By now most Americans have at least heard about — if not seen — the Facebook Live streamed video of four black young adults torturing a mentally disabled young white man. The four have been arrested and the city of Chicago has charged them with a “hate crime,” along with kidnapping, unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

News coverage of the crime revealed just how committed the Leftmedia are to the “progressive” narrative on racism in America — namely that only white people can truly be racist. Even with clear video evidence of the four perpetrators declaring their racist motivation — yelling, “F— white people” as they tortured the young man — the media questioned whether or not race was a factor. One of the most egregious examples came from CNN’s Don Lemon, who wouldn’t even agree that the actions were evil, suggesting it was a result of “bad home training.” This wasn’t a breach of etiquette; it was a heinous and violent crime. And it calls to mind the even more evil crimes against Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in 2007.

The story also highlights the problem with the so-called “hate crime” categorization of criminal intent. This rather dubious classification has always been problematic, for it’s meant to inject a form of political motivated subjectivity into determining the guilt level of a criminal act. In other words, it’s an attempt to make a crime more evil should it be concluded that some form of hatred motivated the act, all in order to justify harsher sentencing in the name of Social Justice™.

Finally, it’s beyond question that racial tensions in America have increased significantly since Barack Obama took office — and he bears much responsibility for it. The Left’s suggestion that Obama’s presidency would usher in a new era of greater unity and an end to racial prejudice has proven not to be the case. In fact, he stubbornly insisted just yesterday, “I think the overall trajectory of race relations in this country is actually very positive.”

Wrong. The nation has witnessed a rebirth of tribalism, with racial differences taking on primary importance. In order for racism to be truly diminished, the politics of racial grievance must die. The color of one’s skin must stop being anything other than a recognition of the wonderfully diverse palette God used in filling His creation.