Ed, who doesn't want his last name published, says he was a victim of "walking while white'' last week. About 10 black teens attacked him near Fountain Square about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

"They said, basically, `You don't belong here,''' he said. "I've seen them do it before where they just intimidate people."

Ed was walking home from dinner at Redfish when he saw the gang of teens blocking the sidewalk. "It was like running the gantlet. I made it through. Four or five tried to punch me. I was able to avoid some of them."

But one landed a solid blow. The next morning, he had a black eye and his right cheek had a swollen, purple bruise the size of a fat plum.

Enough laws

The punch knocked him to the sidewalk, and he heard the attackers laughing at him. Then a van pulled up and the thugs scattered.

He's sure he was assaulted because he was a white guy alone. He's 56, a retired insurance underwriter, on the small side - an easy target.

I asked him if it was a hate crime.

"I think it was, but there's no way I can prove it,'' he said. "I don't think we need any more laws. We just need to enforce the ones we have."

I agree, but I don't know if City Hall is listening. They're hearing instead from gay-rights activists who want to expand city hate-crimes laws to include sexual orientation.

Statistically, this is like arguing over a leaky faucet in the middle of a flood. FBI reports show that hate crimes make up less than 0.0008 percent of all crimes: just 9,730 reported nationwide in 2001. About 45 percent are racially motivated. Sexual orientation (14.3 percent) comes in fourth, behind ethnicity and religion.

Victims of hate crimes are traumatized, injured and scared - just like victims of all crimes. That's the point: We already have laws against violent crimes and property crimes. Courts already consider motives to apply tougher sentences. Cincinnati police and the state of Ohio already include sexual orientation in their definitions of hate crimes. So why is City Council starting another culture war to make some victims feel more special?

Not enough cops

Politically correct "affirmative action" for some groups of crime victims has little effect on bias crimes, which are already very rare. But it gives activists an excuse to spread fear and accuse anyone who opposes it of a "hate crime.''

If City Council is determined to waste time adding new groups of victims, why not just detour the debates and add all Homo sapiens. Even columnists. Because every crime is a hate crime.

And let's add more cops to enforce the laws we have. What happened to Ed is not rare enough.

"Everyone should be allowed to move about freely without being cursed at or threatened," Ed said.

He also wants everyone to know that Cincinnati Police Officer Andrea Smythe responded in a matter of minutes, and she was very kind. She's black. He's white. "I just judge people individually by how they act," he said.

So should the law.

E-mail pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.