. . "Especially if heard by witnesses, this would seem to be a more actionable event, i.e., if you bounced a brick or two off his head, your legal standing would likely be stronger as you were replying to a specific threat, not a general insult.The main trouble with Hate Crimes laws is that; 1) Hate is a thought; 2) Some people will treat criticism, even justified, truthful criticism as hate; 3) Some v" . .