August 6, 2010

"Attention Must Be Paid"

I have a post up on the VDARE.com blog that begins:
In various blog posts about the Connecticut Massacre (here, here, here, and here), I’ve quoted at length from a half dozen news articles giving the “he said / she said” two sides of the story about whether the nine middle-aged white men murdered by Omar Thornton, the Connecticut truckdriver who went on a racial rampage after being fired for stealing and selling his deliveries, were white racists.

The press has industriously reported both sides of the story, graciously allowing the white survivors chances to defend their murdered friends and relatives from charges of racism. For example, the AP made sure to include quotes from friends of the murder victims defending the murder victims:
“Craig, who was active as a coach in town with all kids — all races of kids — for years, he didn’t care. He just worked with the kids,” Ted Jenny said. “There was no way Craig Pepin was racist.”

Of course, in 21st Century America, who would believe the friend of an accused white racist? What kind of sick, twisted person is this Ted Jenny, who was friends with a man accused of white racism?

Granted, in this particular allegation, the accuser was a thieving mass murderer. But, as we can see from all the column inches devoted to Thornton’s allegations, the point is that he was a black thieving mass murderer. So, attention must be paid.
Sure, Omar Thornton was the worst black person in America, but ... he was black! Hence, this media inquiry and hence the very earnest responses to Thornton's charges by the white survivors.

And that’s one major lesson of the bizarre news coverage of the Connecticut Massacre ...

Read the whole thing there and comment upon it here.

47 comments:

greenrivervalleyman said...

From the previous post:


It's never too early to discuss what should be done if evidence of white racism emerges in this investigation. Should the dead white racists be dug up and shot again? Or perhaps the grieving relatives of the late Mr. Thornton should get to shoot some of the relatives of the dead white racists who weren't nice to Mr. Thornton?
.

Steve, your parody is about 10 years too late. Didn't AlGore absolutely *zing* George W. Bush in their Presidential debate over why James Byrd's killers had never been charged with a hate crime (the gruesome twosome were merely on death row at this point).

And of course that cretin Rand Paul obviously believes that pissant concerns like federalism, separation of powers, and rule of law somehow come before stomping out racism once and for all.

To all enlightened people the solution is obvious: every racist and every suspected racist must be arrested and summarily thrown to a pack of wild dogs which will tear them limb from limb. Live streaming video of this justice-in-action will be piped to all tolerance and human rights museums across the country.

Harry Baldwin said...

BTW, has any enterprising reporter done a search to find out if Thornton has any priors--domestic violence, etc? If you pay a fee you can search such records over the net, but a police search would be more comprehensive.

His girlfriend seems like the type who would be in an abusive relationship. She also reminds me of Tracy Ullman's "white widow" character, which I found out about through Steve's site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM0wxjUdho4

Anonymous said...

The problem I see is that there is a tacit assumption that had this white guy indeed been a racist, then it would have been alright for him to be shot down.

This is a very dangerous proposition for civil society to embrace. It leads to all sorts of scary extrapolations. For example, if it's alright for a black man to murder a white man because he's a racist (i.e one who hates blacks) then is it also OK for someone to bomb the local Black Muslim bakery? They certainly hate whites as does Jeremiah Wright. I don't think that two wrongs make a right but others certainly do.

In related stories the government seems to be saying that it's OK for illegal aliens to disobey the law. Surely someone will make the inference that if the Mexicans are not bound by our laws then why should Americans be? When law is decided in the street by some "free thinker" will just he kill illegal Mexicans without any pangs of conscience. Why not? Without law, where are the guidelines?

Also related is the issue of the mosque near ground zero. Doesn't anyone in government see that when there is the next Islamic attack that this mosque will also be attacked? Insensitivity to the issue of it's siting means that a lot of Muslims will become very prominent targets for retribution. I don't approve of that, but it seems more than a little likely.

Government is supposed to keep down civil unrest and moderate the animal passions of the mob. In all these cases the Obama administration and it's allies seem to be provoking the white majority on the assumption that they can. They're probably right at least in the short run.

Obama's economic policies are good for gold sales. His domestic policies are good for gun sales.

Albertosaurus

Anonymous said...

you left the r off accuser in the headline

Kylie said...

Harry Baldwin said..."BTW, has any enterprising reporter done a search to find out if Thornton has any priors--domestic violence, etc?"

With all due respect, what difference would that make? Even if Thornton had priors, that would only prove institutional racism.

As I understand it so far, the fact that a thief and mass murderer made accusations of racism against his coworkers and place of employment is more important that his own criminal actions.

Race trumps all. And racism (which is understood to be a whites-only crime) is now punishable by death.

This is not to disparage you or your comments in any way, as I recognize you as one of the most astute and enjoyable commenters here or anywhere. But I infer that you yourself are a white man and it seems to me that many non-liberal white men don't yet fully grasp how hostile to reason, logic and facts Western culture has become. Facts that contradict the gestalt are denied or ignored while those persons who offer reasoned arguments or statements based on fact or logic are ridiculed, marginalized, demonized and stigmatized. Hence "hatefacts", Summers, Watson, et al.

So, the possibility of Thornton having a criminal record is irrelevant at best. Doubtless, some would characterize even asking such a question as hateful and/or racist. "Racist" is really just a synonym for "white" now.

concerned.netizen said...

The inevitable Jewish angle will cause a shift in the reax.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/nyregion/04company.html?_r=1

The killer's charge that he was working for Massah's plantation will now be subject to scrutiny.

Anne said...

It's not necessarily a racial thing that people are treating the killer's grievence as maybe justified. Remember all the anti-bullying stuff after Columbine? And there was some soul searching about the stress of getting tenure after that professor shot her colleagues in Alabama.

concerned netizen said...

Some on the ground reax:

"RACISM IS STILL ALIVE. Most racists just conceal it and let it out in a variety of ways. I feel terrible for Omar Thornton. He could have won this battle with a discrimination lawsuit. Violence is a quick, yet empty resolution. RIP to all families involved."

http://www.nydailynews.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=105400

Anonymous said...

If the circumstances were the same, but the shooter was hispanic, and the victims were black, would this much ink be spilled by the MSM?

Anonymous said...

i used to think white nationalists were looney when they said it will soon be legal for minorities to rape white women, while white men will be thrown in jail for saying 'hey babe' or implying that blacks have lower average iqs (watch out steve!) - now i think its just a matter of time before these things are realities - already we are being 'conditioned' by the media - whenver a black commits a crime - the racism or white privlidge of the victim is focused on, - the jena six was the beginning of this increasingly disturbing pattern.

Anonymous said...

Seems that some are fighting back:

Mass murderer accusing others of racism as the cover for his actions is the true injustice

Melykin said...

Anonymous wrote:
"Doesn't anyone in government see that when there is the next Islamic attack that this mosque will also be attacked? Insensitivity to the issue of it's siting means that a lot of Muslims will become very prominent targets for retribution. I don't approve of that, but it seems more than a little likely."
=========================

I agree. It will be a magnet for anti-Muslim resentment. The people who want to build it must be very stupid if they really think this is a good way to "reach out".

Maybe it will catch fire and the New York fire fighters will just watch it burn. Likely someone will start selling Mohammad cartoon t-shirts on the side walk in front of it, or set up a pork sausage business next door. All this will lead to retaliation from the Muslims, and things will escalate from there.

Someone on the CNN comments suggested they call it "The Mohammad Atta Center for Cultural
Exchange and Falafel Stand"

Anonymous said...

For blacks, racism is a crutch for all times and places. If they fail in school, don't get a job, aren't promoted, get arrested by cops, or get caught for stealing. Always racism, racism, racism. Instead of being rational, blacks are racional, and racism is their constant companion, excuse, and rationale.

This time, the crutch was used as a gun.

Garland said...

Somewhat similarly, when Crowley escaped racist branding from the Gates arrest, a key reason the media went along with it was his background teaching other cops not to racially profile (or something like that), and various other testimonies on his behalf (including from black officers). If there hadnt been such mitigating data on him he wouldnt have gotten off so easily, no matter how firmly he stuck to his guns.

Anonymous said...

Years from now, with the benefit of hindsight, Omar Thornton will be remembered as a civil rights hero. Instead of silently bearing the racism of his white oppressors, he bravely stood up to them. This Hollander fellow's kids will be leading the charge to name the local elementary school after him. Omar Thornton Elementary School. Has a nice ring to it, no?

Anonymous said...

When will the grievance end?

mr. Sailer, you've never expressed even a little outrage over the enslavement of africans slaves.

but plenty of outrage over this little thing.

black folks get one back. it's a very very minor victory though.

Fred said...

There's enough material in the two links so far in the comments for a few more posts for Steve -- there's even a Mark Twain angle! From the first link (NYT),

"The family is perhaps best known for donating a bronze statue of Mark Twain to Hartford’s public library in 1994. The life-size bronze sculpture of Twain, one of Hartford’s best-known former residents, cost $45,000; the family described it as a gift to help revitalize a city whose fortunes had fallen in recent years"

The second link, from the Hartford Courant, notes that not only was the family that owned the beer distributership known for its involvement in charitable causes, but the family specifically tried to help blacks. Plus, they are apparently Jews. This is a rich vein of material for Steve:

"Hollander's recent civic work, and his family's philanthropy, especially in the Jewish community, are by now well told. Less widely cited this week is that back in the '70s, he was on the board of the region's Urban League. He also was active with the United Negro College Fund, something he only talked about when I pressed him on it in a conversation Thursday.

In 2006 he and two other prominent citizens brought a lawsuit against their town, Bloomfield, to uphold a voters' referendum for much-needed bonding for the schools, which are almost entirely black. "This is not a man that just gives money," said John Wolfson, the lawyer in that case. "Ross spent his time getting this referendum passed by organizing people, getting people in the fold."

dearieme said...

Can anyone explain to me the significance of his given name being "Omar"?

Anonymous said...

When will the grievance end?

mr. Sailer, you've never expressed even a little outrage over the enslavement of africans slaves.

but plenty of outrage over this little thing.

black folks get one back. it's a very very minor victory though
.

Perhaps you're a troll, but what the hell are you talking about? This is something that happened a couple of days ago, while slavery in the US ended more than 150 years ago. Or are you perhaps referring to slavery in Africa itself, which is still widespread? Perhaps African Americans should be held responsible for slavery and other atrocities in today's Africa. They have the same skin color after all, even if they have no more hand in it than white Americans today have with historical American slavery. But of course that's not going to happen when American blacks are not held responsible even for the massive amounts of violence, crime, and mayhem they have caused in recent decades alone, to say nothing about the trillions of dollars that have been transferred from whites to blacks by the government. Every single person on earth has plenty of slave ancestors, but African Americans are the only ones for whom it forms the central part of identity. Black American culture is truly sick if heinous crimes by a worthless piece of trash like Thornton are celebrated as a "victory".

Brent Lane said...

Anonymous said...

When will the grievance end?

mr. Sailer, you've never expressed even a little outrage over the enslavement of africans slaves.


Well, Mr Anonymous, if it will make you feel any better, I for one feel that enslavement of Africans was an abomination.

I'll go even further: I wish that African slaves had never been brought to the US. This country would have been so much better off if enslavement of Africans had never happened.

Don't you agree?

Anonymous said...

Can anyone explain to me the significance of his given name being "Omar"?

Oblique reference to The Wire?

Anonymous said...

Whoa - in addition to the emerging "Jews can't possibly be racist" counter-offensive, it's starting to look as though Kristi Hannah was receiving the stolen beer.

This one just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

Whiskey said...

The deeper question is WHY must attention be paid? Arthur Miller put it as a dramatic device to make the everyman the tragic hero. Here its the drama with the everyman White guy as the villain. Ask why is that?

One of the key insights of folks like Roissy is how making most White women equal with their White male peers led them to great dissatisfaction, with men whom their mothers and grandmothers found quite acceptable. Because now they were equals, and found that situation intolerable.

Hence, in every female-dominated medium, including particularly newspapers (look at the ads), TV news, particularly local news, and CNN, MSNBC, etc. the emphasis is on the ordinary White guy villain, the virtuous crusader, and the "innocent Black victim" even if he's Omar Thornton or the Jena 6 thugs.

Think about it, in a White male dominated culture, well everything would look like a big-time College Football team. Relatively flat, though hierarchical, fairly meritocratic, and focused on unity and specific objectives (beat State!) There would be very little toleration of playing the race card, or prima-donna attitudes, and a lot of team building, performance, and production. Those who produce advance, those who don't get discarded.

Instead we get emotional appeals, to the innate "badness" of the victims who "deserved it" and the innate "goodness" of the perp who through skin color is absolved of any moral responsibility.

Note the prominence of the White G/F Hannah, who is given heavy quote play to the mostly female readership/audience for news. IMHO this is part of a deep-wide cultural shift approximating the deep-wide purchasing/consumer power that women (are perceived to wield) and thus the catering to them in advertising and mass-media. Which in turn is self-reinforcing, dominated by gays who wield disproportionate power vs. numbers in advertising, media, etc. Most societies that shift power to the aristocracy tend to be dominated by women culturally over time.

Anonymous said...

Steve, I think we're at the apogee of the victim culture here. You can't go much further than excusing mass murder. This breath-taking display of shuck and jive terrorism will really raise the bar. Women complain of a glass ceiling. Well, here's one way to remove it. Didn't Clinton once suggest Rush Limbaugh and others contributed to a climate of violence and Timothy McVeigh?

But I have read in the Washington Examiner that a 20-year old female NPR intern was seriously stabbed by a black woman this morning. On the street. Is it just me or is this type of thing increasing?

Jim O said...

Again, Steve, I'm kinda surprised to see you blowing your stack over this. What exactly about the MSM's reaction to this horror story is so unexpected that you would completely lose it for days on end? You, the guy who is "amused, not obsessed."

Yeah, he was a common criminal, a sociopath who decided to go out in a blaze of glory with bogus charges of racism rather than face the truth about himself. And the MSM is slurping it up. Going crazy over it. They love that angle! Of course they won't call it a hate crime!

Yeah.

We know.

That's what the MSM does. Like when Bloomberg and his media implied the Times Square bomber was just as likely to be a Tea Partier as a Muslim terrrorist. Like when the MSM was scratching its collective head over what could have motivated Hasan.

We know it and the MSM knows it too: The emperor is naked. But they'll never say so. The narrative must prevail: America is a racist, imperialist,Anti-Muslim nation at its core. It must be radically transformed!! Every story involving violence in Amerca must support the narrative.

But you seem to be shocked! Shocked! Why?

jody said...

well, it still does not hold a candle to the positively ludicrous non-coverage of malik nadal hasan.

Svigor said...

Mr. Sailer, you've never expressed even a little outrage over the enslavement of africans slaves.

Who but a racist would express outrage over the greatest thing to ever happen to a black population in the history of the universe?

AmericanGoy said...

'"Racist" is really just a synonym for "white" now.'


I know I am a bigot, anti-semite, idiot, caveman and hitler for asking this but...

Shouldn't this read:
Racist is really just a synonym for (non Jewish) "white" now.

Oh my, I went there...

AmericanGoy said...

'Can anyone explain to me the significance of his given name being "Omar"?'

I take it you have never watched the finest American TV show ever made (The Wire, you neophyte).

"Omar's coming (yo)!".

Anonymous said...

One of the key insights of folks like Roissy is how making most White women equal with their White male peers led them to great dissatisfaction, with men whom their mothers and grandmothers found quite acceptable.

-------------------------

Most societies that shift power to the aristocracy tend to be dominated by women culturally over time.


You have some good insights, as usual; however, you're vague on the issue of agency. Who made "White women equal with their White male peers"? White women? If so, then are you suggesting middle-class women fought to gain equality with men in order to shift power to the aristocracy from whom their fathers fought to gain equality in the first place? If so, then, according to you, women dominate both middle-class and aristocratic societies.

Think about it, in a White male dominated culture, well everything would look like a big-time College Football team. Relatively flat, though hierarchical, fairly meritocratic, and focused on unity and specific objectives (beat State!)

There is a name for what you're call for.

Anonymous said...

In retrospect, the company should have notified the local District Attorney about the matter, and the D.A. could have had the police arrest Omar on the spot. By simply firing the guy and not bringing charges against him, the company probably thought they were cutting him a break, and look at how he repaid them......


.....by murdering enough men to field a baseball team, and then having the effrontery to spike their coffins with slanderous allegations.



Anytime you fire someone, it can get ugly. Due security precautions should be taken. In fact, when an employee is brought to such a meeting, he should be searched for a weapon by security (preferably armed security) beforehand. Those nine men didn't have to die because this thief couldn't control himself.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps we will see Michelle Obama calling the Bidens racist soon 'cause they be disrespecting her.

Has Michelle got a gun?

Anonymous said...

You have some good insights, as usual; however, you're vague on the issue of agency. Who made "White women equal with their White male peers"?

Agreed.

If Whiskey really is just an evangelical Scots-Irishman, then his defense of the Israelis could certainly be seen as a noble sentiment on his part [or a sense of noblesse oblige, or whatever].

And he does have excellent insights into the feminization of the culture and the nature of the baser instincts of the career woman in this age of sexual "liberation".

But it's silly to then assume [and/or simply declare] that there aren't folks behind the scenes who are influencing and profiting from these trends and phenomena.

I'd second another recent poster in urging everyone here at iSteve to watch the Frankfurt School video, about the bolsheviks' role in the corruption of the culture and the rise of political correctness.

And as regards the particular question at hand, when watching that video, pay very close attention to the subject of polymorphous perversity and the destruction of the family.

Anonymous said...

mr. Sailer, you've never expressed even a little outrage over the enslavement of africans slaves.

Number of blacks taken to North America as slaves: 600,000

Number of whites taken to Africa as slaves: 1.2 million

I'm waiting for your outrage

Harry Baldwin said...

dearieme said...Can anyone explain to me the significance of his given name being "Omar"?

In trying to figure this out myself, I learned that Omar S. Thornton's full name is Omar Sharif Thornton; so he's named after the movie star.

Harry Baldwin said...

Anonymous said...Due security precautions should be taken. In fact, when an employee is brought to such a meeting, he should be searched for a weapon by security (preferably armed security) beforehand.

Yes, but the owner of the company was a liberal and wouldn't have wanted to suggest that he distrusted or feared his black employee.

Kylie said... With all due respect, what difference would that make? Even if Thornton had priors, that would only prove institutional racism.

First, thanks for the kind words; I appreciate them.

I only ask because Kristi Hannah seems like a low self-esteem martyr type who would be involved in an abusive relationship, and it would be interesting to find out that Thornton had some domestic violence charges after she has been insisting he was the gentlest man she ever knew. How often does such a gentle soul go on a killing spree?

Robert said...

I recommend that readers search Youtube for Saga's "Prayer for the Dying." Steve won't let me post the link.

Kylie said...

Harry Baldwin said..."I only ask because Kristi Hannah seems like a low self-esteem martyr type who would be involved in an abusive relationship, and it would be interesting to find out that Thornton had some domestic violence charges after she has been insisting he was the gentlest man she ever knew."

I see, thanks. What interests me is that apparently Thornton held down the same job for two years rather than remaining unemployed and having his woman support him. That would definitely make him an exception in the low-income, mixed race neighborhood I once lived in as would the fact that he was in such a long-term relationship (although it could have been on-again, off-again).

Also, according to the NYT, all his guns were legally purchased. His girlfriend is quoted as flat-out saying he'd never been in trouble in his life. It's more usual for that type of female to admit her man's been in trouble but then minimize it.

Some typical stuff, other stuff definitely atypical.

none of the above said...

The media are following the path to the easiest, juiciest story, as usual. They can't be troubled to do any critical thinking, or to look deeper and figure out the whole picture--that's just not what they do. Similarly, any kind on moral reasoning beyond the surface level enforcement of norms by public shaming is just not in their repertoire.

This has little to do with justifying murder via accusations of racism, and much to do with getting eyeballs.

Anonymous said...

none of the above said:


This has little to do with justifying murder via accusations of racism, and much to do with getting eyeballs.


The murderer did just that. The media went along for the ride.

BamaGirl said...

"Hence, in every female-dominated medium, including particularly newspapers (look at the ads), TV news, particularly local news, and CNN, MSNBC, etc. the emphasis is on the ordinary White guy villain, the virtuous crusader, and the "innocent Black victim" even if he's Omar Thornton or the Jena 6 thugs."

I can assure you, very few white females think Omar Thornton is a victim. Maybe you live in some place where that is true, Whiskey, but I'm willing to bet those areas contain less than 20 percent of the country's total population and are therefore not representative. Its the media and artsy types (still bitter about being picked on in high school or something) who always identify with the minority victim, not ordinary white females whom so much of your ire is directed towards.

dearieme said...

"Omar Sharif Thornton; so he's named after the movie star." Thank you, Mr Baldwin.

Anonymous said...

Its the media and artsy types (still bitter about being picked on in high school or something)

Again, watch the Frankfurt School video.

This evil is far more profound than anything which would have arisen from "being picked on in high school or something".

FuturePundit said...

Anonymous,

I totally agree with you.

Anonymous,

I totally disagree with you.

Anonymous,

You chose such a clever pseudonym.

Anonymous,

You idiot. Couldn't you figure out how to click on the Name/URL and type in a unique pseudonym?

Anonymous,

Don't go getting all defensive. I wasn't talking to you.

Anonymous said...

Excusing black-on-white murder by pointing to "our racist society" has been around for years. Look up Richard Wright's "Native Son." It's an old meme pushed by the Canadians forever. There is nothing new under the sun (especially for people who play the long game).

TGGP said...

Definitely check out the pic of Thornton. When Half Sigma makes an encyclopedia of class, it should appear near the top of the "prole" entry.

I would say that Whiskey brings up worthwhile topics, but his serious shortcoming is a lack of empiricism. He's got these overriding obsessions and can't take a step back to analyze them more objectively to see whether his angle is the most informative way of looking at things. He should take a break from brain-rotting Hollywood and spend time just looking at data.

Anonymous said...

Remember one of the heroes:
Craig Pepin. Pepin did warn people to get out of the harm's way, Pepin himself was shot dead. Pepin is a hero of French Canadian origin. People would have said, we miss you, Frenchie!