Who is "the Christian leader"? |
the shooter was not a Christian! He was a liberal athiest. |
The alleged killer was not Christian but an atheist. Many prominent atheists have denounced the killing. |
+1. PP who is taking Jeff to task over his double standard on the relative roles of hate crime vs. random elements in Jewish vs. Muslim deaths. I'm as liberal as they come. I'm not Jewish, either, I'm just fed up with the double standards and facile rationalizations over the last few weeks. Or maybe ... cue creepy music ... Maher and Dawkins have made it safe for liberals to be bigots, like Jeff said. No, that's not it. I will say that we liberals are doing a lot more heavy lifting than you conservatives, who tend to adopt the role of spouting fatuous snark. |
Will Bill Maher rail on Atheists now, I wonder. |
I might be a good idea for someone in the administration to denounce it also once a few more facts come out. By and large, people are not buying this "not a hate crime" theory being put forth here. Can't be all on TV expressing sympathy for an American gilr killed in Syria and stay silent about 3 Muslims killed on US soil. Need to put a lid on this before it is used as some rallying cry. |
From the father of one of the victims:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/11/5508217/victims-father-says-chapel-hill.html#.VNujZ7DF8kR “It was execution style, a bullet in every head,” Abu-Salha said Wednesday morning. “This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime. This man had picked on my daughter and her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt. And they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.” Abu-Salha said his daughter who lived next door to Hicks wore a Muslim head scarf and told her family a week ago that she had “a hateful neighbor.” “Honest to God, she said, ‘He hates us for what we are and how we look,’” he said. Now, before everyone jumps on me again, let me acknowledge that one can believe they are a victim of prejudice when the perpetrator is acting for other reasons. |
This dude's hatred for religion seems pretty abstract to me. The words of a father understandably distraught over what happened notwithstanding, the key takeaway from that otherwise useful article is this passage:
"Randy Tysinger, a spokesman for Ripley Rand, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina which includes Chapel Hill, said federal prosecutors are aware of the allegations the shooting was a hate crime. But Tysinger stressed that the Chapel Hill police investigation is in the early stages and said the federal prosecutor’s office would wait for more details before deciding whether to launch a federal hate crime investigation." |
And, again, with due respect to the father, he's not the medical examiner. He doesn't know that it was "execution style." |
Because he's an atheist. Uh, duh. |
The reason he is saying that is because the standard for a hate crime is so impossibly high. You actually need to say "I'm going to find some xyz and kill them". That does not mean that it is not an act of religious hate. |
Yeah it does. By definition. In this country you have to prove guilt. |
Uhhh....the "guilt" is clear. He did it. The "hate crime" question is about motive. In any event, this guy killed three people with pre-meditation. They were also practicing Muslims. He had a history with these people, including saying things about how the women dressed. The prosecution standards for hate crimes are sky high. But I do not need a prosecutor to tell me that their religion was a factor. In any event, the guy is looking at 3 1st degree murder charges. NC had the death penalty and hopefully that is waht he wil get. |
murder seems pretty hateful as it is. |
Okay, I am going to ask a stupid question... But... I have friends they look just like the 3 killed and they are not Muslim. Is the assumption that anybody that looks like the 3 killed in NC are Muslim? Aren't most not Muslim? |