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In Norfolk, Va., last week, a white 13-year-old was beaten by a group of black teens as he walked to a park to play football with his friends.

One of the attacker's friends videotaped it. You can find it online but be warned: It's hard to watch and perhaps, even more difficult to listen to as the photographer and others can be heard laughing in the background.

The victim's mother believes the attack was because her son is white.

This follows on the heels of the Jena, La., incidents.

Prosecutors say a white teen was beaten by black classmates after three nooses were hung in a schoolyard tree. A black student had wanted to sit under the big tree, where white students usually congregated.

After the beating, the district attorney had the black students arrested on felony charges and jailed. The charges might or might not have been excessive.

Ultimately, we have a series of wrongs that will never add up to a right.

Still, a beating's a beating. And technically, as despicable as hanging a noose over a tree might be, it's not criminal.

It's certainly intended to send an ugly message, but so is a raised middle finger or a child taunting another because of his or her weight. There are plenty of ways to be viciously mean, regardless of age, gender or color.

The First Amendment opens the door to a lot of good and a lot of bad. Certain words do sting; certain images inflame. But they are not sticks and stones. A fist to the face, a knife to the gut, a bullet to the brain are entirely different matters.

The differences among a black person, an Irish-American or a Hispanic gunned down are deemed insignificant in our laws; it must become so in our hearts and minds, as well.

The fact that the boy in Norfolk was white and the attackers black, or the other way around, has got to come to mean nothing, or we're failing each other.

To that end, we need to recognize that there is no such thing as a hate crime. The very words in conjunction with each other would be comical if, in fact, the concept weren't so divisive.

What you think of me or say about me, as long as it's not slanderous, is truly none of my business.

But reach across the table and lay a hand on me in violence, now you've got my attention, and what's coming to you in a court of law - regardless of your color, age or gender.

We might never be a colorblind society, but it's inexcusable if we don't try.