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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Hate Crime Arrest in Davis

Sometimes the most revealing stuff are the little news items and other blurbs rather than the big headlines.

Yesterday Lauren Keene of the Davis Enterprise writes about an arrest made in a hate crimes case.
"The victim was identified as an 18-year-old Jewish man who reportedly walked by six to seven people chanting “white pride” and racist comments outside the Rite-Aid store on Russell Boulevard and Anderson Road shortly before 1 a.m.

As the victim walked by, one of the suspects said to him, “You’re down with that, right?” according to police reports.

When the victim said he was not, several of the suspects attacked him, with one allegedly removing a silver-studded belt from his waist and hitting the teen with it"
Okay, now a couple of things about this incident are particularly concerning. This incident provides valuable lessons for future prevention.

It's 1 a.m., and you see a group of six or seven people chanting scary stuff, why would you walk by them?

Second, remember the lessons from Ghostbusters. At the climax of the movie, the demigod asks Dan Ackroyd's character if he's a god, and he answers no. She proceeds to beat the crap out of them with her magic, prompting a member of the group to declare, "IF someone asks you if you are a god, you say YES." Let me tell you, if a crazy group who outnumbers you six or seven to one, asks you if you are down with something, it could be the most disgusting and horrendous thing in the world, you say YES. Don't get me wrong I'm not making light of the situation, but there is a time stand up for your principles and a time to keep quiet. This was a time to keep quiet. Again, not blaming the victim, but I think we all have to be careful.

Third, if you are going to walk alone at 1 am, even if you are a guy, it's not a good idea. We teach women to not walk alone at night. Guys, myself included, take it for granted in places like Davis. We ought not to.

So far two teens from Vacaville have been arrested. That leaves five of them presumably at-large or otherwise not arrested. Where do they live?

Hate crimes are clearly a continuing problem in this community, this is just another reminder of that.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting