by Lauren Dean

In Augusta, Mich., burning crosses and vandalized vehicles terrorize two black families.

In St. Louis, an Asian refugee is killed by a black youth. The victim was sitting in his car in his own yard.

At a high school in Suffolk County, New York, white students distribute fliers promoting white supremacy.

These acts, along with thousands of others, are examples of the many hate crimes committed every day.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, hate crime is the violence of intolerance and bigotry. It is intended to hurt someone because of his or her race, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religious beliefs.

Hate crimes are widespread. In 1996, the FBI received reports of more than 10,706 hate crimes from state and local law enforcement agencies, according to the CRS.

Many people believe hate crimes are merely random acts of violence, but this is not true. They occur daily, in every state and many cities.

In 1999, a 19-year-old Jewish boy, Sasezley Richardson, was shot and killed on his way to his friend's house.

In Toronto, a Jewish police officer, Joel Ginsberg, came to work one morning and found swastikas painted on his office building windows.

And while hate crimes committed against minorities receive vast amounts of media attention, there are still hundreds of crimes committed against the majority, according to an article on NewsMax.com.

For example, two homosexuals sodomized and killed 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising in Arkansas.

In 1999, a gunman murdered seven people in a Fort Worth Baptist Church and shouted, "I can't believe you believe this junk!"

Although hate crimes affect everyone, certain groups are targeted more than others. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, in 2002, there were almost 3,000 hate crimes committed against blacks, compared to 891 committed against whites. In that same year, there were more than 1,000 crimes committed against Jews, although there were only 38 committed against Catholics.

Hate shows no boundaries, and no one is immune. While some groups are targeted more than others, these statistics and stories illustrate that hate is a global issue that affects all of us.