# I just learned that Mark Wahlberg assaulted an Asian person in a hate crime as a youth. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326 "2013-02-04T18:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/141 "2014-12-15T20:28:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, what about the oft-repeated claim that teenagers’ brains are not fully developed, and thus holding them criminally responsible for acts they commit is problematic in some way? Who here has said anything like this? I know of people who are against treating kids _just like_ adults. But I know of no one who thinks violent teenagers should not be held responsible for the acts they commit. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/142 "2014-12-15T20:35:47Z")
Wahlberg in fact was treated more leniently than an adult criminal of similar acts, yes? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/143 "2014-12-15T21:38:21Z")
Marky Mark only _thought_ he blinded his Vietnamese victim. Turns out Hoa Trinh lost that eye during the Vietnam war and [was not severely injured](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wahlberg#Assaults_and_conviction). I don’t have an opinion on this (except that preventing people from becoming cops, restauranteurs or gun owners because of a crime they committed 30 years prior is counterproductive), but I agree that if he were black, Mark Wahlberg would still be in jail – _if_ he even survived the arrest. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/144 "2014-12-15T21:41:23Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Okay, so why not just pardon anyone who has successfully finished out a prison term? Wipe the slate clean for all convicts, so they can be treated like full citizens. This is exactly my opinion. If you need to restrict someone’s access to children or guns or certain jobs, you shouldn’t be letting them out of jail in the first place. But in the vast majority of cases, these restrictions aren’t necessary and only serve to drive the ex-con back to a life of crime. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/145 "2014-12-15T21:47:18Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Okay, so why not just pardon anyone who has successfully finished out a prison term? Wipe the slate clean for all convicts, so they can be treated like full citizens. > > I’m not seeing why becoming a rich celebrity makes someone any more entitled to a pardon that the average joe who commits a similar crime. Average Joes can petition for pardons. I guess it varies from state to state. My Arkansas governor only accepted applications from people that had served their sentence, completed parole and had their case closed. I’m not sure what the application required, but it was probably character references, employment records, home ownership, tax records etc. Not all pardons are granted. Theres several hundred names on this list dating back several years. Compared to the tens of thousands serving time in our state prisons its a very short list that get pardons. [http://governor.arkansas.gov/office/Pages/pendingExecutivePardons.aspx](http://governor.arkansas.gov/office/Pages/pendingExecutivePardons.aspx) I’d hope governors in other states have similar policies. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/146 "2014-12-15T21:49:22Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Marky Mark only _thought_ he blinded his Vietnamese victim. Turns out Hoa Trinh lost that eye during the Vietnam war and [was not severely injured](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wahlberg#Assaults_and_conviction). > > I don’t have an opinion on this (except that preventing people from becoming cops, restauranteurs or gun owners because of a crime they committed 30 years prior is counterproductive), but I agree that if he were black, Mark Wahlberg would still be in jail – _if_ he even survived the arrest. I would love to see a cite that all black men convicted of the same crime are still in prison. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/147 "2014-12-15T21:53:14Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > This is exactly my opinion. If you need to restrict someone’s access to children or guns or certain jobs, you shouldn’t be letting them out of jail in the first place. But in the vast majority of cases, these restrictions aren’t necessary and only serve to drive the ex-con back to a life of crime. I would fine with this too. Treating cons like pariahs does little to re-integrate them into society. If Wahlberg becomes the test case for dismantling this kind of discrimination, then so be it. Too bad his victory would give credence to the idea that injustice only becomes obvious and intolerable when it affects rich white guys, though. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/148 "2014-12-15T22:05:11Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I would love to see a cite that all black men convicted of the same crime are still in prison. That wouldn’t even be necessary for a black guy in Wahlberg’s position to be in jail. [Blacks get stopped more often for frivolous reasons than whites do](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/19/3472902/police-economic-ferguson/). A cop can demand ID and then use a person’s arrest record to fabricate probable cause for an arrest. “Suspected gang activity” based on a prior could be used to search a guy’s car for drugs or unregistered weapons. Didn’t pay that parking ticket? Jail. Then there’s also the obvious consideration that a black guy with a thug past is going to harder time being embraced as America’s loveable musical bad boy than someone with Marky Mark’s signalment. So he’s more likely to stay in the gang, and thus, more likely to be in jail. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/149 "2014-12-15T22:08:39Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I would love to see a cite that all black men convicted of the same crime are still in prison. Black people serve [60% longer sentences](http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/black-americans-given-longer-sentences-than-white-americans-for-same-crimes?news=843984) for the same crimes as white people. Add in the fact that Wahlberg’s crime was reduced from attempted murder (which has a maximum sentence of life in prison) to assault (and who thinks a young black man would receive that same plea deal?), and we’re well on the way to establishing the plausibility of this claim, even if not actually proving it. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/150 "2014-12-15T22:22:39Z")
He seems to have received forgiveness sufficient to develop a couple of careers, wealth, status, family, etc. Attempts to paint him as revictimized by his criminal record, while he’s achieved more than most people can dream of, are beyond lame. Poor, poor, suffering Marky Mark. He is an object lesson in white privilege, with all that he has, he still feels he deserves just a little more special treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/151 "2014-12-15T22:25:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Average Joes can petition for pardons. I guess it varies from state to state. Unlike Arkansas, Massachusetts doesn’t pardon very often. The last ones were in 2002 under Gov Swift. Before her, Mitt Romney didn’t pardon anybody. Now that Deval Patrick is in his last year in office, he might give out 1 or 2 pardons, but even that’s not certain. Giving Wahlberg a pardon would stand out, especially compared to the other applications the board has almost certainly received. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/152 "2014-12-15T22:29:14Z")
Is there any way it would be politically advantageous to pardon him? I can think of lots of ways this could backfire and be spun against the governor who pardoned him. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/153 "2014-12-15T22:49:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Is there any way it would be politically advantageous to pardon him? > I can think of lots of ways this could backfire and be spun against the governor who pardoned him. It’s gonna look pretty good to his many fans. Didn’t you see O Brother, Where Art Thou? I’m frankly surprised politicians don’t do MORE pandering to famous actors and musicians. I guess it really is because young people don’t vote. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/154 "2014-12-15T23:06:19Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Black people serve [60% longer sentences](http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/black-americans-given-longer-sentences-than-white-americans-for-same-crimes?news=843984) for the same crimes as white people. > > Add in the fact that Wahlberg’s crime was reduced from attempted murder (which has a maximum sentence of life in prison) to assault (and who thinks a young black man would receive that same plea deal?), and we’re well on the way to establishing the plausibility of this claim, even if not actually proving it. You said if he were a black man he’d still be in prison. Show me a case of a black man being convicted of the exact same crime twenty years ago who is still in prison. Not just one case. Show me that they are all still in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/155 "2014-12-16T00:12:11Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Black people serve [60% longer sentences](http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/black-americans-given-longer-sentences-than-white-americans-for-same-crimes?news=843984) for the same crimes as white people. Actually, I suspect the better statement is that poorer people get longer sentences for the same crimes as wealthier people. Did this study correct for socio-economic level? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/156 "2014-12-16T01:21:29Z")
Cite? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/157 "2014-12-16T01:33:18Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Cite? For what? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/158 "2014-12-16T04:35:27Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > This raises the question of why they don’t simply fill in the shooting with SFX in post-production the way they do for skiffy beam guns and whatnot. (For that matter, why they are allowed to play with actual loaded, even with blanks, guns – I thought California gun control laws for most of this stuff had a “you have to prove that you _need_ it” limitation, and given the aforementioned SFX option Hollywood simply does not _need_ even a milligram of actual gun-flash pyrotechnics.) :rolleyes: First off, blanks are SFX. Second, laser beams and whatnot are one thing, but simpler is better, and digital isn’t necessarily convincing for everything. > [@DrCube](#): > > but I agree that if he were black, Mark Wahlberg would still be in jail – _if_ he even survived the arrest. Nonsense. 20 years for simple assault as a juvenile? Got any similar cases? > [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > That wouldn’t even be necessary for a black guy in Wahlberg’s position to be in jail. Not the same thing. The claim is not that a black person would be in jail, but be there still sentenced for this crime. > [@](#): > > [Blacks get stopped more often for frivolous reasons than whites do](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/19/3472902/police-economic-ferguson/). A cop can demand ID and then use a person’s arrest record to fabricate probable cause for an arrest. “Suspected gang activity” based on a prior could be used to search a guy’s car for drugs or unregistered weapons. Didn’t pay that parking ticket? Jail. I don’t dispute unfairness exists. This doesn’t prove the claim. > [@](#): > > Then there’s also the obvious consideration that a black guy with a thug past is going to harder time being embraced as America’s loveable musical bad boy than someone with Marky Mark’s signalment. So he’s more likely to stay in the gang, and thus, more likely to be in jail. Again, the claim is still be in jail from this one crime, not from further actions. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/159 "2014-12-16T04:56:12Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Actually, I suspect the better statement is that poorer people get longer sentences for the same crimes as wealthier people. > > Did this study correct for socio-economic level? Yes it did. > [@](#): > > Using both regression methods and a semi-parametric reweighting approach, we find that black defendants face significantly more severe charges than whites even after controlling for criminal behavior (arrest offense, multiple-defendant case structure, and criminal history), observed defendant characteristics (e.g., age, education), defense counsel type, district, **county economic characteristics** , and crime rates You can download the study [here](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1985377). ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326/160 "2014-12-16T13:36:21Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Black people serve [60% longer sentences](http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/black-americans-given-longer-sentences-than-white-americans-for-same-crimes?news=843984) for the same crimes as white people. > > Add in the fact that Wahlberg’s crime was reduced from attempted murder (which has a maximum sentence of life in prison) to assault (and who thinks a young black man would receive that same plea deal?), and we’re well on the way to establishing the plausibility of this claim, even if not actually proving it. To prove it you’d need to show an instance of a 16 year old black being sentenced to what would be, oh, 27 years (if he was still in prison) for a similar action. Specifically, hitting one person with a stick, and punching another person in the face, I believe. I would wager you won’t find any 16 year old black kid, or any 16 year old kid in the United States, who committed this crime who would still be incarcerated for said crime. I think instead that the simple reality is you’ve vastly overestimated how long **anyone** would be sentenced to for this crime, and thus the claim that a black criminal would still be in prison for the same offense is wholly without merit or substantiation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-that-mark-wahlberg-assaulted-an-asian-person-in-a-hate-crime-as-a-youth/649326.md?page=9)