I'd say yes, but again, the wider point is that it makes it easier to punish people who attack people for no reason other than some immutable characteristic.

You're right, it's not perfect. Judging intent and separating out motives is difficult to do in some cases. That's why I argue that it's important to judge cases on evidence rather than on knee-jerk reactions. But I still understand the purpose this legislation serves, and think that minorities would be worse off without it.

ALL punishments are asssumed to act as a deterrent. That's the entire philosophy of the penal system, no? In some cases I'm sure they aren't, but it seems obvious that in most cases they are. Otherwise we'd see an awful lot more crime.