The reason it's seperate from the News thread is... well, it's obvious.
[URL]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19233888/[/URL]
"The judge sentenced Patreese Johnson, 20, to 11 years in prison. Johnson admitted she had a knife and is seen on the videotape swinging it at the victim, Dwayne Buckle, who has called the incident "a hate crime against a straight man.""
It doesn't appear that a Hate Crime was attached to the charges.
Reading the rest of the article, it does sound like things got out of hand on both sides. Though verbal abuse and flicking a cigarette is a far cry from being ganged up on and stabbed with a knife.
One might... -might-.... be able to argue a Hate Crime, but Buckle was also rather bigoted himself. It may not be so much a Hate Crime against a heterosexual male as it might be a Hate Crime against a man.
Still, at the same time, I think appeals really are in order. It does sound like Buckle did start something, but the women didn't have to turn it to a physical altercation. It's a hard one to call.