Faking Hate Crimes

I mentioned a while back that a "hate crime" against a homosexual student at Boise State, upon more investigation, turned out to be a fraud. The student attacked himself, punching himself, and beating himself with a stick, so that he could claim that Idaho's passage of a "one man, one woman" constitutional amendment was promoting violence against homosexuals. Not surprisingly, Boise State had a grand mal seizure of guilt about how "homophobic" it and the rest of Idaho is--but precious few words when they realized that this "hate crime" didn't happen.

The student--whose name hasn't been published until now because he was a "victim"--is now identified:

Authorities announced today that Alex "A.J." McGillis, 20, of Boise must appear in court on charges of resisting and obstructing officers. The charge specifically relates to a false report McGillis made to police Nov. 9. in connection with what was initially reported to police as a battery on the greenbelt somewhere between Taylor Hall and Friendship Bridge. According to police reports, McGillis initially claimed a white male struck him from behind with an object while using anti-gay expletives and proceeded to hit him in the face several times, causing him to lose consciousness. McGillis later admitted to authorities he used a stick and his own fists to self-inflict his injuries. The falsified attack quickly prompted student and administrative organizations around Boise State to sponsor the "No Oppression Tolerated, Not On Our Campus," rally and a candlelight vigil in the Quad. Several student representatives and BSU administrators stressed tolerance and the need for civility on campus at the rallies and for several days after. Hundreds attended the rallies. The prosecutor's summons orders McGillis to appear in Magistrate Court no later than Jan. 10th on the charge. Filing a false police report is a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of $1,000 fine and one year in jail.

Now, I'm sure that liberals everywhere will be full of excuses for what McGillis did, minimizing its importance, and saying that he has suffered enough.

Imagine how they would have responded, however, if this had happened?

1. A man reports being grabbed by a group of homosexuals, raped, and taunted, "You'll want to come back for of this, won't you?"

2. Social conservatives organize rallies demanding that "something be done" to make it safe for straight men, and decrying the tolerance of homosexual rape.

3. After police find inconsistencies in his story, and failures to match the physical evidence, the man admits that he faked the whole thing, and there was no homosexual rape.

Do you think that conservatives would be sitting around making analogous excuses such as, "Well, there are homosexuals who rape straight men--maybe it didn't happen in this case, but it could have!" Do you think liberals would be making excuses for why this inflammatory false crime report shouldn't be punished severely?