Hate Crime?

[bbcmay]

Re: Hate Crime?

The smiley doesn't change the comments intentions.....either way it was stated that Hawaii is like this we will just have to deal. Still not an acceptable excuse to me.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hate Crime?

is this some kind of excuse??

FWIW, by choosing to leave off her "sarcastic smiley," you've changed/misread the intent of the words you quoted.

[bbcmay]

Re: Hate Crime?

Ok so this boy got mad because his car was 'bumped' (we all know a Dodge Durango doesn't just whip into a parking stall) which is understandable. Then he got even more mad when he saw that a white person did it, not so understandable. Yes this person has anger issues but anger that spawned from the thought of a white person doing him wrong. In MY EYES this is a hate crime. I do understand the law and even though this was not 'pre-meditated' the beating got more violent due to the fact that the family was white. So where did it come from? I am sure how he was raised played a major role since we know his father jumped in on the fight. We all know that this incident would not have been this severe had the family in the Durango been Hawaiian. And the sad part is, is this happens all over with people of all different races. But of those comments I was reading about the news coverage, that is a joke. I heard about this through my hair stylist who works at Paul Brown and saw the whole thing. I have YET to hear it on the news. I don't think this story is getting ENOUGH coverage and I am sure the government is trying to downplay the incident to avoid a decline in tourism. I was reading the back-and-forth opinions on here whether or not the wife was actually punched. DOES IT REALLY MATTER??? SHE HAS BROKEN BONES IN HER FACE??? To try and down grade what happened is physically impossible as the injuries to these two people speak for themselves!
I was reading this and started to wonder.

... but hey, that's life in Hawai'i
Miulang

is this some kind of excuse?? That is like me saying "Well I am blonde so I can't read". Hawaii is what YOU MAKE OF IT. It does not have to be this way and it is comments like this that will continue to let actions like this continue. If two white men did this to an African-American family NAACP would be swarming Hawaii, which is good because with them would come the media coverage and justice would be served. The punishment that these two will get will be a JOKE. I can only hope that the justice system will prove me wrong!!

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hate Crime?

Hmmm..."former"...
That's something else we can't be sure of. Domestic abuse tends not to be confined to just a single incident.

Linguistically speaking, could he ever technically be a "former victim?" Like when someone calls themselves a "former alumnus" of a school? (Fingernails on the chalkboard to those who love accurate English grammar...)

[tutusue]

Re: Hate Crime?

Not in my opinion. In the (former domestic abuse victim) Pa‘akaula boy’s opinion.

Hmmm..."former"...
That's something else we can't be sure of. Domestic abuse tends not to be confined to just a single incident.

[alohabear]

Re: Hate Crime?

The FBI steps in for a crime in Honolulu, but at Hookena the crime was infinitely, and terribly worse, and yet no federal interest. South Kona just gets shafted all the time. If you think about it, it's kinda crazy.

Maybe the Feds are here because the victim is military....like NCIS.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hate Crime?

Not in my opinion. In the (former domestic abuse victim) Pa‘akaula boy’s opinion.

Ah - thank you for clarifying that.

[TuNnL]

Re: Hate Crime?

Minor automotive damage automatically makes someone "a fair target" to be beaten senseless???

Not in my opinion. In the (former domestic abuse victim) Pa‘akaula boy’s opinion.

[alohabear]

Re: Hate Crime?

This thread sounds like a episode of NCIS. Taking the plot line, they could film here in the islands right now. A very special, ripped from the headlines, NCIS.

[tutusue]

Re: Hate Crime?

I have to say it is kind of shocking that a veteran soldier could not defend himself against a 16-year-old civilian. No wonder we are losing the war in Iraq![...]

I guess what I'm not clear about is whether or not the soldier and the teen were fighting outside the car prior to the dad entering the fray. IOW, how and when did the soldier exit his car? Was the teen punching the soldier thru an open window while the soldier was still seated in the car? Initially it seems the soldier was inside the car when the teen began kicking the car's door. The soldier's wife exited the car to try and stop the teen. At what point did it become a one-on-one soldier/teen beating then a 2-on-one dad/teen/soldier beating?

If I was a betting person (I'm not!) I'd bet that the soldier tried to come to his wife's aid when the teen's mom attacked her and he ended up in a vulnerable position.

I assume if the soldier is a disabled vet that fact would've been reported by now.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hate Crime?

It’s just as likely, though, that they had already become a fair target when they hit his car.

Minor automotive damage automatically makes someone "a fair target" to be beaten senseless??? Seems that we're forgetting that the behavior of the perpetrators was way out of line for the incident that occurred.

Hard to clearly define it as a "hate crime," until you take into account the racial epithet that was hurled. That may be the single factor that authorities use to determine on which side of the dividing line it falls, and thus affects their sentence (if they are convicted.)

[sinjin]

Re: Hate Crime?

Who knows? It’s just as likely, though, that they had already become a fair target when they hit his car.

IMO his choice of epithet makes your suggestion less defensible.

[TuNnL]

Re: Hate Crime?

When the boy noticed they were haoles did they not become a fair target in his mind?

Who knows? It’s just as likely, though, that they had already become a fair target when they hit his car.

[sinjin]

Re: Hate Crime?

When the boy noticed they were haoles did they not become a fair target in his mind?

[TuNnL]

Re: Hate Crime?

A fair fight isn't between a 16year old kid vs. a grown military man and his wife. Regardless of who instigated what.

I have to say it is kind of shocking that a veteran soldier could not defend himself against a 16-year-old civilian. No wonder we are losing the war in Iraq!

New wrinkle in the story as the FBI steps into investigate whether a hate crime was committed. Star Bulletin story.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said the assault was not a hate crime under Hawaii law because it did not appear that the victims had been selected because of their race.

"There needs to be a targeting," Carlisle said.

To me, you need to take the auto collision out of the picture, in order for this to be considered a hate crime. Ask yourself, if there was no accident, would the Pa‘akaulas even have noticed the military family?