4th of July Non-Hate Crime?

Sounds like a tough 4th of July in Akron, Ohio.

... to Marty Marshall, his wife and two kids, it seems pretty clear.

It came after a family night of celebrating America and freedom with a fireworks show at Firestone Stadium. Marshall, his family and two friends were gathered outside a friend's home in South Akron.

Out of nowhere, the six were attacked by dozens of teenage boys, who shouted ''This is our world'' and ''This is a black world'' as they confronted Marshall and his family.

The Marshalls, who are white, say the crowd of teens who attacked them and two friends June 27 on Girard Street numbered close to 50. The teens were all black.

''This was almost like being a terrorist act,'' Marshall said. ''And we allow this to go on in our neighborhoods?''

They said it started when one teen, without any words or warning, blindsided and assaulted Marshall's friend as he stood outside with the others.

When Marshall, 39, jumped in, he found himself being attacked by the growing group of teens.

His daughter, Rachel, 15, who weighs about 90 pounds, tried to come to his rescue. The teens pushed her to the ground.

His wife, Yvonne, pushed their son, Donald, 14, into bushes to keep him protected.

''My thing is,'' Marshall said, ''I didn't want this, but I was in fear for my wife, my kids and my friends. I felt I had to stay out there to protect them, because those guys were just jumping, swinging fists and everything.

''I'm lucky. They didn't break my ribs or bruise my ribs. I thank God, they concentrated on my thick head because I do have one. They were trying to take my head off my spine, basically.''

After several minutes of punches and kicks, the attack ended and the group ran off. The Marshalls' two adult male friends were not seriously hurt.

''I don't think I thought at that moment when I tried to jump in,'' Rachel Marshall said. ''But when I was laying on the ground, I was just scared.''

Marshall was the most seriously injured. He suffered a concussion and multiple bruises to his head and eye. He said he spent five nights in the critical care unit at Akron General Medical Center.

I purposely left off the opening paragraph because I wanted you to see this story without prejudice. Tell me, does this story sound like a racially-motivated confrontation and, if so, would it rise to the level of a "hate crime"?

Here's the first paragraph:

Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime or a gang initiation.

The police said they had no reports of any similar beatings that night -- so it couldn't have been a hate crime, right? I guess the rule of thumb is that they must come in multiples. Tell that to Matthew Shepherd.

What if the racial components of the report were reversed. What if a law-abiding black family had been accosted by angry "this is a white world" youths? Do you think the Akron police would be so quick to dismiss the idea of a "hate crime"?

Truth is, the concept of equal justice is on life support. With Congress debating the merits of a new, stronger set of hate crimes laws, every American should consider whether we would be better off jettisoning the motion that the motivations behind crimes should dictate how serious the crimes are rated.

All crime is a hateful thing. It destroys confidence in one's fellow man. It deprives people of life and liberty without due process of law. It creates fear and a lessening of trust in civil authority. What difference, in fact, does it make if an Akron, Ohio, family and friends are terrorized by black, white or any other color youths? Terror is terror. The motivations are often numerous and diverse; the result of the crime curiously unchanging.

The Marshalls say they fear retaliation at home or when they go outside. They are considering arming themselves, but they're concerned about the possible problems that come with guns.

For now, they are hoping police can bring them suspects. They believe they can identify several of the attackers.

''This makes you think about your freedom,'' Marshall said. ''In all reality, where is your freedom when you have this going on?''

Well said.