Take the case of Matthew Shepard, a white man from Wyoming. He was befriended by three men one night in a bar, and was found beaten to death, and tied to a farmer's fence post in the middle of nowhere. They wanted him to suffer, because he was gay and they hated him for it. James Byrd of Texas was drug to death behind a truck. He was black, and that was enough for the men responsible.
All violent crime is atrocious, regardless of motive.
But before judging any crime as a hate crime, we need to look at intent. Whatever the motives turn out to be in the most recent quadruple murders, the crimes are tragic. All violent crimes are cause for anguish. Several weeks ago, approximately a dozen prominent actors and actresses vowed to move from these United States if George W. Bush were elected president. In the spirit of American generosity, I would like to kick in a couple dollars to help them get started, as I'm sure about 10 million others who voted for Bush will be willing to do.