The suspects in the Chicago hate crime attack. Chicago Tribune.
Four black suspects have been charged with a hate crime, among other crimes, for the kidnapping of a mentally challenged white man. Chicago Tribune/AP. The 18 year old victim was beaten, threatened, forced to drink toilet water and was partially scalped. The attackers screamed obscenities at the man about Donald Trump and white people. The suspects posted video of the attack on Facebook and other outlets. The suspects sent text messages to the man's parents, but the man was able to escape and be rescued by a concerned citizen. The suspects knew the victim and said the incident happened because they were "play fighting" and it spiraled out of control.
My Comment:
I wasn't sure if I wanted to cover this case because it is riling people up on social media quite a bit. People are pissed and there is a lot of legitimate racism coming up from both sides. Don't believe me? Go on twitter for a bit... Getting caught up in that, especially since I am going to say some things that will upset both sides, is something I probably should avoid.
I figured though that I do have some things to say about it. First of all, I watched some of the videos that were posted on Facebook elsewhere. There were pretty horrible, among the worst things I have ever seen. Probably not quite as bad as ISIS execution videos but only because the victim survived. It was clear that these attackers were torturing the victim and it was so disgusting I had to turn it off.
A lot is being made of the fact that the attackers forced the victim to say "fuck Donald Trump" and "fuck white people". For me these statements were pretty obviously racist. Whatever caused this incident in the first place, it's clear that it ended up as a racist attack. I don't know if the victim actually voted for Donald Trump or even supported him in anyway, but it's clear to me that these attackers wanted that to be the implication. It makes me wonder how they would have reacted to one of the millions of Black, Hispanic and Asian people who voted for Donald Trump...
There has been rumors that the attackers in this case were charged with a hate crime only because they attacked a mentally disabled man, and not because he was white. I don't know if that is true or not, but if it is, it is disgusting. I know for a fact that if the races were reversed and it was "Barack Obama" and "Black People" or even "Hillary Clinton" and "Women" this would have been a hate crime for sure. Again though, I don't know if that is true or not and for me it seems like it is simple internet speculation. It's being reported as if it was real though, so I don't know what to think.
I am guessing that these suspects will go to prison. If they have any brains at all they will take a deal, though the prosecution will be under extreme pressure to not give them one. There is a small risk that they could get a sympathetic racist on a jury that could nullify their conviction, but that's about the only way they get off here. The massive amount of evidence, including video of the crimes and confessions, means that only someone with an ax to grind would let these people off.
I'd also like to make the following true statements that probably shouldn't be necessary but apparently are.
1. Racism is bad no matter who is responsible for it.
2. Anyone is capable of being racist, even black people. That being said, this attack doesn't come anywhere near close to justifying racism against black people.
3. This was what real racism is. Attacking or hating someone just because of the color if their skin is actual racism. Shooting someone who is trying to kill you who happens to be a different race then you is not.
4. There are a lot of racist people out there, but people like Dylann Roof get more attention than attacks like this. This attack isn't unique but only got coverage because the suspects were stupid enough to record it. Otherwise it would have been ignored because certain people have a vested interest in downplaying black on white crime and promoting white and black crime.
5. Since the left has said that only white people can be racists and the right is largely spineless because they are afraid of being called racist by the left, actual discussion about the streak of racism in the black community is largely left to white racists. This attack was a great propaganda tool for them.
6. I am guessing that the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Party and the mainstream media is at least partially responsible for this attack. Though I haven't seen any direct links between BLM and these suspects, it's clear that they are using the same rhetoric...
7. The mugshots show that the male suspects have no remorse. They obviously wanted to look tough, not regretful...
8. Twitter, being Twitter, is doing everything they can to censor this story. Twitter users, being Twitter users, have countered this censorship by coming up with new hashtags.
With all that being said, I am glad that these suspects were arrested. Had justice not been served in this case people would have been furious. With the suspects in custody facing hate crimes and other charges, some of the tension and pressure will be released.
No comments:
Post a Comment