Imagine the following scenario.
A 50-year-old mentally handicapped black man is walking down the
street in Jacksonville, Fla. Five white men, down the road a piece,
decide that they are going to attack the next black person who happens
by. The gang, ranging in age from 18 to 23, find easy prey in the
mentally handicapped black man and beat him to death.
Now, what do you suppose the national establishment media would do
with such a "hate crime"? How do you suppose the local media would
handle it? Is there any chance the story would die at the top of the
police blotter stories in the Florida Times-Union, never to be picked up
by the Associated Press, radio news or the big newspapers?
I dare say none of us can imagine that such a horrific story could be
ignored by the national, let alone the local press. Yet that is exactly
what happened to this story. I'm not kidding. Everything about the
incident is exactly as I described it with only one exception -- the
attackers were black and the victim was white.
Yes, indeed, Jacksonville prosecutors are going to charge the five
suspects with a hate crime in the racially motivated attack. That's how
compelling the evidence is. But, no, not even the local press considers
it much of a story. It really did top the local police blotter column of the paper Oct. 23.
Terrence McCray, 18; Ledel Lawrence, 20; Marco Leathers, 18; Marvin
Jones, 23; and Lafreddy Manns, 18, have all been charged with
second-degree murder "under evidence and prejudice" based on the race of
the victim, said Assistant State Attorney Bram Scharf. Because
second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison, the hate crime
designation cannot enhance the penalty. But if jurors were to return a
lesser verdict -- manslaughter, for example -- the designation could be
used to sentence the defendants to more prison time. They are accused of
beating to death Gregory Griffith, 50, as he walked along
Justina Road Aug. 13.
Police said the suspects, all black, decided to attack the next white
person to walk down the street. Griffith was the next person to walk by.
Manns is being held under $100,000 bond. The other men are being held
without bond.
Does this remind you of another recent story I helped bring to the
attention of the national media through this column?
You bet it does. It sounds vaguely like what happened in
Charleston, S.C., recently.
This was another case of the media missing a story -- probably because
of some extremely biased or incompetent news judgment in an Associated
Press bureau. There, too, the same circumstances, with a reversal of
racial roles, would have prompted a major national media hate crime
watch. Racially motivated attacks by blacks on whites, however, aren't
deemed newsworthy.
This incident also reminds me of another story I helped bring to the
attention of the national news media recently.
It reminds me of the Prairie Grove, Ark., boy who was gagged,
bound and raped to death by two homosexuals.
It was big news in Northwest Arkansas, but the story of young Jesse
Dirkhising didn't make a ripple in the national news until I raised the
subject in this column. Could it really be because the victim was not a
part of some politically protected sub-group, a special class deserving
of extra government privileges? Could it be because the suspects are,
indeed, members of such a group?
Remember how the nation stood riveted to the details of a hideous
murder that took place in Wyoming when a homosexual was tortured to
death? Even the sentencing of the killers received a massive amount of
media attention recently. Why? Because it was a "hate crime." New laws
were needed, we were told. New brainwashing programs must be introduced
into the schools. New sensitivity outreach projects were required by all
media outlets. Bill Clinton sounded off. Janet Reno chimed in.
But there was no hand wringing for young Jesse Dirkhising. There were
no candlelight marches, no national news coverage for the 13-year-old
victim of homosexual rape and murder. No presidential proclamations --
even though the heinous crime took place in his home state.
It seems those concerned about so-called "hate crimes" don't really
have any interest in punishing hate, per se -- only certain kinds of
hate. That's not equal protection under the law. That's not American.
That's not right.
I'm encouraged that when I point out these horrendous injustices and
unspeakable crimes that many people are beginning to recognize the
double-standards being employed by my colleagues. Even the "Fair and
Balanced" nincompoops at Fox News are getting it (though they'll never
mention, of course, where they learn about such stories. It's a grudge
thing.) No matter. We'll drag the establishment media into the era of
reality one step at a time. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.