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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

A Murder in St Louis: Who Cares?

"This is not a Hate Crime"


Isn't that good news? Zemir Begic, a Bosnian immigrant was beaten to death in St Louis this past week by four or five teenagers, three or four African Americans and one Hispanic. His car was attacked by the teens wielding hammers. When Begic got out of his car, he was beaten to death with those hammers in front of his wife.

But it wasn't a hate crime.

Never mind that the city has been wracked for months over the shooting death of Michael Brown by a white Ferguson cop. According to the chief of police and the mayor, there is just simply no evidence that Begic was targeted because he was Bosnian. Or because he was white.


What does a Bosnian look like?


This, of course, is a big relief. Now President Obama doesn't have to make any statements about the crime. Al Sharpton doesn't have to go back to St Louis to lead any more marches-unless it's for Michael Brown. Similarly, Sharpton doesn't have to speak at Begic's funeral. He can just keep attending those White House meetings with the President trying to find a solution to the Ferguson crisis. (I'm surprised Malik Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party wasn't invited.) Eric Holder doesn't have to go back to St Louis and initiate a federal civil rights case. Nor does he have to send three high-ranking Justice Department officials to Begic's funeral.

In addition, CNN and MSNBC don't have to spend a lot of time pouring through the case day after day. It will quickly disappear from the news once the funeral is over.

Because this was not  hate crime. After all, we all know that only white, Christian, heterosexual males commit hate crimes, right?

"The St. Louis Police Department is now working in conjunction with the city prosecutor to determine a motive. Authorities told FoxNews.com there is no evidence at this time suggesting the murder was racially motivated."

At any rate, the St. Louis police are diligently investigating this case trying to find a motive. Who knows? Maybe it was some kind of insurance scam, and the assailants were listed as beneficiaries on Begic's life insurance policy. Maybe they were hit men hired by the Serbian government because Begic's father was a Bosnian fighter against the Serbs. (I don't know that, of course, but it's always a possibility.) In fact, maybe the cops have the wrong suspects, and the real killers are the Russian Mafia or Colombian drug lords.  But after all is said and done, who cares?






2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"four or five teenagers, three or four African Americans and one Hispanic"

Since the vast majority of African Americans are Protestant Christian and the vast majority of Hispanics are Catholic Christian, would it be accurate to describe this crime as a murder of a Bosnian Muslim by Christian Youths???

Gary Fouse said...

Anonymous,

Right you are! According to my confidential sources, the youths were screaming, "Jesus is Great!" If you look at the photo of the victim and his wife, it is clear they were targeted because they were not Christian.

Get a grip.