Obvious Hate Crime Is (Not) Obvious
The following is three-day-old news. So sue me. I was on vacation.
USA Today reports on an obvious hate crime by two young white males on a black World War II vet:
Spokane police said Friday they have arrested one of two teenagers wanted as suspects in the beating death of an 88-year-old World War II vet who was wounded at Okinawa.
Delbert Belton, known as “Shorty,” died Thursday from head injuries suffered in the attack Wednesday night outside the Eagles Lodge.
KHQ-TV reports that the 16-year-old is being held in juvenile detention but will be charged as an adult and faces first degree murder and first degree robbery charges.
Police had released the photos of two teenagers seen in area surveillance footage.
The case is gaining nationwide attention because the perpetrators were white and the victim, a World War II hero, was black. Touré has brought the case to the attention of the public on Twitter and plans to speak about it today on MSNBC. Already Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have begun preparations for marches for justice across the country, demanding justice for Belton. Colin Powell has said that anything less than a first degree murder conviction would be “suspect.” On networks across the country, round-the-clock coverage has been promised, and speculation abounds about whether, after the George Zimmerman case, an acquittal here might be the spark that sets off a nationwide race ri —
[Like many things I write, this next bit probably works best if you hear it being said in the voice of Norm MacDonald, using the voice he uses when he is doing an obvious “bit.”]
Hold the fort! I’ve just been handed a piece of paper with some writing on it. Please excuse me for a moment while I just take the piece of paper I have been handed, and read the words that have been placed upon it for me to read.
[Silence. Norm’s lips move silently.]
Huh. How about that.
It appears that the story I was reading to you was accurate, with the exception of one small detail: the suspects are black and the victim is white. And the person who brought it to the attention of Twitter was not Touré, but James Woods.
Well, I don’t see a story here, fellas, do you?
[Fade to black.]
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 8/26/2013 @ 7:44 amDave Burge brought this story to my attention on his twitter feed at https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog :
And the story?
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/cnn_knows_engines/
Why do we let these idiot journo school grads try to explain or lecture us on anything?
MSLSD knows hate crimes like CNN knows engines.
Steve57 (713b70) — 8/26/2013 @ 7:49 amYeah, basically.
We have a serious problem with racism in this country. It’s even true that the nation is basically too cowardly too address it. But it’s stuff like this.
Dustin (303dca) — 8/26/2013 @ 8:07 amCan’t be a hate crime. Victim was white so all of that hate crime stuff doesn’t apply.
Comanche Voter (f4c7d5) — 8/26/2013 @ 8:26 amRacist.
Memories (6fb0ef) — 8/26/2013 @ 8:32 amBaldilocks weighs in on the issue over at the HQ:
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/342793.php
WBF.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 8/26/2013 @ 8:53 am2. My gentleman farmer father-in-law often ridicules my lack of interest in attending to hinges, drips, drains, etc., that are not in perfect working order.
I imagine he would beat this yokel to death in righteous rage.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 8/26/2013 @ 9:03 amI’m withholding judgment on the racial elements in the recent deaths in Oklahoma and Washington.
MT Geoff (a67ef4) — 8/26/2013 @ 9:24 amThe vicious thugs may have selected the two victims for race, or partly for race, or race may not have been in their thinking. If it was, it’s a slight aggravation of the real problem: viciousness itself.
If you think white people are less intelligent, but you don’t set out to harm them, you’re a racist but you’re harmless. If you think black people are more likely to commit crimes because they’re black, you’re a racist — but if you judge a given case by its facts and not by race, you’re fair-minded where it counts.
If you think that people who are black are committing more crimes than seems right for their share of the population, you can do math.
So, racist crimes? Maybe, but yet to be proven. Double-standard hypocrisy from the race-baiters and press, who made out George Zimmerman a racist and murderer when he was neither? Yeah, angry about that.
“If you think that people who are black are committing more crimes than seems right for their share of the population, you can do math.”
MT Geoff – Math is structurally racist!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/26/2013 @ 9:42 amBeing aware of white on black crime is activism.
CrustyB (69f730) — 8/26/2013 @ 9:48 amBeing aware of black on white crime is racism.
Modern American “logic.”
Lack of moral substance.
mg (31009b) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:15 amCracker’s fault.
Spokane is one of the best kept secrets in America it’s a wonderful city – storied and charming and decent down to its foundations and they love flowers there and they’re always excited to hear about new ways to cook potatoes
there’s no way this actually happened there
it’s just not even possible
happyfeet (c60db2) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:29 amIf President Obama had a couple of sons…
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:32 amhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Washington#Crime
oh. Who knew? Spokane is a cesspool of crime.
Nobody tells me anything I just live in my own little world and then bam reality crashes in and it’s just altogether unsettling.
happyfeet (c60db2) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:38 amwhich explains why they don’t teach it anymore… but math is no where near as racist as cursive, sir.
steveg (794291) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:39 amOnce the young Bing Crosby left Spokane for a jazz career in the early 1920s, the whole town went bad.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:50 amdamn you bing
damn you for leaving
happyfeet (c60db2) — 8/26/2013 @ 10:54 amMiley Cyrus needs an intervention.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 8/26/2013 @ 11:01 am“Miley Cyrus needs an intervention.”
ES – She needs to become somebody’s breeding whore, like Princess Kate, or something.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/26/2013 @ 11:24 amDo any liberal people, center left people, see the corruption of Obama’s racial vision?
Patricia (be0117) — 8/26/2013 @ 11:25 amMr. daley shame on you. Becoming a breeding whore is precisely what our young friend Miley has absolutely no business at all doing at this stage of her maturation, and I think you know that.
I think what Miley needs is to take a serious hand in the development of a project for cable television. I think becoming deeply involved in the nurturing and day-to-day management of a creative business venture would help her gain a better understanding of the enormous opportunities to grow and achieve and contribute that are available to her.
I also think she needs to put some damn clothes on.
happyfeet (c60db2) — 8/26/2013 @ 11:37 am19. Concurring w/ Mr. Stones’ diagnosis:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/08/25/miley-cyrus-sexualized-vma
Small matter where Ms. ‘I need my orbits separated a skosh but that’s real surgery unlike my boob job’ lies on the skank continuum she’s definitely existentially committed.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:25 pmhttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/17/nyregion/city-ranks-among-safest-on-crime-rate.html (Dec 2002 – basically the starting point of Bloomberg – crime in New York City went down even further after that)
Sammy Finkelman (6c9102) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:32 pmhttp://downtownspokane.kxly.com/news/crime/84228-new-website-says-spokane-sucks-because-crime-statistics (August 2nd, 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PRGK0VG5Cg
A comment om the You Tube video says in part:
Another one, half a year later, goes:
It seems like a lot of these criminals are white, which goes to prove of course that this kind of situation is not really related to race.
Sammy Finkelman (6c9102) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:44 pmUpdate Submitted by KXLY Web Staff
Monday, August 26th, 2013, 12:18pm
http://downtownspokane.kxly.com/news/news/105451-motive-attack-was-robbery-race-was-not-factor
Sammy Finkelman (6c9102) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:45 pmThe question was how far would Miley Cyrus’s father go?
It seems like as far as Madonna.
Sammy Finkelman (6c9102) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:46 pmMadonna is a very good mom by all accounts Mr. Finkelman
So far so good anyways
happyfeet (c60db2) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:48 pm26. Well he hasn’t slept with the Worm, so far as I know, which ain’t far.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 8/26/2013 @ 12:58 pmMy my my, Patterico, first post-vaca is right out of the park. Had me going for a second. I was thinking: “Wait a second, only WW2 vet I heard being beaten to death was white.” You got me.
If taking a vacation refreshes the mind and helps to recharge the batteries then by all means it has definitely worked for you.
Norm MacDonald, exactly the right voice and tone for this.
Kenneth Simmons (88736a) — 8/26/2013 @ 1:09 pmThe second suspect has been arrested.
Icy (012620) — 8/26/2013 @ 1:19 pmNothing to see here, move along now!
askeptic (b8ab92) — 8/26/2013 @ 2:35 pmThere are two love crimes: statutory rape and bigamy. Everything else is a hate crime.
NickM (a11bb6) — 8/26/2013 @ 3:01 pm“Already Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have begun preparations for marches for justice across the country, demanding justice for Belton. Colin Powell has said that anything less than a first degree murder conviction would be “suspect.””
– Patterico
Well that’s a good sign, at least – since you only switched the race of the parties and the identity of the speaker. It’s good to see that Sharpton, Jackson, and Powell are being consistent here.
Leviticus (6a67b8) — 8/26/2013 @ 3:05 pmFor the better part of two decades, I steadfastly maintained that Billy Ray Cyrus was incapable of producing an abomination worse than “Achy Breaky Heart.”
Alas, Miley Cyrus has proved me wrong.
Whitey Nisson (aa99c0) — 8/26/2013 @ 3:17 pmCrimethink is something else again.
narciso (3fec35) — 8/26/2013 @ 3:23 pmYep… if 0bama had a son… say, isn’t the gorilla in the room about 800 tons by now?
Colonel Haiku (1871f4) — 8/26/2013 @ 3:46 pm33. I know I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I.don.gets.it.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 8/26/2013 @ 4:01 pmHey… forget it
Colonel Haiku (5afdfc) — 8/26/2013 @ 4:31 pmJakeGary, it’s New Mexico…No, Patterico messed up the joke. He “corrected” the respective race and that it was not Turde but James Woods, but he did not “correct” the Jackson, Sharpton, Powell parts. Jet lag. He did say that he has just gotten back from vacation. (And you should have just pretended to laugh, Leviticus.)
nk (875f57) — 8/26/2013 @ 4:40 pmSpeaking of crimethink, James Letten, has his attack of the vapors,
narciso (3fec35) — 8/26/2013 @ 4:56 pm“vapors”??? the guy is a four flushin’, snake-bellied assclown. I hope that video goes viral because he should bear the fruits of his labor, asshole that he is.
Colonel Haiku (5afdfc) — 8/26/2013 @ 5:08 pmWell maybe spluttering rage, better describes it;
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/174890/
narciso (3fec35) — 8/26/2013 @ 5:12 pmMiley—whose name is a contraction of the childhood nickname ‘Smiley,’ by the way—needs to spend some time watching Turner Classic Movies.
I’m not joking.
She should study the way that some of the fine actresses of yesteryear were able to project their feminine wiles without grabbing their lady parts or literally sticking their tongue down the audience’s throat.
At least with Madonna, there was a coldness and distance to her on-stage hysterics. She (sometimes, but sometimes not) would project a “you can look, but hell will freeze over before I’ll let you touch.”
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 8/26/2013 @ 5:44 pmOn the other hand, with Miley, you get the impression that the first decent looking guy backstage who offers her a bottle of Jim Beam would get to take her home.
(Stagehands and MTV production assistants, included !)
Further perspective on the earlier point;
http://www.popehat.com/2013/08/26/if-you-find-yourself-yelling-youre-hobbits-youve-probably-lost-an-argument-already/
narciso (3fec35) — 8/26/2013 @ 6:13 pmNot family nite:
http://www.rightwingnews.com/celebrities/the-reaction-from-will-smiths-family-tells-you-all-about-miley-cyruss-raunchy-dance/?
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 8/26/2013 @ 8:07 pmThat article was on Ace’s website over 2 weeks ago. You need to read more often. Cheers.
NJRob (4bb407) — 8/26/2013 @ 9:24 pm(And you should have just pretended to laugh, Leviticus.)
– nk
Yeah, probably.
Leviticus (6a67b8) — 8/27/2013 @ 6:29 amHere’s a good joke for you, Leviticus: I have found a simple, but not necessarily easy, twelve-step program. Keep walking, twelve steps past the bar.
And since we’re on the subject, what are you doing law stuff wise?
nk (875f57) — 8/27/2013 @ 6:43 amIs this the new state of race relations or just another example of mean kids?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 8/27/2013 @ 7:09 amI often wonder if there was anybody around when that first slave ship showed up who said “Ya know, this might not be a good idea.” The institution of slavery was then made part of the Constitution, slaves became assets to be shown as such on the balance sheets of the owners and the rest is history.
glenn (647d76) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:15 amThe institution of slavery was then made part of the Constitution
— Oy! [slow headshake]
Icy (b7138e) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:23 amStuck on stupid;
https://twitter.com/aurabogado
narciso (3fec35) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:29 amComment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 8/27/2013 @ 7:09 am
Same Old, same old.
askeptic (b8ab92) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:33 amhappyfeet:
Ah, that’s it! You’ve hit on the real reason this crime was committed. As I’m sure you’re aware, Spokane is bidding against Orlando and Helsinki for the right to hold the 75th Worldcon, in 2015. The race is down to the wire, and the vote is this Saturday. Undoubtedly these thugs were hired by those cunning Orlando fen (or possibly by the Finns) to commit this spectacular crime, in order to draw voters’ attention at the last minute to some unpleasant facts they had somehow managed to remain ignorant of until now.
(Seriously, I must admit I shared feet’s impression of Spokane, and had no idea about the crime rate. The Spokane bid has certainly not mentioned it, not that I would expect them to.)
Milhouse (3d0df0) — 8/27/2013 @ 1:14 pmIs this the new state of race relations or just another example of mean kids?
Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 8/27/2013 @ 7:09 am
I remember when I was in that toddlers shoes. My gut reaction would be to snatch the camera, and let mommy come deal with me.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 8/27/2013 @ 1:41 pm50. Comment by glenn (647d76) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:15 am
I often wonder if there was anybody around when that first slave ship showed up who said “Ya know, this might not be a good idea.”
Sure. but it’s not as if they could send the ship, and especially its passengers back.
That wouldn’t be very humane.
They were treated as indentured servants in Virginia at first.
The institution of slavery was then made part of the Constitution,
Codified in law and that took decades really to settle down.
The Constitution came 170 years, or 168 years, after the first slave ship came to Virginia.
slaves became assets to be shown as such on the balance sheets of the owners and the rest is history.
Worse, worse. Around 1840, maybe aliottle bit earlier, John C. Calhoumn began justifying slavery in principle. It became impossible to dispute that in the south. Twenty years or so later it became impossible to dispute the wisdom of secession as well.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 8/27/2013 @ 1:47 pm“And since we’re on the subject, what are you doing law stuff wise?”
– nk
Law stuff wise, I completed my clinical requirements over the summer (yay!). I am currently taking water law, criminal procedure, a combined 6-credit evidence/trial practice course, and a pretrial-practice drafting course. I applied for a bunch of post-graduation clerkships, but didn’t get any (one still pending) – but on the plus side, I was just hired as a research assistant for a professor studying land grant law and advocacy in New Mexico. I’m fascinated by property law issues, so I’m very excited about the job.
Law review work continues apace. We’re in the midst of an internal argument about accepting articles by student authors not on law review. My own article is scheduled to be published at the end of this semester, but I’m seriously considering rescinding it if our board votes to persist in such protectionism.
Leviticus (6a67b8) — 8/27/2013 @ 1:51 pmSounds great. Congratulations, good luck, and keep us updated!
nk (875f57) — 8/27/2013 @ 1:55 pmThanks, will do.
Leviticus (6a67b8) — 8/27/2013 @ 2:05 pmPer NBCNEWS:
One of the teens charged with beating to death a World War II veteran allegedly claimed he was buying crack cocaine from the 88-year-old and the transaction turned violent — but cops said there is no evidence to support that.
The allegation was denounced as bizarre by victim Delbert “Shorty” Belton’s family and even dismissed by the defense lawyer for the other teen accused in the Spokane, Wash., case, which has drawn national attention.
There are just no words to describe these evil people.
elissa (dda108) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:49 pmDefense attorneys get that story all the time, elissa. “Oh, that guy they say I robbed at the car wash, man they call him The Preacher, he a dealer, I was buying some stuff from him man, he try to rob me of my money, that’s my money there not his”. It’s a cliche. Literally a cliche. Another is, “Those aren’t my pants. I was crashing in someguy’s house and they were on the floor when I woke thinking they was mine. Who’s house? Someguy’s, man.”
nk (875f57) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:55 pm“Where’s your money?”
Milhouse (3d0df0) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:02 pm“In my pocket.”
“Where’s your pocket?”
“In my pants.”
“Where’s your pants?”
“I left them home.”
“Go away, you drunken man.”
Oh, I realize that, nk. But most victims’ families like Shorty’s don’t have to see their loved ones reputation smeared in the headlines of national news sites from a violent murderer’s ugly allegations/lies, do they? Unless there’s an agenda, I mean. Do you think this is responsible journalism?
elissa (dda108) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:05 pmThere are just no words to describe these evil people.
Comment by elissa (dda108) — 8/27/2013 @ 9:49 pm
— Sure there are; two words, in fact: stupid criminal.
To wit:
An affidavit from prosecutors says that while he was on the run for four days, Adams-Kinard told two friends that the beating was the result of a drug deal gone bad. Police seized a letter signed with Adams-Kinard’s name that gave a similar account.
— Sounds like a written confession to the crime for which he has been charged, don’t it?
Icy (216b6b) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:31 pm“– Sounds like a written confession to the crime for which he has been charged, don’t it?”
Icy – He kilt dat creepy ass ol cracka cuz he tried to rip his ass off.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:53 pmToo bad for him that killing a crack dealer still counts as murder.
Icy (dbc250) — 8/27/2013 @ 11:10 pmOf course, it could be that Shorty was an FBI plant, doing the dirty work of enslaving the next generation of black folk to ‘the rock’.
Icy (dbc250) — 8/27/2013 @ 11:23 pmSo?
What difference does it make if Ace mentioned the article two weeks ago have to do with anything?
These people have no clue about how anything works. Why listen to them as if they are authorities?
Do examples that illustrate they are without a clue have freshness dates?
“I’m sorry, you need to use that example of journalistic stupidity within a week of its publishing, or else it goes bad.”
Steve57 (713b70) — 8/28/2013 @ 12:12 amI get it, elissa, now. And there will be those that seize on it. Those young brothers are going to be lynched by the white system because they defended themselves against a creepy-ass cracka old white dealer.
nk (875f57) — 8/28/2013 @ 4:11 amComment by elissa (dda108) — 8/27/2013 @ 10:05 pm
Common occurance in the comment section.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2013/08/man-slain-in-orangevale-homicide.html#disqus_thread
A lady in there defending the memory of her grandson, killed in a random shooting the other day, where the report has no clues as to a motive, and anonymous culls in comments put their own pathological stamp on it, calling the deceased boy a “trashy white meth dealer, bumpkin playing with guns”.
The victims were sitting on a porch, and unarmed.
Unusual for the news service itself though.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 8/28/2013 @ 9:53 amI agree.