Last June Nicholas Minucci, a young white man, spotted Glenn Moore, an African-American man, walking down a street of Minucci's neighborhood of Howard Beach, Queens, an area that is generally described as "all white." Minucci leapt out of his car, accosted Moore and, employing a baseball bat he just happened to be armed with, beat Moore while spewing racial epithets, then stole his sneakers. Moore ended up with contusions on his body and two skull fractures.

Minucci's trial has just now come before a jury. That Minucci assaulted Moore is not the main issue in the case; rather, the question is whether Minucci's use of "the N word" makes this a hate crime as well, warranting a much longer sentence. As the New York Daily News headline put it, N-word Tested at Fat Nick Trial. (Yes, as though there weren't enough fun to go around, Minucci's nickname really is "Fat Nick.")

I will leave it to the jury to render its verdict in this matter. What intrigues me for the purposes of this column is what the public discussion of the case tells us about this cultural moment. To be fair, the case overflows with the kind of sordid detail and juicy drama that fairly begs for high tabloidization. The moment it was revealed that Minucci had a prior conviction for shooting a Sikh woman with a paintball gun while shouting "You fucking Indians, you killed our people," New Yorkers knew to brace themselves for a good 'un. The moment it was revealed that Moore admitted that he was in the neighborhood to steal cars but had changed his mind and was simply walking around in admiration, awed by the beautiful, well-kept homes--well, one knew this would get interesting.

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