 2000. One might wonder how the number keeps growing. There are many factors that contribute to the growth of hate crimes. One of the main contributors is the fact that hate groups are changing their tactics. One of the ways they are doing this is asserting themselves politically. A good example of this is the election of David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Duke shifted his white supremacist views enough to convince 55 percent of Louisianians to vote for him. He promoted himself as a defender of "white rights" and prompted voters to take back their country. "Duke was elected not because of his great political history but because of is well documented racial past" says Lore!
             tta Ross, founder of the Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, " He was serious about white rights; he gave them (Louisiana voters) the right to practice kinder, gentler white supremacy." (Ross 5). Another tactic the white supremacist movement is adopting to maintain its power is changing its image. When most Americans think of the typical white supremacist they think of a 30-year-old white man. Now, a big part of the movement is comprised of women and youth. This less severe form of white supremacy appeals to many women because of its views on independence and women's rights. The movement is convincing women to join by showing themselves as a woman's rights group that also happens to have the same racist and anti-Semitic views as the KKK. Many white supremacy groups gain most of their recruits from the youth of America. The majority of these youth are on the low end of the economic scale. Many of them are also "outcasts" looking for somewh...