Unless of course you're 'special'

Hate crimes, you'd think that they'd apply to any specific attack on anyone citing their colour, religion, social/sexual/gender group and now the newly created fashionista's of the goths and emos clans. Except that we know that such hate crimes cannot be committed by those groups unless they are white, mainstream and most likely male. Indeed such attacks by the minority groups that are clearly hate crimes (Rhea Paige ring any bells) are simply not treat by the law with the same rules and rigour.
Express.

A POLICE force has begun recording offences against members of alternative subcultures, such as goths and emos, as hate crimes.
Greater Manchester Police is believed to be the first force to add abuse towards groups such as goths, emos and punks in the same way they do attacks based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "People who wish to express their alternative sub-culture identity freely should not have to tolerate hate crime."
The police force has worked with a charity set up following the murder of 20-year-old goth Sophie Lancaster in 2007.
Miss Lancaster was kicked and stamped to death because she was dressed as a goth in a park in Bacup, Lancashire, in August 2007.
She slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness.

Whilst I do see any attack specifically aimed at someone because they belong to a certain group, it does behove me to point out the hypocrisy of such classifications when the CPS resolutely refuse to prosecute on such grounds when the victim is white mainstream. At the moment it's only Greater Manchester police who are adding these groups to the classification, though I suspect as with any other minority initiative it will soon become commonplace.
It would be nice though if we could all be treated equally, though at the moment I'm afraid it's still 'game on' for victimhood poker, where race, religion, gender and alternative sexuality all define just how seriously the law will perceive your case...